Geneva (Switzerland) : The Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) will convene its 152nd Assembly in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 15 to 19 April 2026. Hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, at Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center, Istanbul. The overall theme of the event is ‘’Nurturing hope, securing peace and ensuring justice for future generations.’
Against a backdrop of unfolding and ongoing wars, with severe humanitarian consequences, in the Middle East and elsewhere, this statutory Assembly will offer an opportunity to hundreds of lawmakers for parliamentary dialogue and diplomacy to advance peaceful solutions for the people they represent.
Key highlights:
- Meetings of all the IPU’s parliamentary bodies including its four Standing Committees, the Forums of Women and Young Parliamentarians, the Committee on Middle East Questions and the Task Force for the peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine.
- Expected adoption of resolutions on parliaments’ role in establishing robust post-conflict management mechanisms and restoring peace; and in combating protectionism, reducing tariffs and preventing corporate tax avoidance.
- The 50th anniversary of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, a unique mechanism which defends parliamentarians’ rights worldwide.
- Workshops and side events for parliamentarians on empowering people with disabilities, interfaith dialogue, the two-State solution for Palestine, and climate change.
- The election of a new IPU Secretary General to replace Mr. Martin Chungong, whose third term ends on 30 June 2026.
- Adoption of a new IPU Strategy for 2027-2032.
- Nominations open for the 2026 Cremer-Passy Prize, named after the IPU’s founders, to honour a parliamentarian’s exceptional human rights record, in line with the IPU’s priority theme of the year.
IPU President Tulia Ackson and Secretary General Martin Chungong wrote in a communication (dated 12 December, 2025 – A/152/C.1) to all stakeholders:
“Dear Mr. President,
The 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and related meetings will be held at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel and Conference Center, Türkiye, from Wednesday, 15 to Sunday, 19 April 2026.
We are pleased to enclose detailed information on these meetings, including the timetable of the Assembly and the agendas of the IPU statutory bodies. We very much hope that your Parliament will be represented at the 152nd Assembly and that the delegation, under your leadership, will take an active part in the proceedings. We would like to draw your attention to the requirement that those members of your Parliament who hold office in the various bodies of the IPU be included in the delegation.”
INFORMATION ON THE ASSEMBLY:
AGENDA
1. Election of the President of the 152nd Assembly
2. Consideration of requests for the inclusion of an emergency item in the Assembly agenda
3. General Debate
4. Special accountability segment on the implementation of IPU resolutions and other decisions
5. The role of parliaments in establishing robust post-conflict management mechanisms and restoring a just and lasting peace (Standing Committee on Peace and International Security)
6. Building a fair and sustainable global economy: The role of parliaments in combating protectionism, reducing tariffs and preventing corporate tax avoidance (Standing Committee on Sustainable Development)
7. Reports of the Standing Committees
8. Approval of the subject items for the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security and for the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development for the 154th Assembly and appointment of the co-Rapporteurs
TIMETABLE:
The Timetable of the Assembly and related meetings is set out in Annex 1. The Inaugural Ceremony will take place at 18:30 on Wednesday, 15 April 2026.
The Governing Council will convene on 16 and 19 April 2026 and will consider and take decisions on matters relating to the functioning and activities of the IPU. The members of the Governing Council will also elect a new IPU Secretary General, through a secret ballot on Sunday, 19 April 2026. All Member Parliaments are encouraged to make sure they include both men and women in the composition of their delegations — otherwise they will only have one vote in Governing Council (as per Rule 1.2 of the Governing Council Rules: “Each Member Parliament shall be represented on the Governing Council by three parliamentarians, provided that its representation includes both men and women. Single-gender delegations will be limited to one member.”).
The agenda of the 217th session of the IPU Governing Council, and those of the other statutory bodies meeting during the 152nd Assembly, are available in Annex 2.
The Assembly will start its General Debate on 16 April 2026 with the high-level segment reserved for Speakers of Parliament. A concept note on the overall theme of the General Debate will be posted in due course on the Assembly webpage.
