It is historical, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the oldest international political organization in the world and it is located in the "Maison des Parlements" at Grand Saconnex, Geneva, since 1921. And it will be 135 years old the 30th of June 2024. IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong talks in this interview to geneveMonde.ch about the founding fathers of the IPU, the challenges facing the Geneva-based organization in the face of the various wars taking place around the world, gender equality in parliamentary activity, women's rights and violence such as terrorism, female circumcision and human trafficking, and the protection of parliamentarians in precarious positions in certain countries. We also report on concrete cases of intervention or advice to IPU partner members when governments act against the people's representatives.

History of the IPU

The IPU was established in 1889, during a period lacking formal mechanisms for international cooperation among governments and parliaments. This pioneering effort was spearheaded by two visionary men: William Randal Cremer from England and Frédéric Passy from France. Despite their vastly different social backgrounds, they shared a commitment to resolving international disputes through peaceful arbitration. Their relentless advocacy for peace earned them both the Nobel Peace Prize, along with several other prominent IPU members.

Their initiative led to the creation of the world’s first permanent international political organization, laying the groundwork for today’s multilateral cooperation. The IPU was crucial in establishing the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 1899 and played a significant role in the formation of the League of Nations in 1919 and the United Nations in 1945.

Cremer and Passy

The concept of uniting MPs from different countries gained traction among pacifists in the 1870s and 1880s, but it was not until 1889 that this idea was actualized. Cremer, born into poverty and later becoming an MP in 1885, and Passy, a respected economist from a wealthy family, initially worked separately to promote international arbitration. Their collaboration began when Cremer proposed an arbitration treaty with the United States and, despite Congress rejecting it, it garnered substantial support for arbitration. Concurrently, Passy advocated for his government to use mediation for resolving conflicts.

Their joint efforts led to a historic meeting at the Grand Hotel in Paris on October 31, 1888, attended by nine British and 25 French MPs. Despite the low attendance, this meeting set the stage for regular international conferences. The first significant conference took place in June 1889 in Paris, with broader international participation, marking the official birth of the IPU. Passy was elected President, and Cremer Vice-President.

In 1892, the IPU established its headquarters in Bern, Switzerland. Cremer’s initiatives brought in Christian Lange as the first professional Secretary General in 1909, with financial stability provided by Andrew Carnegie. The organization adopted its current name, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in 1899.

Promote contacts between parliementarians of the world

135 years after its creation, the IPU is the parliament of parliaments: an international organization made up of 180 national parliaments and open to all the world's 46,000 parliamentarians.

Martin Chungong is the Secretary General of an organization that has to promote contacts, coordination and exchange of experience between parliaments and parliamentarians of all countries, to examine and speak out on issues of international concern, with a view to encouraging action by parliaments and parliamentarians; these issues concern peace and security, sustainable development, women in politics, education, science and culture, to contribute to the defense and promotion of human rights - an essential factor in parliamentary democracy and development - and humanitarian law, and in particular to the protection of the human rights of parliamentarians; to contribute to a better understanding of the workings of representative institutions, and to the strengthening and development of their means of action. The IPU also works on climate action and youth empowerment.

Interview by David Glaser

Check our special gallery on the IPU here.

Photo : Secretary general Martin Chungong welcomes Alen Simonyan (Armenia) and Sahiba Gafarova (Azerbaijan) to the IPU on the eve of the IPU’s 148th Assembly, which took place from 23-27 March in Geneva. Martin Chungong offered the IPU’s good offices to high level parliamentary delegations from Armenia and Azerbaijan to contribute at the parliamentary level to governmental peace negotiations. (copyright IPU).

Special thanks to Thomas Fitzsimons and Serguei Tchelnokov