IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

Dansk Interparlamentarisk Gruppes bestyrelse 2023-24
IPU Alm.del Bilag 10
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Impact Report

2023

The IPU

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global

organization of national parliaments. It was founded

in 1889 as the first multilateral organization in the

world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue

between all nations.

Today, the IPU comprises 180 national Member

Parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies.

It promotes peace, democracy and sustainable

development. It helps parliaments become stronger,

younger, greener, more gender-balanced and more

innovative. It also defends the human rights of

parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made

up of members of parliament from around

the world.

The 146

IPU Assembly in March 2023

in Bahrain brought together hundreds of

parliamentarians from around the world.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

Contents

Foreword

PART 1

Strategic Objectives

Strategic Objective 1: Building effective and empowered parliaments

Strategic Objective 2: Promoting inclusive and representative parliaments

Strategic Objective 3: Supporting resilient and innovative parliaments

Strategic Objective 4: Catalysing collective parliamentary action

Strategic Objective 5: Strengthening the IPU’s accountability

PART 2

In focus

Policy goal 1 – Climate change

Policy goal 2 – Democracy and strong parliaments

Policy goal 3 – Human rights

Policy goal 4 – Gender equality

Policy goal 5 – Youth participation

Policy goal 6 – Peace and security

Policy goal 7 – Sustainable Development Goals

Towards universal membership

IPU Executive Committee

How the IPU is funded

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

2023

IN FIGURES

26,500

Publications

for parliamentarians

in 11 languages

media mentions

of the IPU

(up 10% compared with 2022)

and

180

Member Parliaments

Associate

Members

1500

762

human rights

cases examined by

the IPU in 2023

changemakers

have committed to the IPU’s youth campaign

I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament!

including 61 Speakers of Parliament

and 15 Heads of State

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

150,000

videos as part

views

of the IPU’s climate

Over

of the

Parliaments for the Planet campaign

Average proportion

of women MPs at

IPU Assemblies

35.3%

in 2023

Average proportion

(under 45 years old)

of young MPs at IPU Assemblies

26.6%

in 2023

IPU organized

global and regional events for parliaments including

Assemblies +

national capacity-building activities

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

Foreword

Preparations for a super election year in 2024 have not dampened

the sense that democracy in 2023 was on the backfoot. People in

the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine were all too often caught up in

the brutal fighting around them, while coups and political instability

have continued to undermine the rule of law in the Sahel Region

and some countries in Latin America. Weakened by climate change,

economic insecurity and growing inequality, many governments are

struggling to deliver for their populations. As the legitimacy of those

in power is called into question, fertile ground has opened up for

the emergence of populist and authoritarian regimes.

Against this background, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

stepped up its efforts to support parliaments by providing a

space for dialogue and encouraging them to become stronger,

younger, greener and more gender-balanced to better serve the

people they represent.

Demonstrating an appetite for more parliamentary multila-

teralism rather than less, the IPU grew in 2023 with the acces-

sion of the parliaments of Liberia and the Bahamas, our 179

and 180

Members respectively, as well as many observers and

partners signing up to join or rejoin our global parliamentary

community.

Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General.

This, together with the multiple events and initiatives that we organized in 2023, in which thousands

of parliamentarians and stakeholders from all over the world participated, demonstrates that the IPU is

becoming yet more inclusive, in line with our strategy to develop richer parliamentary ecosystems for

democracy, for everyone.

This Report is not designed to be exhaustive, nor does it cover all our activities in 2023. Rather it is a

snapshot of some of the best examples of the impact we have achieved over the year as well as a selection

of our outputs.

Below are some highlights of the year.

Parliaments for the Planet

Climate action was our main theme of the year, following the request from Members to make it the top

priority of the 2022-2026 IPU Strategy.

At the 146

IPU Assembly in Bahrain in March, we launched a new climate campaign,

Parliaments for the

Planet,

designed to encourage parliaments to accelerate climate action.

In only a few months, the campaign had mobilized hundreds of trailblazing parliamentarians, who shared

their good practices and solutions. Many of those solutions were also highlighted by the record number

of parliamentarians attending our meetings at COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference, in Dubai in

December.

Also linked to the theme of the year, the Cremer-Passy Prize, named after the IPU’s founding fathers, was

awarded to Mr.

Samuelu Penitala Teo, Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu,

in recognition of his outstanding

record on climate action.

Building bridges

William Randall Cremer and Frédéric Passy were at the forefront of our minds last year, not only because

of their namesake prize, but also because the spirit in which they founded the IPU, to encourage

peace-building, has never seemed so relevant.

