Inter-Parliamentary Union

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The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the world organisation of parliaments of sovereign states.

Objectives

Established in 1889 as the focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue, IPU works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy. Strategies for achieving these goals include:

Fostering contacts, co-ordination and the exchange of experience among parliaments and parliamentarians;
expressing views on questions of international interest and concern in order to bring about action by parliaments and parliamentarians;
contributing to the defence and promotion of human rights;
enhancing knowledge of the workings of representative institutions and strengthening and developing such institutions’ means of action.

IPU and Gender Equality

IPU considers equal participation of men and women in politics a prerequisite for democracy. Since its inception, the organisation has strongly advocated and worked to enhance women’s political participation. Its three main objectives are to:

Increase the number of women in parliament;
Support and enhance the input of women parliamentarians into the work of parliaments;and
Enhance the capacity of parliaments to address and defend women’s rights and to promote equality between men and women.

The work of IPU’s Programme for Partnership between Men and Women in Politics includes:

Conducting continual and extensive research to monitor trends and raise awareness of women in politics;
Providing technical assistance on projects for women parliamentarians and candidates;
Providing support to parliaments for programmes that promote women’s rights;
Cooperating with the United Nations on gender equality programmes to enhance parliamentary input; and
Convening global and regional thematic meetings of women parliamentarians to facilitate networking and the sharing of experiences and strategies for gender equality.