• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla led a Parliamentary delegation to the 149th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland which was held from October 13 to 17.

• Addressing the Assembly, Birla highlighted India’s commitment to multilateralism and the importance of parliamentary dialogue in advancing global challenges. 

• He emphasized the need for equitable distribution of the benefits derived from science and technology, advocating for collaborative efforts among Parliaments to achieve inclusive development. 

• Birla said in a multilingual society like India, it is necessary to facilitate parliamentarians to speak in their preferred languages. He highlighted the imperative of using technology/AI for record-keeping, making debates and speeches, and other information available to the people to make Parliament people-friendly.

• The theme of the IPU Assembly was 'Harnessing science, technology and innovation for a more peaceful and sustainable future'.

• At the 149th Assembly, the IPU welcomed back the Parliament of Jamaica as its 181st Member Parliament, bringing the organisation one step closer to universal membership. Jamaica had previously been a member of the IPU from 1983 to 1996.

• The next Assembly will be hosted by Uzbekistan, which has invited all Member Parliaments of the IPU to the 150th Assembly in Tashkent, scheduled for April 5-9, 2025.

Key facts about 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 Frederic 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 181 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. 

• The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers Parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world. 

• It also has 15 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.

• 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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