Member Parliaments adopted two important declarations to underscore the hope for peace: the Manama

Declaration on

Promoting peaceful coexistence and inclusive societies: Fighting intolerance

at the

146

IPU Assembly, and the Luanda Declaration on Parliamentary

action for peace, justice and strong

institutions

at the 147

IPU Assembly in Angola in October.

The Luanda Declaration also made reference to an important new piece of work that the IPU has spear-

headed, the Indicators

for Democratic Parliaments,

designed to help parliaments evaluate their democratic

credentials with a view to becoming stronger and more inclusive institutions.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

And for the first time, we organized a global Parliamentary

Conference on Interfaith Dialogue to

encourage

parliaments to be more inclusive of religions, beliefs and faith-based organizations in their work in the

interests of peaceful coexistence.

The IPU leadership also visited some of the regions experiencing conflict, notably the

Sahel region

and

the

Middle East,

on behalf of the global parliamentary community, in a bid to give the IPU’s peace-building

role more robustness.

Our efforts in the Middle East have taken on new relevance in view of the protracted conflict in Gaza

with its disastrous humanitarian consequences. And the war in Ukraine will remain a priority in our

peace-building efforts, particularly through the work of the

IPU Task Force for the peaceful resolution of

the war in Ukraine.

The IPU is also keen to rekindle efforts to resolve conflicts such as the one between

Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Gender equality inches forward

History teaches us that wars are usually fought between men but that women often play an essential role

in peace and reconciliation processes.

At the IPU, we have been convinced for a long time that many of the world’s problems could be solved

through greater gender parity in political leadership.

By the end of the year, we were able to report that close to 27% of parliamentarians in the world were

women, a small increase on the year before.

Earlier in the year, our annual report, Women

in Parliament 2022,

revealed that women’s participation in

parliament has never been as diverse and representative as it is in many countries today.

However, overall progress towards global gender equality remains painfully slow. Online violence,

exacerbated by artificial intelligence, will be an additional hurdle for women involved in political life in 2024.

The experience of 2023 brought home the point that we can never be vigilant enough on the terrain of

democracy and especially gender equality. There is no room for complacency. The election of a new

President, a woman from Africa, shows that there is progress we can build on.

More young people in politics

As well as more women, more young people running for office is another prerequisite to stronger and

more inclusive democracies.

The latest IPU report on Youth

Participation in Parliament showed

that parliaments are getting slightly

younger, with small increases in the number of parliamentarians under 45 years old. However, despite

the progress, parliaments are still a long way from representing young people proportionately.

Defending MPs in trouble

A few days before Human Rights Day on 10 December, we released our annual

map of the number of

reported cases of

human rights violations suffered by parliamentarians around the world.

Although the numbers continue to rise, you will read some success stories in this report, partly due to

actions by the Committee

on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians,

the IPU body which defends MPs in

trouble. We can proudly state that our approach involving a mix of discreet engagement, steadfastness

and perseverance often pays off.

2024 and beyond

Despite the dangers they sometimes face, candidates from all walks of life will come forward to run in

the many parliamentary elections that are taking place in 2024.

As we celebrate the IPU’s impact, we need to remain lucid in acknowledging the challenges on its way, including

conflicts, political uncertainty, stretched resources and the need for members to be more responsive.

The IPU will continue to address these challenges and mitigate the effects thereof to stay relevant and

resilient as it has been throughout its 135 years of existence.

As we reach the mid-point of the IPU’s 2022-2026 Strategy, I am confident that the IPU, with the strong

support of its members, will continue to empower parliamentarians, both incumbent and new, and the

wider parliamentary family, for democracy, for everyone.

Martin Chungong

Secretary General

March 2024

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

PART 1 Strategic Objectives

PART

Strategic Objective 1:

Building effective and

empowered parliaments

For democracy to function effectively, parliaments and parliamentarians must be able to

perform their functions fully and effectively, including the development of legislation and

budgets, representation of their constituents, and holding the government to account. We

build parliamentary capacity for members of parliament (MPs) and their staff, including by

protecting their rights to perform their mandate without fear of harassment or violence. We

also leverage our rich collection of data, expertise, publications and research to set standards

which empower parliaments.

MP human rights

The IPU’s unique

Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians

consists of

10 parliamentarians, who are elected by their peers for a mandate of five years. The

Committee defends MPs in trouble by raising awareness of their plight and engaging

national authorities.

762

cases examined

by the IPU in 2023.

