IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.ipu.org/english/news.htm

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Countdown to global Speakers’ Conference
23 JULY 2015
Preparations are in full swing for the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 31 August-2 September. The Conference, which will focus on placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development and building the world the people want, is part of a series of high-level meetings leading up to the UN Summit in September and the adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals…

Major research project on parliamentary oversight set to start
23 JULY 2015
The vital role parliaments play in holding governments to account will be the focus of the second Global Parliamentary Report, a major research project led by IPU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The report will explore the many different forms the role of parliamentary oversight takes, and whether parliaments have access to the information, tools and strategies they need to carry it out effectively. It will also investigate the central role of MPs, and ways to ensure they are fully engaged in the process, as well as the relationship which effective oversight has with gender equality and the representation of minorities in parliament…

World’s women Speakers seek gender balance progress
23 JULY 2015
Female Speakers from around the world will discuss how parliaments can empower and support women and promote gender equality, when they gather for the 10th Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament. Delegates at the meeting in New York on 29-30 August will search for innovative ways to speed up the process of achieving gender equality.

Kenya team proposes women’s quotas
23 JULY 2015
An IPU mission to Kenya has recommended the introduction of formal mechanisms to ensure the country meets the constitutional requirement for at least one third of its MPs to be women. Current figures are only 19 per cent in the lower house and 26 per cent in the upper house…

IPU President urges parliamentary reforms to enable SDG implementation
23 JULY 2015
IPU President Saber Chowdhury has highlighted the need for parliamentary reforms to enable the future Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets to be integrated into a coherent policy framework in each country as well as globally…

Malaysia’s Anwar receives hospital care after IPU call
23 JULY 2015
IPU has welcomed the news that jailed former Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been sent for hospital treatment, less than a week after an IPU human rights team called for him to receive prompt medical care as and when needed…

Parliamentary support principles online in four languages
23 JULY 2015
Guidelines setting out how to provide support to national parliaments have been published online in Arabic, adding to the English, French and Spanish online versions. The Common Principles for Support to Parliament were adopted by IPU members last October, distilling more than 40 years of experience into a single, accessible document. The principles stress that parliaments must play a central role in their own development, and set out examples of good practice and ways to ensure more effective cooperation between parliaments and their partners, including those from the UN system. A total of 64 national parliaments, three parliamentary assemblies and 14 partner organizations have already formally endorsed (PDF) the Common Principles…

Rwanda agreement will improve sexual and reproductive health services
23 JULY 2015
An agreement between Rwanda and IPU has opened the way for new measures and activities to promote sexual and reproductive health, especially among adolescents. The agreement focuses on making parliament better equipped to pass relevant legislation, developing strategies for it to engage fully in the budget process to ensure funding is in place, and promoting statistics systems to accurately measure ongoing progress on maternal, newborn and child health…