International Day of Parliamentarism

(A/RES/72/278)

The International Day of Parliamentarism is celebrated every year on 30 June, the date in 1889 on which the IPU was founded. The Day was established in 2018 through a United Nations General Assembly Resolution.

Instituting an international day for parliaments is particularly important at this critical time for parliamentary democracy, when people are losing trust in political institutions and democracy itself is facing challenges from populist and nationalist movements. If democracy is to thrive, then parliaments, as the cornerstone of functioning democracies, need to be strong, transparent, accountable and representative.

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.

The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/72/278, recognized the role of parliaments in national plans and strategies and in ensuring greater transparency and accountability at national and global levels.

What parliaments do
Strong parliaments are a cornerstone of democracy. They 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. They play a vital role in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has been working closely with them to help build their capacity in doing so.

In countries emerging from conflict, robust parliaments can help make possible a peaceful transition to a functioning democracy by healing divisions in society through dialogue and cooperation.

Parliaments and the United Nations
Member States have encouraged the growing involvement of parliamentarians and parliamentary organizations in the work of the United Nations. Parliamentary organizations play a leading role in promoting the engagement of parliaments in United Nations processes and activities. Indeed, there is a recognition that when parliamentarians communicate their concerns and aspirations to the United Nations, the Organization is empowered to work more closely with the people of the world.

The IPU, as the world organization of parliaments, connects national parliaments in order to promote greater transparency, accountability and participation at the global level. Along with other parliamentary organizations, IPU engages with the United Nations on activities that cover a broad range of issues, including peace and security, human rights and sustainable development.

Parliaments and the SDGs
Parliaments and parliamentary organizations played an active role throughout the negotiations on the post-2015 development framework, advocating strongly, for instance, for the inclusion of goals related to democratic governance. Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.

The IPU and partners have published a radically new approach to measuring parliamentary progress with the launch of a preliminary version of indicators that will allow parliaments to give themselves a health check.

The Indicators for Democratic Parliaments Based on SDG Targets 16.6 and 16.7 provide parliaments with a self-assessment tool that allows them to assess their democratic structure, operations, and activities against set criteria in order to build more resilient, effective, and independent institutions.

Did you know?
Every country in the world has some form of representative government.
Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral (with two chambers of parliament) and unicameral (with one chamber).
Out of 193 countries, 79 are bicameral and 114 are unicameral, making a total of 272 chambers of parliament with over 46,000 members of parliament.
26.2% of the world's members of parliament are women.
Individuals aged 20-39 make up 38.6% of the world’s population - yet only 17.5% of MPs are under 40.