Senator Leila de Lima from the Philippines was released from prison in 2023 partly thanks to IPU lobbying. © JAM STA ROSA/AFP

The Committee’s work in 2023 led directly to the release of nine

MPs,

although our data also shows that MPs’ human rights

have never been under so much pressure. Overall, the number

of human rights violations against MPs continues to rise, with a

total of 762 cases in 2023, up 38% from 550 in 2020. These

figures probably represent just the tip of an iceberg of many

more cases that go unreported. Most of the violations are

State-sponsored, an indication that democracy may be back-

sliding in some places. More than 80% of the cases involve

opposition MPs, and the most common violations relate to

freedom of expression.

We have had further success in recent years by enlisting the

support of parliaments not currently represented on the

Committee, including Germany’s Bundestag, which launched

a cross-party initiative in July to support MPs around the world

and others at risk of human rights violations.

Meanwhile, 32% of respondents to the IPU’s annual survey

of Members reported having taken specific action following

IPU decisions. This rate has increased from 18% in 2020. In

Greece and the United Kingdom, IPU decisions are routinely

communicated within parliament and to foreign ministries and

other relevant officials.

1. Justin Ndoundangoye from Gabon; Ba Myo Thein, Soe Win (aka) Soe Lay, Win Naing and Kyaw Min Hlaing from Myanmar;

Leila de Lima from Philippines; Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana from Uganda; and Juan Requesens from Venezuela.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

“In 2024, democracy will be put to the test with over

half the world’s population going to the polls. Despite

the dangers they sometimes face, I remain confident

that parliamentary candidates from all walks of life will

run in the elections, determined to improve the lives of

the people they represent”

Tulia Ackson, IPU President

More on engaging with the UN

• The focus was on water at the Annual Parliamentary Hearing,

a joint IPU and UN General Assembly initiative, attended by

250 parliamentarians and staff from more than 60 countries.

• Regional seminars on the role of parliament in accelerating

the SDGs took place for parliaments in the Eastern Europe,

Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean regions

throughout the year.

• In February, the IPU continued its work to mobilize parliaments

in support of children’s rights by co-organizing a workshop with

the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

• The IPU organized side events at the 146th IPU Assembly

in Bahrain on universal health coverage and comprehensive

sexuality education.

• In March, the IPU and UN Women welcomed 75 parliamentarians

to their annual meeting at the UN’s Commission on the Status

of Women. Discussions focused on women’s leadership in

technological innovation, combating technology-facilitated

violence, and enhancing parliaments’ use of technology for

gender equality.

• In April, a delegation from the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians

took part in the United Nations Economic and Social Council

Youth Forum and its side events in New York.

• In June, as part of the year-long initiative to mark the

anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

the IPU and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human

Rights organized a joint parliamentary roundtable on women’s

rights and launched a new version of the CEDAW handbook

for parliamentarians.

• The IPU also worked with the CEDAW Committee on decision-

making equality, including by initiating public discussion in

February and engaging diplomats, MPs and civil society.

• The parliaments of Bahrain, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Germany,

Nicaragua, Slovenia, Philippines and Uruguay actively

engaged in processes such as drafting national reports, debates,

dialogues with the CEDAW Committee and follow-up to

concluding observations.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

Strategic Objective 5:

Strengthening the IPU’s accountability

Transparency, accountability and good governance

are vital features of parliamentary democracies.

They are also critical success factors to ensure that

the IPU achieves its strategic objectives. The IPU

nurtures a culture of mutual accountability at all

levels – among Member Parliaments, between

Member Parliaments and the IPU, and within the

IPU Secretariat, including its offices in Geneva, New

York and Vienna. The IPU’s Working Group on

Transparency, Accountability and Openness

oversees all measures to make the Organization

more transparent. IPU communications are also a

key driver of the success of the IPU overall strategy.

The current process for following up on IPU outcomes is

based on several pillars: an annual reporting exercise, a special

accountability segment at Assemblies, follow-up work by the

IPU’s Standing Committees and other bodies, the IPU’s

programmatic work at both a global and national level, and IPU

communications giving visibility to good parliamentary

practice on its digital and social media platforms.

Of the 45 parliaments scheduled to participate in the reporting

exercise in 2023, some 32 responded, representing a rate of

71%, a considerable improvement on the 22% response rate

in 2022. Some 40% of respondents said that IPU Assemblies

had influenced their national legislation and/or other decisions,

up from 37% in 2022 and 28% in 2021.

