The United Nations (UN) International Day of Parliamentarism (also known as World Parliament Day) is annually observed across the globe on 30 June to raise awareness of Parliaments globally, and their contribution to serving as the foundation of democracies.
- This Day marks the anniversary of the foundation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the 1st political multilateral organisation in the world, in 1889 in Paris, France.
- The 2024 observance aims to communicate with the 148th IPU Assembly’s final declaration, “Geneva Declaration: Parliamentary diplomacy: Building bridges for peace and understanding.”
30 June 2024 marks the 135th anniversary of the IPU.
Significance:
International Day of Parliamentarism is a time to review the progress of parliaments in areas such as:
- To be more representative of the people they serve;
- Efforts to include more women and young Members of Parliament (MPs);
- Adapting to new technologies and conducting self-assessments.
Background:
i.On 22 May 2018, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/72/278, proclaiming the 30 June of each year the International Day of Parliamentarism.
ii.The 1st ever International Day of Parliamentarism was observed on 30 June 2018.
History of IPU:
i.On 30 June 1889, visionary parliamentarians Frédéric Passy of France and William Randall Cremer of the United Kingdom (UK) brought together MPs from 9 countries in the 1st inter-parliamentary conference in Paris, France.
- The 9 countries were Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Liberia, Spain, the UK, and the United States of America (USA).
ii.The Inter-Parliamentary Conference was the precursor to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the global organization of national parliaments.
iii.The IPU was instrumental in setting up the:
- Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague (the Netherlands) in 1899; and
- Helped to lay the foundations for creating the League of Nations in 1919 and the UN in 1945.
iv.Now, the IPU is the parliament of parliaments, comprised of 180 national parliaments, and is open to all 46,000 parliamentarians globally.
v.The 148th Assembly of the IPU held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 23-27 March 2024.
Global Parliamentary Report:
The Global Parliamentary Report (GPR) is jointly produced by IPU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and draws on input from parliaments worldwide.
- The third GPR released in 2022 which examines public engagement in the work of parliament.
- The information, findings and recommendations in this report set out a road map for enhanced public engagement by parliaments and parliamentarians, working collaboratively with the community to achieve participatory, inclusive and responsive parliaments.
Key Facts:
i.Every country in the world has some form of representative government.
ii.Parliamentary systems fall into 2 categories: bicameral (with 2 chambers of parliament) and unicameral (with 1 chamber).
iii.Out of 190 countries, 78 are bicameral and 112 are unicameral, totaling 268 chambers of parliament with over 44,000 MPs.
iv.26.9% of the world’s MPs are women. Less than 3% of MPs globally are under 30 years old, even though about half the world’s population is under 30.
Note: The Parliament of India (or Sansad) is the federal and supreme legislative body of India. It consists of two houses – the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
About the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU):
President– Dr. Tulia Ackson
Secretary General– Martin Chungong
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Members– 180 Member Parliaments; 15 Associate Members
Slogan– For Democracy. For everyone
