At the 149th IPU Assembly in Geneva, the IPU welcomed back the Parliament of Jamaica as its 181st Member Parliament, bringing the Organization one step closer to universal membership.
Jamaica had previously been a member of the IPU from 1983 to 1996.
President of the Senate, Mr. Thomas Tavares-Finson, said: “We are convinced that renewing our affiliation with the IPU will not only result in greater access to IPU resources, but also allow our Parliament to make an even greater contribution to the landscape of inter-parliamentary cooperation.”
The Parliament of Jamaica consists of:
The House of Representatives, with 63 directly elected members, of which women make up 27.4%, slightly above the global average of 27%.
The Senate, with 21 appointed members, of which women comprise 38.1%.
The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded more than 130 years ago 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 democracy and helps parliaments develop into stronger, younger, greener, more gender-balanced and more innovative institutions. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world.
Source: IPU
