This updated version of the 2005 Handbook for Parliamentarians was jointly prepared by OHCHR and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The Handbook is based on the conviction that parliaments and their members can play a key role in delivering concretely on human rights. With brief presentations of the international human rights legal framework and international mechanisms which oversee its implementation at the national level, the Handbook looks at how parliaments can contribute to greater human rights protection. The United Nations and its human rights mechanisms, are increasingly reaching out to members of parliament, recognizing that their support is essential to ensuring real and meaningful change for people’s lives across the globe. It is the hope of both IPU and OHCHR that the women and men of every national parliament will use this Handbook to guide their work to deliver that change.