Geneva, 4th March 2016
 
 An increase in the number of women Speakers of Parliament during 2015  and some regional successes were among the few highlights in what
 proved to be yet another disappointing year for women¹s participation  in parliament, says the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
 
 IPU¹s ³Women in Parliament 2015: the Year in Review² released ahead of  International Women¹s Day on 8 March, showed that for the second year

Lusaka/Geneva, March 2016
 
 Having strongly condemned the terror attacks in Brussels as a brutal  assault on democracy and core human values, the Inter-Parliamentary
 Union (IPU) has today called for a wide range of actions to counter  the growing global threat of terrorism.
 
 In a resolution on peace and international security adopted at the  conclusion of the 134th Assembly in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, IPU
 Members proposed a multi-faceted approach to dismantling terrorist  networks, combatting hatred, and counteracting terrorist propaganda.

Lusaka/Geneva, 18 March 2016
 
 More than 130 young Members of Parliament (MPs) from across the world  committed to enhancing transparency and oversight of public finances
 as a cornerstone of their fight against corruption at the conclusion  of a global conference in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
 
 The MPs, attending the 3rd IPU Global Conference of Young  Parliamentarians (#youngMPs), set their sights on increased public

 As Commonwealth Secretary-General it has been my privilege in the past  eight years to visit every one of our 53 member states. I have seen
 the attraction of the Commonwealth connection: the exceptional regard  that it enjoys, and the sense of kinship and affinity that informs it.
 There is a bond within the Commonwealth that sets us apart.
 
 Partnership based on shared Commonwealth values and principles,  especially mutual respect, is treasured. The Commonwealth sets a high

Geneva,
 
 Members of Parliament (MPs) from across the world will seek to address  the critical question of how to rejuvenate democracy at a time of
 falling public confidence in the institutions of democracy when they  meet at a global conference in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, later this week.
 
 Low levels of trust and disenchantment, particularly among young  people, are in contrast to a growing aspiration among people globally
 to be governed democratically.

Following an invitation by the Electoral Commission of Seychelles, the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), constituted an Election Observation Mission to observe the First Round 2015 Seychelles Presidential Elections which took place on 3, 4 and 5 December 2015. The Mission has been in Seychelles since 28 November 2015 and is composed of Members of Parliament from SADC Parliaments and officials from SADC PF Secretariat.

Declaration of the meeting by FP-ICGLR, the sixth Ordninary Session held in Luanda, Angola from 1st to December, 2015.

Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Rt. Hon Justice, Dr Patrick Matibini, SC, MP this afternoon, Sunday 18^th October 2015, addressed the 133^rd IPU Assembly and reiterated the need for development of fair and sustainable labour migration policies and practices

The Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Rt Hon. Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, MP, and Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament, officially opened the 61st CPA General Assembly at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Battersea, London, United Kingdom, on Monday 5th October, 2015.

The Commonwealth has urged the international community to “seize the opportunity” to end extreme poverty at a landmark conference on development finance in Ethiopia.
Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Deodat Maharaj addressed the plenary session of the International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa on 16 July 2015 with a call for a global framework that is “inclusive, transformative and universal”.