CIS Member Nations Celebrate 32nd birthday of IPA CIS

On 27 March 1992, in Almaty, Speakers of the Parliaments of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan signed an Agreement on the establishment of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly.

The first plenary meeting of the new organization was held on 15 September 1992 in Bishkek. The participants raised the issue of the permanent residence of the IPA CIS. During the exchange of views, it was decided to locate the organization in St. Petersburg. The Tavricheskiy Palace became the headquarters of the Assembly.

The IPA CIS has been the main platform for Commonwealth MPs to discuss political, socio-economic, humanitarian and security issues in the region for 32 years.

One of the main tasks of the IPA CIS remains the development of recommendatory legislative acts for use in the national legislations of the participating countries. From 1992 to 2023, the IPA CIS held 56 plenary sessions, at which 684 model normative legal acts, recommendations and other documents were adopted.

The legislative work plan of the Assembly for 2023-2025 provides for the development of 139 new model documents. It covers all areas of activity of the Permanent Commissions of the IPA CIS, including:

• in the field of economics and finance — 26 projects,
• in the field of social policy and human rights — 26 projects,
• in the field of agrarian policy, ecology and  natural resources — 14 projects,
• in the legal sphere — 19 projects,
• in the field of defense and security — 16 projects,
• in the humanitarian sphere — 12 projects,
• in the field of science and education — 13 projects,
• in the field of state-building — 13 projects.

The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly has always focused on the development of democracy and respect for the rights of citizens of the Commonwealth countries. Since 1994, representatives from the IPA CIS have conducted 158 monitoring campaigns in elections and referendums. To develop this work, a special International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) was established in the structure of  IPA CIS 18 years ago, with the advent of which the previously existing monopoly on assessing the democratic character of elections in sovereign states was destroyed.

In just 32 years, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly has held more than 450 international scientific and representative events.

This year it is planned to hold: the International Cultural and Educational Forum ”Children of the Commonwealth“ (25 June-4 July), the IV Eurasian Women's Forum (18-20 September), the International Forum ”Commonwealth Fashion” (19-20 November).

The priorities in the activities of the IPA CIS continue to be the convergence of national legislations, legal support for combating security threats, promotion of democracy and parliamentarism, support for humanitarian cooperation, promotion of integration processes, strengthening cooperation with international partner organizations based on improving the effectiveness of interparliamentary dialogue.