An accountability segment will take place during the Assembly plenary on 18 April 2026, when Member Parliaments will have an opportunity to report on their work in follow-up to IPU resolutions and other decisions. The Assembly is expected to complete its business by 18:00 on Sunday, 19 April 2026, with the adoption of resolutions on the emergency item and the subject items taken up by the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security and the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, and of an outcome document on the theme of the General Debate.
EMERGENCY ITEM:
According to Assembly Rule 11.1 and Article 14.2 of the Statutes, any Member Parliament may request the inclusion of an emergency item in the Assembly agenda. The vote on proposals for the emergency item will be held at 17:00 on 17 April 2026. If the Assembly so decides, the emergency item will be debated by the Assembly in the morning of 18 April 2026. Provision has also been made for a drafting committee to meet in the afternoon that same day in order to prepare a draft resolution. The Assembly will then adopt a resolution on 19 April 2026.
All requests for inclusion of an emergency item must relate to a recent major situation of international concern, on which urgent action by the international community is required and on which it is appropriate for the IPU to express its opinion and mobilize a parliamentary response. In order to ensure translation and dissemination, all proposals for an emergency item should be submitted to the IPU Secretariat by 17:00 on 15 April 2026. The proposals should contain a brief explanatory memorandum and a draft resolution, which clearly define the scope of the subject covered by the request.
GOVERNING COUNCIL:
The Governing Council is composed of three members from each parliament represented in the IPU. Each parliament’s representation on the Governing Council must include both men and women. Single-gender delegations will be limited to one member (Governing Council Rule 1.2).
In conformity with Governing Council Rule 12, members of the Council may request the inclusion of supplementary items in the agenda. Such items must fall within the mandate of the Council which, according to Article 20 of the Statutes, determines and guides the activities of the IPU and controls their implementation.
Any requests for the inclusion of supplementary items will immediately be transmitted by the Secretariat to all Governing Council members. After hearing the opinion of the Executive Committee, the Council shall decide on such a request by a simple majority of votes cast if the request is received by the Secretariat at least 15 days before the opening of the session; or otherwise by a two-thirds majority.
STANDING COMMITTEES:
All four Standing Committees will meet during the Assembly. The Standing Committees, among other things, organize debates on issues within their mandate, and adopt resolutions and motions that express the collective position of the IPU and set out actions for follow-up by Member Parliaments.
In order to maximize their contribution to the implementation of the IPU 2022-2026 Strategy, the Standing Committees have decided to give priority to a specific set of “focus areas” (Annex 3). The focus areas will serve as guidance when setting the agenda and workplan for the Standing Committees.
The Standing Committee on Peace and International Security will discuss and adopt a resolution on the subject item The role of parliaments in establishing robust post-conflict management mechanisms and restoring a just and lasting peace, and the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development will discuss and adopt a resolution on the subject item Building a fair and sustainable global economy:
The role of parliaments in combating protectionism, reducing tariffs and preventing corporate tax avoidance. The other two Standing Committees will hold hearings and panel discussions as approved at the 151st IPU Assembly.
PARTICIPATION:
IPU Member Parliaments may appoint a maximum of eight delegates, or 10 for parliaments of countries with a population of 100 million inhabitants or more (Article 10.2 of the Statutes). The number of additional MPs accompanying delegations as Advisers must not exceed two.
Member Parliaments are kindly reminded that IPU office-holders should be included in delegations to the Assembly. The list of current office-holders is available on the IPU website here. Confirmation of registration may be delayed for those delegations that fail to include office-holders.
In keeping with Article 10.3 of the Statutes, Member Parliaments “…may register one additional delegate if at least one young parliamentarian (below 40 years of age) is part of the delegation, on condition that the delegation is composed of both sexes and the Member Parliament is not in arrears in the payment of its assessed contributions”. This provision was adopted by Member Parliaments as a means of reaching a target of 25% of delegates at Assemblies being young MPs. Unfortunately, at the last two IPU Assemblies, this target was not met. Member Parliaments are therefore encouraged to ensure that one young parliamentarian below the age of 40 is included in their delegation but ideally also to consider including more than one young parliamentarian.
All Member Parliaments are also encouraged to strive for gender parity and political balance in the composition of their delegations and to include parliamentarians with disabilities and parliamentarians representing vulnerable groups. In accordance with Article 10.4 of the Statutes, any delegation which, for two consecutive sessions of the Assembly, is composed exclusively of parliamentarians of the same sex shall automatically be reduced by one person. All Member Parliaments are encouraged to have both women and men members of their delegation attend the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, in line with the objective of the Forum to raise awareness and promote engagement among men on gender equality issues.
Geopolitical groups are kindly requested to schedule their meetings on 14 April 2026, or at any time on 15 April 2026 which does not conflict with the sittings of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians.
IPU Member Parliaments whose arrears equal or exceed the amount of the contributions due from them for the preceding two full years shall not be represented by more than two delegates at meetings of the IPU (Article 5.2 of the Statutes), nor shall they be entitled to vote.
Associate Members may participate in the Assembly and its Standing Committees with the same rights as Member Parliaments, with the exception of the right to vote and to present candidates for elective office.
International organizations and other bodies invited by the Governing Council to be represented at the Assembly as permanent observers shall be entitled to register a maximum of two delegates.
VACANCIES TO BE FILLED DURING THE 152nd ASSEMBLY:
A list of vacancies for IPU bodies will be circulated to Member Parliaments and posted on the IPU website prior to the opening of the Assembly.
Member Parliaments are invited to consider submitting candidatures for the committees and other bodies of the IPU (see here) bearing in mind the gender balance requirements of the bodies concerned, as provided for in the IPU Statutes and Rules. Candidates should have expertise, as far as possible, in the areas of work of the given bodies, and should be supported by their respective parliament in carrying out their functions as IPU office-holders. Member Parliaments not currently holding IPU offices are particularly encouraged to submit candidatures.
PREPARATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS AND SELECTION OF AGENDA ITEMS:
The deadlines pertaining to the preparation of the resolutions for the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security and the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development are as follows: Mid-January 2026 Expected publication of the draft resolutions and explanatory memorandums.
20 March 2026 Deadline for Member Parliaments to submit proposals for amendments to the draft resolutions.
15-19 April 2026 152nd IPU Assembly Finalization and adoption of the resolutions –
All Member Parliaments may contribute to the drafting of resolutions by submitting a brief written input (Standing Committee Rule 13.1). They are also encouraged to submit input for the draft resolution to be adopted at the 153rd IPU Assembly (October/November 2026) by the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights on Inclusive social development for all: Parliamentary strategies to promote the rights and empowerment of people living with disabilities. Written input on this draft resolution is welcome until 30 April 2026.
In accordance with the Rules of the Standing Committees, proposals for subject items should be submitted up to one day prior to the meeting of the respective Standing Committee Bureau. As such, Member Parliaments wishing to do so should submit to the IPU Secretariat their proposals for the subject items to be taken up by the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security and the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development by 17 April 2026.
These will serve as the basis for consultations by the Standing Committee Bureaux before a final decision is taken by the above-mentioned Standing Committees.
GENERAL DEBATE (Item 3 of the agenda):
In keeping with Assembly Rule 22.1, two representatives of each delegation may speak during the General Debate. In this case, they shall share the speaking time as they deem fit. An additional MP from each delegation may address the General Debate, provided he/she is a young parliamentarian (below 40 years of age).
As per usual practice, in order to take the floor in the General Debate, Member Parliaments may register on the spot at the speakers’ registration desk outside the Plenary Hall. Member Parliaments may also register their speaker(s) in advance through the online registration system, which will open on 26 January 2026. Speaking time will be determined based on the number of registered speakers and the following general guidelines:
List A – High-level segment (Presiding Officers) 7 minutes
List B- First speakers from delegations 6 minutes for IPU Member Parliaments and Associate Members 3 minutes for permanent observers
List C – Second speakers from delegations Time remaining (up to a total of 7 minutes for two speakers)
List D – Young parliamentarians 2 minutes (below 40 years of age)
The order of speakers will be determined by a public drawing of lots at 17:00 on 15 April 2026. The Steering Committee may decide, in view of the number of registered speakers, to reduce the allotted speaking time.
VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE ASSEMBLY:
According to Assembly Rule 7.3, all delegations from Member Parliaments are entitled to designate one of their members as a Vice-President of the Assembly. Some of the Vice-Presidents may be called upon to replace the President of the Assembly during a sitting or part of a sitting.
Delegations are invited to indicate the name of the parliamentarian nominated as a Vice-President of the Assembly prior to the event by email (documents@ipu.org). Alternatively, names may be communicated to the Documents Control Service at the Conference Centre by 12:00 noon on 16 April 2026.
ALLOCATION OF VOTES:
A provisional table showing the votes allocated to delegations to the 152nd Assembly will be made available on the Assembly webpage.
Member Parliaments are kindly requested to check the figures against their country name and, if necessary, inform the IPU Secretariat in writing of any modifications required, preferably ahead of the Assembly. The final table showing the allocation of votes at the Assembly will be distributed at the opening of the session.
LANGUAGES, SPEECHES AND DOCUMENTATION:
The IPU Secretariat will provide simultaneous interpretation in the IPU Assembly’s working languages (Arabic, English, French and Spanish) at the meetings of all statutory bodies.
Four other interpretation booths have been reserved for Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian at sittings of the Assembly and the Governing Council. For all other meetings, remote simultaneous interpretation language channels will be provided via Zoom. For delegations requiring booths or language channels not covered by the IPU Assembly’s working languages, requests will be managed through an online form that will open on 26 January 2026 and will close on 20 March 2026. As the number of available booths and language channels are limited, requests will be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis. All related costs must be borne by the requesting party and settled by 31 March 2026.
Any parliament wishing to have a channel for meetings serviced by remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) should ensure that their interpreters have the necessary equipment to work onsite or remotely, and are fully trained in the use of this cloud-based platform. The IPU Conference Services team (conf.services@ipu.org) will be pleased to provide more information, where needed.
In order to assist the work of the interpreters, delegations are encouraged to send written copies of all speeches, clearly stating the name of the speaker and the meeting at which the speech will be delivered, to speeches@ipu.org, as early as possible and before speeches are delivered. Only official statements delivered in the General Debate sent to this address will be published on the Assembly webpage as part of the official records of the Assembly. Due to technical limitations, only speeches in English, French and Spanish will be posted.
In keeping with the decision by the IPU Governing Council to reduce the carbon footprint of the Organization and continue to curb paper waste, only a very limited number of documentation sets will be printed for the various sittings of the Assembly.
ASSEMBLY APP :
The 152nd Assembly App will be available for download free of charge in early April 2026. The App is intended to allow the online consultation of official IPU documents as part of the IPU’s paper smart policy and to facilitate delegates’ participation in IPU Assemblies.
RESULTS OF THE ASSEMBLY:
After the close of the Assembly, all delegations will receive one printed copy of the Results of the 152nd Assembly. The document will be published on the IPU website in PDF format.
REGISTRATION:
The Assembly Registration form will open on 26 January 2026. All delegations are requested to respect the registration deadline of 27 March 2026 and should use the IPU online registration system. An information note on how to use the registration system will be made available on the Assembly webpage.
DELEGATES’ STAY IN ISTANBUL:
For all logistical matters relating to delegates’ stay in Istanbul, delegations are invited to refer to the website set up by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye for the 152nd Assembly, at www.ipu152.tr.
The General Information document, to be sent with the official Invitation from the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, contains details on delegates’ stay in Istanbul. Requests for hotel reservations should be made as soon as possible. Delegations are reminded that, in keeping with IPU practice, the costs of international travel and hotel accommodation are to be borne by their respective institutions.
All delegates should also have international health insurance when travelling abroad.
Additional information and assistance can be readily obtained from the 152nd Assembly Secretariat of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye at:
Telephone: +90 312 42076 26
E-mail: ipu152@tbmm.gov.tr
Website: www.ipu152.tr
