Worldwide activities launched to call for a Global Parliament that addresses global problems
First "Global Week of Action for a World Parliament" with activities in over fifty locations around the world
In over fifty cities around the world activists have organized events to call for the establishment of an elected world parliament. According to the announcement of the first "Global Week of Action for a World Parliament,"
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which was launched on Thursday and which will continue until United Nations day on 24 October, "global problems require global solutions." The call for action expresses concern that the "current political system is inadequate to deal with growing global challenges." It says that the "primary concern" of governments is "national interests and not the common good of humanity." An "elected world parliament," by contrast, "would be an instrument to find and implement solutions that are democratic, accountable and serve the best interest of humanity."
On Thursday, attendees of an international conference on a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly gathered in front of the European Parliament in Brussels and held up the week's slogan "World Parliament Now!" Further events are taking place in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, London, Nairobi, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo, Vancouver, as well as Guadalajara in Mexico, Gothenburg in Sweden or Rajkot in India, among others. Up-to-date information on the activities during the week is shared on Facebook which also serves as a platform for online mobilization.
The world’s citizens "should vote for their world representatives"
The week's organizers argue that a world parliament is a logical next step in the development of democracy. "In a democratic order," they say, "citizens already elect representatives at multiple levels. There are city councils, provincial or state parliaments and national parliaments. In Europe there’s even a continental parliament. And yet for global matters that affect each and every person on the planet, there exists no elected world parliament."
The week of action backs the political support for a global parliamentary assembly at the United Nations. More than 1,000 elected representatives from over 100 countries, for instance, have endorsed the international Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly. Recently, the UN's Independent Expert on a Democratic and Equitable International Order, Alfred de Zayas, recommended to the UN's Human Rights Council to conduct a study on how a World Parliamentary Assembly "may advance genuine participation." Two years ago the European Parliament called on the European Union's governments to launch an initiative in the UN General Assembly.
Global Week of Action for a World Parliament's website
Top image: Protest for a world parliament in Brussels, picture: Joan Marc Simon