Follow-up to IPU initiatives

The IPU places high value on dialogue, but we also encourage

Member Parliaments to follow up on declarations, resolutions

and other IPU initiatives to support democracy, peace and

sustainable development. And in this respect, our Member

Parliaments have been active.

26,500

media mentions

of the IPU

The IPU communications team interview dozens of MPs every year. Here interviewing Mauritius MP Patrick Assirvaden.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

IPU governance

As governance is also about behaviours, in 2023 the IPU

put in place

new policies,

including a

Code of Conduct for

IPU Governance Officials, as well as a Policy to prevent and

address harassment, including sexual harassment, at IPU

Assemblies and other IPU events.

The IPU also initiated

work on the first draft of a sustainability policy for its events

and operations.

In June, the IPU signed an agreement with the Government of

Uruguay on the establishment of the IPU’s first regional office in

Montevideo. The future office will deepen the IPU’s engagement

with parliaments in the Latin America and the Caribbean region

by encouraging inter-parliamentary cooperation and helping

the IPU to implement its global strategy.

“This is an important moment for Uruguay and for

the IPU. For the first time, there will be a regional office,

in the Latin American and Caribbean region. My country

has been on a long journey to defend democracy, human

rights and the rule of law to become the full democracy

that we are proud of today. This gives us a strong

foundation for the future IPU office through which

parliamentarians will be able to meet to strengthen

democracies and parliaments - not only in the region

but beyond.

”

Beatriz Argimón, President of the General Assembly

and the Senate, and Vice-President of Uruguay,

Member of the IPU Executive Committee.

Beatrice Argimón, President of the General Assembly and

the Senate of Uruguay © Parliament of Portugal

Communications and digital transformation

By the end of the second year of the 2022-2026 Communications

Strategy, most indicators were healthy, showing the increasing

visibility, relevance and influence of the IPU.

The main objective of the Communications Strategy is to

enhance the IPU’s position as the global resource for, about

and between parliaments, targeted primarily at the 46,000

MPs around the world as well as the overall ecosystem in

which they operate, including the executive branch, diplo-

matic corps, civil society, media and academia.

In 2023, we stepped up the communication services that we

offer to Member Parliaments by showcasing more good par-

liamentary practice, interviewing dozens of MPs, offering

video-on-demand and livestreaming at big events, supporting

IPU office-holders and leadership on social media, and re-

viewing the model for communication between the

Secretariat and Member Parliaments.

We continue to invest heavily in our digital communications

by keeping our multiple digital and social media platforms up

to date with the latest trends, and populating them with case

studies, stories about MPs and positive, engaging, solutions-

focused content about parliaments.

We have also adapted the Communications Strategy to go

where our target audiences are by concentrating more on

Meta’s platforms (Facebook and Instagram) and LinkedIn.

Despite the ongoing turmoil at X (formerly Twitter) we had

notable successes for the IPU’s climate campaign on and

around 30 June, International Day of Parliamentarism, which

led to 2.7 million impressions (the number of times that an

IPU post appears on a user’s feed) over a seven-day period.

2023 also saw an uptick in our media coverage, from

23,900 mentions in 2022 to 26,500 in 2023, including

top-tier coverage in the New York Times, the Guardian, Le

Temps, Politico, El Universal and the Hindustan Times.

Investments in our MP database are also starting to pay off,

with some 24,000 contacts harvested by the end of 2023,

including all participants in IPU events and new members of

parliamentary chambers following elections.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

PART

In focus

POLICY GOAL 1 – CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change kills people, destroys lives, and disrupts society, envi-

ronment and security all around the world. That is why climate action is

the IPU’s number one priority in the 2022-2026 strategic period. We work

with UN partners such as the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the UN Framework

Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to help parliaments progress with imple-

mentation of the Paris Agreement and other climate agreements. We also support the

acceleration of climate adaptation and efforts to build resilience to climate change and

other environmental issues.

Supporting Benin to protect its environment

When Benin requested support with the management of its chemicals and related waste, the IPU

connected the west African Parliament with experts at the United Nations and organized a training course

for parliamentarians.

Less than a year later, the National Assembly passed Law 2022-36 on the management of chemical

products and their waste, helping to protect the health of Benin’s 13 million people as well as the

wider region.

From fertilizers to the pesticides sprayed on cotton crops, chemicals are widely used in Benin but they

are often applied with little knowledge or understanding of the risks. In one harvest season, pesticides

poisoned 147 people, including 10 who lost their lives.

