The UN observes International Day of Parliamentarism on June 30. It commemorates the day on which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was founded in 1889. 

The Day was established in 2018 through a United Nations General Assembly Resolution.

The International Day of Parliamentarism is a time to review the progress that parliaments have made in achieving some key goals to be more representative and move with the times, including carrying out self-assessments, working to include more women and young MPs, and adapting to new technologies.

Role of parliaments

• If democracy is to thrive, then parliaments, as the cornerstone of functioning democracies, need to be strong, transparent, accountable and representative.

• Parliaments represent the voice of the people, pass laws, allocate funds to implement laws and policies, and hold governments to account. They work to make sure that policies benefit all people, especially the most vulnerable.

• Parliaments also link international and national agendas, ensuring that governments implement international treaties and agreements that they sign up to.

• Every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of the UN member states, 79 are bicameral and 114 unicameral, making a total of 272 chambers of parliament with over 46,000 members of parliament.

• India is a bicameral legislature with two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People).

• The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution, recognised the role of parliaments in national plans and strategies and in ensuring greater transparency and accountability at national and global levels.

What is the purpose of the Inter-Parliamentary Union?

• The Inter-Parliamentary Union is a global organisation of national parliaments.

• The IPU was created in 1889, in an era when there were no established means for governments or parliaments to work together internationally. William Randal Cremer from England and Frédéric Passy from France set up an association of MPs which has been transformed into the thriving global organisation of today.

• The slogan of IPU is “For democracy. For everyone.”

• The IPU is inching ever closer to universal membership, with 179 Member Parliaments out of the 193 countries in the world – from huge nations like China, India and Indonesia, to the tiny States of Cabo Verde, San Marino and Palau. 

• Its Members represent more than 6.5 billion of the world’s 7 billion people.

• It also has 13 Associate Members – mostly parliaments drawn from groups of nations, or similar bodies. They include the Arab Parliament, the European Parliament and other parliamentary organisations in Africa and the Americas.

• IPU is financed primarily by members out of public funds. 

• The headquarters of IPU is in Geneva, Switzerland.

• Duarte Pacheco of Portugal is president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) for the period 2020-2023. 

• India’s Najma Heptulla was the IPU president for the period 1999-2002. She was the first woman to be elected as president of the IPU.

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