The autumn assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union will be held from 13 to 17 October 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia. Delegates from national parliaments from around the world will meet to discuss the role and mechanisms of parliaments in strengthening international law. Four members of the National Council and one member of the Council of States will represent Switzerland at the event.

​The Serbian Parliament will host the 141st IPU Assembly from 13 to 17 October 2019 in the Sava Centar, the largest congress centre in South-East Europe, in Belgrade. More than 170 states will be represented by a national parliamentary delegation. This will be the second time that Belgrade has hosted the IPU Assembly, the 52nd assembly having been held in the city in 1963. On this occasion, the focus will be on the roles and mechanisms of parliaments in strengthening international law.

A busy programme has been arranged for the IPU's standing committees. The Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights will consider the draft resolution co-sponsored by National Council member Christian Lohr (CVP/TG) on achieving universal health coverage by 2030. The Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade will focus on Mainstreaming digitalisation and the circular economy to achieve the SDGs, while the Committee on Peace and International Security will discuss Parliamentary strategies to strengthen peace. Their work will serve as a basis for the next resolutions to be debated in April 2020 in Geneva.

The delegation will also take the opportunity to visit the Science Technology Park, a start-up incubator supported by the Swiss Confederation, during its time in Belgrade.

In addition to its president, Andrea Caroni (FDP/AR), member of the Council of States, the Swiss delegation comprises the following parliamentarians:

  • Christian Lohr (CVP/TG), member of the National Council and delegation vice president,
  • Margret Kiener Nellen (SP/BE), member of the National Council,
  • Felix Müri (SVP/LU), member of the National Council,
  • Laurent Wehrli (FDP/VD), member of the National Council.

The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP), whose president is Philippe Schwab, the Secretary General of the Federal Assembly, will also meet at the Sava Centar at the same time as the Assembly.

Further information is available on the IPU website: https://ipu.org/fr/event/141eme-assemblee-de-luip-et-reunions-connexes/documents