Baobab tree in a sandstorm in Benin. © Kaksonen/ Biosphoto via AFP

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

Benin’s approach has included ratification of international

agreements – such as the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and

Minamata Conventions – and as part of these commitments,

it wanted to introduce the appropriate laws and regulations.

As a result, Benin’s National Assembly immediately took notice

when the IPU and UNEP issued

a joint policy note

in 2021 to

urge a green recovery from COVID-19. The note outlined five

areas of action, including chemicals and waste management, and

invited parliaments to get in touch if they ever wanted technical

assistance. In 2022, Benin’s National Assembly reached out.

By September 2022, the IPU, UNEP and Benin’s National

Assembly had designed and organized a one-day workshop

for 50 MPs in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city. A UNEP expert

delivered the workshop in person, while other experts attended

virtually. An expert from Burkina Faso shared his insights and

experiences too.

The workshop reviewed the state of chemicals and waste

management in Africa, as well as the main challenges and

issues associated with the subject. It also provided an over-

view of the main international chemical and waste management

processes as well as the appropriate national measures.

Less than a year later, the 109 members of the National

Assembly had developed and voted for the comprehensive

new law, whose 78 articles align closely with the workshop

content. The law sets out the obligations of the State,

professionals and civil society, as well as the rules for

production, marketing, registration, import and export,

packaging, labelling, advertising, disposal and recovery,

tracking and traceability, and more.

This successful outcome shows how the IPU can connect

parliaments to global expertise, enabling them to perform

their functions more effectively, including on top priority envi-

ronmental issues.

POLICY GOAL 2 – DEMOCRACY

AND STRONG PARLIAMENTS

The IPU believes that democracy

is the most effective form of govern-

ance and the best way to translate a

population’s needs, via a legislative/parliamentary

framework into reality. Strong parliaments are

therefore not just the cornerstones of democracy,

they are also essential for development. They

represent the people, pass laws, adopt budgets

and hold governments to account. As the global

organization of parliaments, the IPU helps parlia-

ments to become more effective, accountable,

transparent, responsive, inclusive, participatory

and representative.

Development of the self-assessment toolkit began in 2019,

with the IPU partnering with a host of parliamentary organi-

sations and other important stakeholders. Participating in a

focus group to discuss an early version, a staff member of the

Parliament of Pakistan saw the potential for his country and

proposed a self-assessment. The idea rapidly gained political

support in the Senate.

The self-assessment is based on 25 Indicators, each one with

several criteria. The indicators are grouped into seven targets,

matching the language used in targets 16.6 and 16.7 of the

UN’s sustainable development goals.

The Senate put together a steering committee of three senators,

who worked closely with the Senate’s Secretary General and

with support from the Senate secretariat, including its parlia-

mentary digital development unit (PDU).

With limited time and competing priorities, setting aside

time to complete the work was a struggle for senators and

parliamentary staff. Meanwhile, the requirement to find

evidence for almost 500 criteria made the task even more

complex and challenging.

But three months after the initial decision to self-test, the

process was complete. Comments and feedback had been

incorporated into a single document – including the evidence,

grades and recommendations for change – and submitted to

the Senate Chairman for approval.

Pakistan self-tests the democratic

credentials of its upper house

Democracy is not an easy concept to measure, but when the

IPU and partners produced the

Indicators for Democratic

Parliaments,

several parliaments tested out this self-assess-

ment toolkit, including Pakistan’s upper house, the Senate.

Since independence in 1947 Pakistan’s democratic credentials

have often been under pressure. Despite multiple efforts to

establish democratic systems, the consolidation of democratic

norms and practices has been a challenge. By assessing its own

strengths and weaknesses, the Pakistani Senate generated

14 recommendations for itself to become more effective.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

Parliament House, Islamabad, Pakistan. © Muhammad Reza/Anadolu via AFP

Some Senators said that the true significance of the assess-

ment had revealed itself throughout the process, which

included a thorough review of administrative capacities,

accessibility standards and the working environment, as well

as of the openness, inclusivity and transparency of parliamen-

tary operations.

The Parliament discovered that it was able to call upon its own

parliamentary staff and take ownership of the assessment,

making it a more strategic document that responded to its needs.

Most importantly, the Senate identified the 14 opportunities

below to strengthen the institution, of which at least five

related directly to gender equality:

•

Establishing a Parliamentary Budget Office

•

Establishing a Bureau as the collective governing body

of Parliament, with representation from both houses

•

Strengthening the role of Parliament in the appointment

of Ministers and Cabinet members

•

Strengthening of the role of the Senate with respect to

the Money Bill, with special reference to the role of

Senators in proposing amendments to the Money Bill and

approving the budget

•

Ensuring that Pakistan’s national legal framework is

consistent with international human rights obligations

•

Introducing a constitutional or legal provision related to

conflicts of interest, which would require lawmakers to

declare sponsored travel and accommodation

•

Regulating the practice of lobbying by individuals

or groups, each with varying and specific interests,

which attempt to influence decisions taken at the

legislative level

•

Establishing legal provisions relating to equal physical

and online access to the parliamentary building, its

processes and proceedings, for all citizens, regardless of

disability or other special needs

•

Developing an impact assessment manual, guide or

similar document that establishes procedures and criteria

for assessing the impacts that a proposal for a law, a

programme or a policy might have on different groups,

and potentially entrusting such assessments to a

dedicated body

•

Devising policies and/or plans on gender mainstreaming

and considering the gender lens when formulating

parliamentary policies

•

Holding workshops or dialogue sessions for Senators

and Secretariat staff on bringing gender-responsive

budgeting into the mainstream

•

Periodically assessing gender balance in the Secretariat

in order to ensure the effectiveness of related policies,

particularly at senior levels

•

Amending the Senate’s rules of procedure to enable

Senators and Secretariat staff to care for young children

during the conduct of legislative business, and introducing

online voting and video-conferencing facilities to help

senators and staff with caring responsibilities to exercise

their duties

•

Introducing childcare facilities for Senators and

Secretariat staff

he IPU, in matters of democracy and parliamentary strength-

ening, does not dictate but rather facilitates so that parlia-

ments drive the process, therefore fostering a sense of own-

ership and legitimacy. Pakistan is a case in point.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

POLICY GOAL 3 – HUMAN RIGHTS

IPU data shows that more and

more parliamentarians are facing

abuse, mistreatment or even death

simply for doing their jobs. This is espe-

cially true for opposition MPs, who make up the

large majority of cases, many of which relate to

denials of their freedom of expression. To support

these MPs and even democracy itself, the IPU

defends and promotes the human rights of parlia-

mentarians through its dedicated Committee on the

Human Rights of Parliamentarians.

Visiting an imprisoned MP in Iraq

In August, Members of the IPU Committee travelled to Iraq,

pleading for the swift release of an opposition MP who had

been arrested arbitrarily a decade earlier.

The arrest had happened early one morning in December

2013, when more than 50 security officials arrived at the

home of Ahmed Al-Alwani in the town of Ramadi, west of

Baghdad. Mr. Al-Alwani reportedly offered to surrender, but a

gunfight ensued, killing his brother and seven other people.

In violation of his parliamentary immunity, Mr. Al-Alwani was

arrested without warrant, held incommunicado for a month

and tortured. He was then sentenced to death by hanging.

Aware that the execution could take place any day, the IPU

Committee had expressed its interest in visiting Iraq since the

moment it had been made aware of the case but, for ten

years, violence, political fragility and the COVID-19 pandemic

made such a mission impossible.

Finally, when the pandemic came to an end and the country

became more secure, the IPU was able to identify and contact

key individuals, building trust and setting the scene for a long

overdue visit to Baghdad.

In Geneva, the IPU Secretary General met with the Iraqi

Ambassador. The IPU then made an official request to visit Mr.

Al-Alwani and the Iraqi authorities welcomed the mission.

The team for the three-day trip included the IPU Committee

President at the time, Belgian MP Samuel Cogolati, as well

as Committee member, Pakistani MP and former journalist

Mushahid Hussein, who knows the region well.

The team met with multiple officials, including the President

of Iraq, and the Speaker and members of parliament, together

with Mr. Al-Alwani’s lawyer, tribal chief, brother and son, who

had not seen his father for a decade.

Mr. Mushahid Sayed Hussain (member of the Senate of Pakistan)/

Mr. Ershad Al-Salihi, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the

Parliament of Iraq / Mr. Samuel Cogolati (member of the Federal

Parliament of Belgium, President of the Committee,

The meeting with Mr. Al-Alwani was emotional. He had been

receiving messages from the IPU via his brother, but had

never met any IPU representative, and was candid about his

arrest, the physical abuse and torture he had suffered, as well

as his small cell, confinement and isolation from the outside

world. The conditions of his detention had improved over the

years however, and he was now able to phone his family,

receive visits and even have vital surgery while in detention.

The situation of Mr. Al-Alwani has yet to be resolved, as he

still faces the threat of execution.

But the visit showed that the authorities were keen to resolve

his case, showing good faith at the highest levels. Meanwhile,

the IPU demonstrated its reluctance to give up on longstanding

cases, instead waiting and seizing an opportunity when it

came, even after a decade’s wait. Experience has shown that

a mix of dialogue, steadfastness and patience pays off.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

POLICY GOAL 4 – GENDER

EQUALITY

Although the proportion of women

MPs is growing, most parliaments re-

main male-dominated, and women MPs

are often under-represented in leadership positions.

Even when men and women are represented in equal

numbers, however, they might still face very unequal

treatment or opportunities. Many women MPs still

face discrimination and gender-based violence, for

example. Convinced of the links between gender

equality and strong democracies, the IPU focuses its

work on gender equality on promoting more women

in parliament as well as ensuring that parliaments are

more gender sensitive.

Europe, revealed that some 82.5% of respondents reported

having suffered psychological violence during their time in

office.

The data showed that many women in parliaments felt unsafe,

so the Althingi decided to take a closer look. The parliamentary

authorities looked for lessons learned by other parliaments

and reached out to the IPU for help. IPU Secretary General

Martin Chungong visited the country for the first time in 2018

to lend his support.

In 2020, the Parliament conducted a study on its working en-

vironment for both MPs and staff. The results demonstrated

the need to take steps to address sexual and gender-based

harassment and bullying in the parliamentary premises.

The Althingi first established a committee on gender equality,

comprising MPs and staff, and then began to develop a plan.

The plan includes preventive actions and provides guidelines

on handling cases of sexism and harassment, ensuring that the

complainant has access to advice and support throughout the

procedure. Following an exhaustive and consultative process

with each parliamentary group within the chamber, the Althingi

adopted its new Strategy and Action Plan in May 2023.

In the plan, the Althingi followed many of the recommendations

of the

IPU guidelines on how to develop and implement policies

to end sexism and genderbased violence in parliament.

Implementation is an ongoing project. At the time of writing,

Iceland’s MPs and parliamentary staff can expect further training

courses in 2024, focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.

A follow-up survey is also planned to see what has changed

since the 2020 study and whether Iceland can further

enhance its already impressive gender equality credentials.

Indeed, as the Icelandic case has shown, we cannot afford to

be complacent about democracy and gender equality.

Informing a new strategy against sexism and

harassment in the Parliament of Iceland

Iceland has an excellent record on gender equality, topping

the World Economic Forum’s ranking of most gender equal

country for 14 consecutive years. It was also the first country

to elect a female president, Vigdis Finnbogadóttir, who won

the 1980 presidential election as well as the next three. The

Parliament, the Althingi, almost became the first European

country to elect a female-majority parliament in 2021,

but after a recount narrowly missed the target, with women

winning 30 out of 63 seats.

But gender equality goes further than numbers and rankings:

it requires equal treatment and opportunity too. In 2017 for

example, the #MeToo movement raised awareness around

the world of sexual harassment, assault and abuse against

women in all walks of life, including parliaments.

The

IPU’s 2018 analysis on sexism, harassment and violence

against women in European parliaments,

published in partner-

ship with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

POLICY GOAL 5 – YOUTH

PARTICIPATION

Young people will bear the conse-

quences of today’s decisions more

than anybody else and yet too often

they are excluded from the decision-making pro-

cess. According to IPU data, under 30s represent

less than 3% of all MPs, although some 50% of the

world’s population is younger than 30 years old.

This constitutes a major gap in many of our democ-

racies. For over a decade, the IPU has been support-

ing parliaments to represent all generations more

effectively, while empowering young MPs through

networking, training and motivational campaigns.

The six pledges are to: promote youth quotas, align the age

of eligibility for office with the voting age, support youth channels

in parliament, empower young parliamentarians, mentor

young aspirants, and advocate for youth participation.

Paraguay was an early adopter of the campaign, successfully

passing a new law in 2022 to lower the ages of eligibility for

municipal office and for the role of councillor, thanks to lobby-

ing by two Senators.

Inspired by Paraguay, which had also hosted the IPU Global

Conference of Young Parliamentarians in 2019, Mexican oppo-

sition MP and current President of the IPU Bureau of Women

Parliamentarians, Cynthia López Castro, championed a new

law in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies to lower the age of

eligibility from 21 to 18 years old.

The bill passed two years later after intensive lobbying, media

coverage, advocacy efforts in the country’s schools and

universities, and cross-party support, including from govern-

ment majority MPs, to get the bill across the line.

