Ulaanbaatar, October 17, 2024, /MONTSAME/. The 149th Assembly of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 13-17, 2024.

Deputy Chairman and Member of the State Great Khural (Parliament) of Mongolia Bulgantuya Khurelbaatar, Members of the Parliament (MP) of Mongolia Nominchimeg Odsuren and Khosbayar Ganbat, and Secretary General of the Parliament of Mongolia Baasandorj Barsuren have participated at the Assembly. 

The General Debate focused on the overall theme of “Harnessing Science, Technology, and Innovation for a more Peaceful and Sustainable Future,” and concluded with the adoption of an outcome document. Separate forums were held by all IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young Parliament Members.

Representatives discussed new technologies, in particular, artificial intelligence, and exchanged views on mitigating the risks and increasing its benefits. At the conference, a session on “Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Democracy, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law” was held, with a relevant document approved by the IPU Standing Committee on Human Rights.

International Parliamentary Union, was established in 1889 in Paris, France. The IPU convenes parliaments around the world and currently consists of 180 full members and 15 associate (regional parliaments) members. The IPU's main purposes are to contribute to the protection of human rights, establish relations between the parliaments of different countries, support the development of interparliamentary cooperation, hold discussions on urgent issues affecting international interest, make recommendations and resolutions, and improve parliamentary activities.

In 1962, the People's Great Khural of the Mongolian People’s Republic became a member of the IPU. In the early 1990s, as Mongolia transitioned into a new political and economic system and established its first permanent parliament under the Democratic Constitution of Mongolia, the relations and cooperation between the State Great Khural of Mongolia and IPU reached a new level. A notable example is the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the State Great Khural and the IPU in 2022, which focused on strengthening guarantees to protect and promote human rights and ensuring gender equality, which are fundamental values of democracy. 

According to the methodology developed by the IPU, the State Great Khural of Mongolia became the 13th parliament to assess its gender sensitivity and the first to conduct a self-assessment on ensuring the protection of human rights, as reported by the Press and Public Relations Department of the State Great Khural of Mongolia.