Manifesto for Global Democracy and proposal for a UN Parliamentary Assembly presented

Events in the Italian Senate feature a manifesto for global democracy and the proposal for a UN Parliamentary Assembly

Experts on global democracy and Italian politicians gathered in Rome on September 11 at two events in the premises of the Senate to present a "Manifesto for Global Democracy" and the proposal for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly.

At a press conference held under the slogan "Intellectuals call on political

Senator Roberto Di Giovan Paolo was one of those who advocated a UN Parliamentary Assembly

Image: Democracia Global

leaders and world citizens to build a global democracy", professors Roberto Esposito, (Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane, Florence), Fernando Iglesias (Cattedra Spinelli, Buenos Aires), Lucio Levi (Università di Torino), Raffaele Marchetti (Libera Università Internazionale, Rome), Giacomo Marramao (Università di Roma Tre) and Heikki Patomäki (Helsinki University) presented their views on the global situation and explained the proposals included in the "Manifesto for Global Democracy" that they signed with other 25 scholars specialized on the study of political global trends.

According to a report published by Democracia Global, Fernando Iglesias opened the panel recalling that eleven years ago, September 11 was "the most dramatic exemplification of what Samuel Huntington predicted as the Clash of Civilizations." "I hope that our thoughts and reflections can provide a small contribution to peace, pluralism and democracy in the world. But there will be no peace in the world if there is no justice, and there won't be justice in the world if we are not able to build democratic global institutions to make the crucial decisions that are now in the hands of financial markets, undemocratic international agencies and the big national powers," Mr. Iglesias said.

Giacomo Marramao followed by commenting: "The protests that spread across the planet show a deep discomfort with existing forms of representation and the limited capacity of the political system to protect the common goods. The indignados, the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement and global protesters express a demand for more and better democracy not only at the national level, but at the global one."

Scholar Heikki Patomäki added: "Global crises require global solutions. Occasional summits, intergovernmental agreements and international cooperation are not enough. The globalization of finance requires democratic institutions on all continents and a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations, as the embryo of a future World Parliament."

Roberto Esposito concluded the meeting by declaring: "We share with global social movements the claim to unite for global change and real democracy. We do not want to remain governed by powers over which we have no influence. Self-determination is and politics are valid not only nationally, but also regionally and globally. We want to be citizens of the world and demand global democracy."

At a second event that was devoted to the subject of a UN Parliamentary Assembly, Italian Senator Roberto Di Giovan Paolo explained why he supports the proposal. The Italian news agency TMNews quoted him saying that he intends to bring it up in the Senate. The Senate's former President Franco Marini recently endorsed the international "Appeal for the Establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly".

In June, a similar event on the "Manifesto for Global Democracy" was held in the premises of the London School of Ecnomics.

Top image: Esposito, Levi, Marramao, Patomaki, Marchetti and Iglesias, by Democracia Global