Looking to the future, the campaign’s advocates say that

its pledges could shape the future of democracy for many

generations to come.

The campaign was also launched in Chile and Uruguay in 2023

and early results are promising.

Mexico picks up the baton from Paraguay

Launched in April 2021, the IPU’s

I Say Yes to Youth in

Parliament!

campaign continued to yield results in 2023.

Inviting parliamentarians and others to sign up for six key

pledges, the campaign aims to correct the significant

under-representation of youth in parliaments. And it appears

to be resonating widely, with the momentum for change

spreading in Latin America too.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

POLICY GOAL 6 – PEACE AND

SECURITY

The IPU has been connecting MPs

since its establishment in 1889,

encouraging them to resolve their

countries’ differences through dialogue

and diplomacy rather than armed conflict. More

recently, the IPU’s 2022-2026 Strategy confirmed

that parliaments are the IPU’s core audience

but that they do not operate in isolation. To have

greater impact, the IPU also needs to connect

parliaments with the wider ecosystem in which

they operate including governments, civil society,

faith-based organizations, and representatives of

religions and beliefs.

Connecting politics and religion to

promote peaceful coexistence

Like some of the parliaments that it serves, the IPU has

traditionally stayed away from directly addressing religion and

belief, although, in the past, they have been incorporated

as a lens through which to examine some of our work, notably

to support parliamentary action to eradicate female

genital mutilation.

But with religious hatred on the rise around the world, and

religious rhetoric used by terrorist groups to entice new

recruits – in the Sahel for example – the IPU is increasingly

concerned by how religion and belief are being misused to

justify political actions.

As a result, and following the requests of its Member

Parliaments, the IPU has recently begun engaging more

directly with issues around religion and belief, appreciating

that parliamentarians and religious and belief leaders alike

can act as a bulwark against the growing spread of hatred,

extremism and violence. While these two groups have

different mandates, they share the goal of serving their com-

munities and working in the best interests of their societies.

With that in mind, the IPU partnered with the Parliament of

Morocco and other partners to organize a three-day

Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue in June. For

the first time at a global level, the meeting connected MPs

with religious and belief leaders, the UN, academia and

civil society to discuss alliances to promote the rule of law,

peaceful coexistence and inclusion.

Hundreds of parliamentarians came from 70 countries to

attend the Morocco meeting, while its outcome document –

the Marrakesh Communiqué

– called for an end to hatred. It

encouraged parliaments to be more mindful and inclusive of

faith and religion when developing national legislation and

international commitments, and in promoting social cohesion.

Religious leaders were invited to the New Zealand Parliament after

The Morocco meeting followed on from other IPU work inter-

secting with religion or belief.

In February, a two-day meeting jointly organized by the IPU

and the Parliament of Algeria focused on terrorism in the

Sahel, looking also at the role of religious, community and

traditional leaders in helping prevent violent extremism.

In March, almost 140 Member Parliament delegations adopted

the

Manama Declaration

at the 146th IPU Assembly in Bahrain,

demanding that parliamentarians outlaw all hate-motivated

acts and forms of violence linked to religion, belief, xenophobia,

racism and intolerance.

And in June, the IPU’s report on

religion and belief considered

ways that religion and belief are institutionally present in the

life and work of parliaments, drawing on survey data and inter-

views with members and staff of 81 national parliaments.

The IPU remains true to its original mission of facilitating

dialogue, often offering less formal channels than other

multilateral organizations, but it has also broadened its reach

to include new and non-State actors.

At the end of the Conference in Marrakesh, the Parliament of

Italy offered to host a subsequent interfaith meeting, inviting

participants to Rome in 2025, a jubilee year for the Catholic

Church with the motto “Pilgrims of Hope”

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 10: Impact Report 2023

POLICY GOAL 7 – SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT GOALS

With only a few years left to imple-

ment the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development and its Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs), it has become increasingly urgent to

mobilize parliaments around the global develop-

ment agenda. Parliaments’ legislative, oversight

and budget responsibilities make them key players

in, for example, reducing social and economic

inequalities, improving the health of the people

they represent, and taking action to reduce the

impacts of climate change.

In 2020, during preparations for Uzbekistan’s voluntary national

review, the SDG Commission was actively involved. It shared

its conclusions with the Oliy Majlis and government, suggesting

changes to legislation, policies and programmes.

In 2022, the country went even further by initiating a UN

General Assembly resolution on the critical role of national

parliaments in bringing the SDGs to life, a historic first. Thanks

to intense lobbying by Uzbekistan, some 80 Member States