Creation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly discussed at visit in Japan

Argentine legislator Fernando Iglesias proposes a UN Parliamentary Assembly in speech, further talks in Tokyo

The Argentine legislator and Co-President of the World Federalist Movement (WFM), Fernando Iglesias, held the keynote speech at the annual congress of WFM-Japan in Tokyo on May 30th. Mr. Iglesias, who is also a Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Group for a UN Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA), proposed the establishment of a UNPA as a concrete step to counteract the world organization’s democratic deficit.

During meetings in Tokyo Mr. Iglesias suggested that the Japanese Parliamentary Committee for World Federation should consider adopting a resolution in favour of a UNPA to support international efforts. According to the Committee’s Chair, legislator Seishirō Etō, the body’s membership includes more than 100 parliamentarians and its aim is to achieve world federation through the construction and improvement of democratic global governance.

Masaharu Nakagawa, a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, emphasized the importance of achieving democratic governance worldwide and to explore measures necessary to establish a Parliamentary Assembly within the framework of the United Nations. Mr. Iglesias pointed out that once a resolution was passed within the Committee, it could be moved forward by relevant parliamentary committees to subsequently have a resolution adopted by the Japanese National Diet.

According to Tadashi Inuzuka, a former Senator in the House of Councillors of the Diet, Japan’s parliament is the only one that has passed parliamentary resolutions in support of a world federation. Pushing towards a UNPA would be in line with this vision.

The Chairperson of the Japan Commission on Global Governance, Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa, suggested that Article 109 of the UN Charter could be activated to start the process of reviewing the UN Charter and restructure the United Nations to include a Parliamentary Assembly. He advocated not only the creation of a UNPA but also the incorporation of the G20 into the United Nations system. He argued that it would not only give legitimacy to the G20, but it would also empower the UN to achieve better global governance.

Fernando Iglesias recalled that the "Parliamentarian 20" forum, the so-called P20, will be held in Osaka in the coming months and suggested formalizing the P20 forum within the structure of the G20 so that they can adopt resolutions that are considered by the leaders at the G20 summit.

Ambassador Kansuke Nagaoka, Deputy Director-General in the Japanese foreign ministry who supervises the Committee, said that he would evaluate what could be done from the government’s perspective.