Civil society declarations support a UN Parliamentary Assembly

15. May 2020

Manifesto on global democratic governance

As a response to the coronavirus pandemic, a new manifesto launched by the Argentinian civil society organization Democracia Global this week calls for "shared sovereignty, coordination and cooperation at the global level" and a "more federal and democratic political structure able to regulate globalization."

The document is open for endorsements and the website so far lists initial support from around twenty groups as well as sixty individuals, among them five former heads of state or government from Belgium, Croatia, Mali, Mexico and Uruguay.

The signatories of the statement "urgently ask national leaders and inter-national institutions to take lessons from the Coronavirus crisis. Let’s work together to enable a better integrated 21st Century political system, reinforcing regional institutions, reforming the United Nations and making each level of governance more representative and effective; for example, through the creation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly."

Declaration on the UN's 75th anniversary

Another declaration that was drafted by the UN2020 civil society initiative and the London-based campaign Together First was presented at a virtual "people's forum" on 14 May 2020 to the president of the current 74th session of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande from Nigeria.

The 12-page document is intended to serve as input to the intergovernmental consultations on the UN's 75th anniversary and a summit that is currently scheduled to take place in September in New York.

Among other things, the document calls for "a mandated post-2020 follow-up mechanism" to enhance global governance, better funding for the United Nations and enhanced participation of civil society.

The annex lists several further proposals, among them a directly elected UN Parliamentary Assembly that "would promote the well-being of all people and the planet".

Need of a global parliament highlighted at two events

The need of a global parliamentary body was highlighted previously at two virtual events in April, one organized by the Baha’i International Community in collaboration with UN2020 and Together First and another by the Global Challenges Foundation and the Swedish foreign ministry.

Top image: Since 10 March 2020 the UNHQ is closed to the public, due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Image: UN Photo/Mark Garten