Parliament, Friday, 18 September 2026 – The General Assembly of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) adopted constitutional amendments on Thursday, marking a historic step in the Association's transition from a charity registered under United Kingdom law to an international inter-parliamentary organisation.
The Assembly convened during the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Cape Town. This decision represents the culmination of a process pursued by CPA Branches over several decades, with the CPA Africa Region consistently advocating for a legal status that more accurately reflects the Association's international membership and activities.
The General Assembly first considered the matter at the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in 2014, but deferred a decision to better understand its legal and institutional implications. The issue remained under discussion at the 62nd CPC in London in 2016. On 16 December 2016, the General Assembly approved the establishment of an Expert Committee. This committee, comprising representatives from the nine CPC regions, was tasked with exploring the legal and tax implications of altering the Association's status.
The Committee completed its work and, in 2017, presented its findings to the CPA's Executive Committee and General Assembly in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It recommended that the CPA be reconstituted as an inter-parliamentary institution with an international remit and functional privileges and immunities. The 65th CPC in Canada in 2022 reaffirmed securing a new status as a priority, and the 66th CPC in Ghana in 2023 directed the Secretariat to present a definitive proposal.
This timeline demonstrates that the constitutional amendments agreed to on Thursday are part of a broader legal and institutional process. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Act of 2025, enacted in the United Kingdom, provides the legal mechanism through which the CPA may be granted corporate legal capacity and specified privileges and immunities. This Act permits an Order in Council to confer on the CPA capacities such as entering into contracts, acquiring and disposing of property and instituting or participating in legal proceedings. The applicable legal instruments and transition arrangements will determine the precise privileges, immunities and tax arrangements.
The CPA General Assembly previously adopted a revised Constitution in Sydney, Australia, on 7 November 2024. The amendments approved in Cape Town this week are intended to align the Association’s governance framework with its proposed new legal and institutional status.
The President of the CPA and Chairperson of South Africa’s National Council of Provinces, Ms Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, noted that the decision was the culmination of sustained advocacy by CPA members. “For a decade, our members have argued that the CPA’s charity status does not reflect who we are. Today, the 69th CPC has turned that long struggle into a historic reality and brings us significantly closer to recognition as an international inter-parliamentary organisation, with the standing needed to strengthen parliamentary democracy and the rights of the people we serve through our member parliaments,” Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane said.
The status change is intended to strengthen the CPA’s ability to cooperate with governments, international organisations and other partners, while preserving the authority of its member Branches over the Association’s direction and governance. Under the Constitution of the CPA, the General Assembly retains ultimate authority over the Association’s policy and management, while the Executive Committee is responsible for administration between General Assembly meetings.
Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane acknowledged the contribution of the Africa Region and CPA Branches across the Commonwealth to advancing this reform. “This decision demonstrates what sustained cooperation among our Branches can achieve,” she said. “It places the CPA on a stronger path towards taking its place among the world’s international parliamentary institutions. This is not merely a change of legal form. It is a change in capability, voice and destiny. It gives parliamentarians across the Commonwealth the institutional platform to engage the world on democracy, human rights, sustainable development and international law.”
The 69th CPC, hosted by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, concludes in Cape Town on Friday, 18 September 2026.
*The CPA was established in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association and renamed the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in 1948. It now comprises over 180 Branches from parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Enquiries: Moloto Mothapo, Parliament Spokesperson
Arrange a tour