Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS Member Nations Celebrates its 33rd Birthday

On 27 March 1992, the Agreement on the Establishment of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS was signed in Alma-Ata. This date is considered the organization’s founding date.

Currently, over 230 parliamentarians from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan participate in the IPA CIS’s work. All delegations to the Assembly possess equal rights, and decisions are made only on the basis of consensus. Throughout its existence, the IPA CIS has provided parliamentary diplomacy experience to over 3,000 deputies and senators from the Commonwealth countries.

The development of democracy and respect for the rights of citizens in the Commonwealth states has always been a central focus of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS. Since 1994, representatives from the IPA CIS have conducted 160 monitoring campaigns during elections and referendums. To further this work, the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) was established within the IPA’s structure 19 years ago, breaking the previously existing monopoly on assessments of the democratic nature of elections in sovereign states.

The Assembly has adopted 705 model laws, recommendations, and other documents. These are advisory in nature - parliaments use the documents when preparing national laws.

The IPA CIS has served as the platform for the establishment of several prominent congress events. These include the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Nevsky International Ecological Congress, the Eurasian Women’s Forum, the International Forum ”Commonwealth of Fashion”, and the International Forum ”Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories.”

The Assembly's upcoming 58th Plenary Session will be held as part of the Spring Session, scheduled for April 17-18. The program for these days also includes meetings of the Permanent Commissions; a meeting of the IPA CIS Council with the participation of heads of the parliaments; a conference on “Legislative regulation of measures to counter the use of artificial intelligence and other new technologies for terrorist activities”(organized in conjunction with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and the International Committee of the Red Cross); and a ceremonial session of the IPA CIS dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of Victory.

.“Over these years, the IPA CIS has become a crucial platform for strengthening interstate cooperation, developing parliamentarianism, and harmonizing legislation within the Commonwealth countries,” stated Speaker of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan Faizali Idizoda, , in a congratulatory message addressed to Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council and Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko.