A delegation from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and Legislators from across the Commonwealth attended the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 5 to 9 April 2025.

The IPU Assembly saw the launch of a joint report by IPU, CPA, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network (CWP) and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) that examined the nature of sexism, harassment and violence against women in Parliaments across several CPA Regions (Asia, South-East Asia, Australia and Pacific Regions).

The report was first launched at the IPU Asia-Pacific Group, and the again as part of a special segment session on gender equality at the Plenary session. Find out more about the report and its findings. 

CPA Deputy Secretary-General, Jarvis Matiya said: 

“According to the study, 63% of women parliamentary staff in Asia-Pacific Parliaments have experienced psychological violence and 36% have been sexually harassed at work. We are very concerned as the study identifies Parliament as the primary environment where women Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff experience sexual harassment and sexist behaviour. 

We must create conditions where every woman in Parliament feels supported, safe and empowered to lead and participate – free from gender-based violence. Strict zero-tolerance policies on violence against women in Parliaments must be implemented for all individuals involved in the parliamentary world.” 

At the IPU Assembly, Members welcomed the National Assembly of Belize as the IPU’s 182nd Member Parliament. The IPU’s membership comprises 182 out of the 193 national Parliaments in the world.

Hon. Valerie Woods, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Belize and Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches network, said:

“We look forward to beginning a fruitful exchange of knowledge and experience with fellow Member Parliaments. The IPU aligns with Belize’s collective international efforts to advance democracy, foster transparency and promote best practices in governance.” 

During the IPU Assembly week, Speakers and Members of Parliament debated a number of key themes including the main topic of ‘Parliamentary action for social development and justice’. Delegates were welcomed by the IPU President, Hon. Dr Tulia Ackson, Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania and the IPU Secretary-General, Martin Chungong.

The CPA held a side event at the IPU Assembly attended by the Speakers of the Parliaments of Zambia, Guyana and Barbados, and Members of Parliament from Zambia and Malaysia.

At the meeting, the CPA Deputy Secretary-General gave an update on the CPA’s recent change of Status to an International Inter-Parliamentary Organisation. The Speaker of the Parliament of Barbados, Hon. Arthur Holder, MP, provided an update on the upcoming 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), due to take place in Bridgetown, Barbados in October 2025. CWP Coordinator and CPA Programmes Manager, Benite Dibateza also gave an update on upcoming activities for the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network, including the CWP Workshop in The Bahamas at the end of April and the election of the next CWP Chairperson due at the 68th CPC later in the year. 

This year at the IPU Assembly, the Forum of Women Parliamentarians celebrated its 40th anniversary with a panel discussion on ‘Women Shaping Politics – Women’s Global Networking’. The panel reflected on the role and power of women’s networks and explored strategies to strengthen their influence for gender equality, women’s rights and empowerment. The Co-Chair of the New Zealand Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), Hon. Dana Kirkpatrick, MP presented on the panel. She said: 

“The exchange of best practices, peer-to-peer learning and collaboration with organisations, including the intergovernmental community are fundamental to achieving CWP’s mission. The sharing of ideas and experiences leads to innovation and can increase Parliamentarians’ capacity to provide solutions to advance gender equality. In a few weeks, CWP will deliver its annual workshop in collaboration with the Parliament of The Bahamas which will address the role of Parliamentarians as drivers of women's economic empowerment.” 

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The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organisation of national Parliaments. It was founded in 1889 as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 181 national Member Parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes peace, democracy and sustainable development. It helps Parliaments become stronger, younger, greener, more innovative and gender-balanced. It also defends the human rights of Parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world. Visit www.ipu.org for more information. 

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is an international community of 180 Parliaments at national, state, provincial and territorial level working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network within the CPA represents over 6,000 Women Parliamentarians and campaigns to increase the number of women elected representatives in Legislatures and helps Parliaments to become gender-sensitive institutions. Visit www.cpahq.org for further information.