Future world order and world parliament discussed at Bahá’í conference

This year's conference of the Francophone European Association for Bahá’í Studies (Association francophone européenne des études bahá’íes, AFEEB) on 24 and 25 October 2009 in Luxembourg discussed the future world order and global governance.

The programme included a presentation of the concept of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) by the Chairman of the Committee for a Democratic U.N., Andreas Bummel. Outlining the path towards a directly elected world parliament, Mr Bummel stressed the "spiritual dimension" of the efforts. "The establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly would represent a changed consciousness. For the first time in human history such a body would establish a direct political connection between every human being and the planet," Mr Bummel said.

Daniel Schaubacher, European Bahá’í Business Forum, and Jean-Francis Billion, Council Member of the World Federalist Movement, further elaborated on the representation of the peoples in the United Nations and the efforts towards world democracy. Among other things Mr Billion stressed the success of the international coalition of non-governmental organizations which advocated the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Mr Billion noted that the World Federalist Movement spearheaded this effort and that the International Bahá'í Community was part of the coalition. In the discussion it was agreed that the Coalition for the International Criminal Court is a good example to draw upon in the efforts for a UNPA.

Further speakers at the conference included, among others, Esther Zana-Nau, Programme Manager at the International Master Programme in Social Policy Analyis IMPALLA who gave an introduction into globalization and global governance.

For Bahá'ís, the term "new world order" has a special and clear-cut meaning. More than one hundred years ago, Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, invoked the phrase to categorize a future series of momentous changes in the political, social and religious life of the world. According to Bahá'u'lláh, these changes include the setting up of a world government, an elected world parliament, a binding world tribunal, and a world police force.

Establishment of a global parliament discussed at international meeting in New York

The progress of the international efforts for the establishment of a global parliamentary assembly was discussed at a meeting across the United Nations headquarters in New York. Around 60 participants from 19 countries, among them 12 Members of Parliament and numerous representatives of non-governmental organizations who are part of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) attended the event on Monday in order to exchange their different experiences and views.

In her welcome remarks Senator Sonia Escudero, Secretary-General of the Latin-American Parliament, pointed out that the United Nations, established in 1945, “reproduces an age old international order.” Said Senator Escudero: “One of the challenges that the United Nations will have to face in order not to become obsolete is its own reform. It is imperative to undertake an integral reform of the United Nations taking into account that any representative institution, that is to say democratic institution, should have an structure that honours this characteristic. It is clear that the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly would be a decisive step towards the democratic consolidation in the United Nations system.”

Jo Leinen, Member of the European Parliament, stressed the long-standing support of the European Parliament for the creation of a UNPA. The most recent resolution was adopted in June 2005. Mr Leined noted that a new effort to reiterate the parliament’s support will be taken in the current new legislature. A representative of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, Fernando Iglesias, reported on a resolution calling for a UNPA adopted by his parliament in August this year. Mr Iglesias promoted that the participants in the campaign reach out intensively to civil society and the academic world as well in order to build a broader base of public awareness. This approach was endorsed by Mike Sebalu, Member of the East African Legislative Assembly, saying that “it is crucial to reach critical mass of supporters from all walks of life.”

Presenting a report adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the reform of the United Nations a few weeks ago, Andreas Gross, a Swiss Member of Parliament and leader of the Socialist Group in PACE, pointed out that the modernization of the UN should include by necessity a parliamentary dimension. Giving the example of the Council of Europe, Gross stressed that the UN runs the risk of becoming irrelevant in the long-term if no Parliamentary Assembly is established. “If the Council of Europe were a government organization alone, without a parliamentary body, its importance would have diminished completely by now,” Gross said.

The afternoon session concentrated, among other things, on a debate on the concept of a UN Parliamentary Assembly and, more in particular, models for the possible distribution of seats in a UNPA. The Chair of the Committee for a Democratic U.N., Andreas Bummel, presented a paper on the subject. He outlined that the report shows the feasibility of the proposal and that there are realistic and pragmatic options on the table. Joseph Schwartzberg, Professor emeritus of the University of Minnesota, presented his own incremental approach for the creation of a UNPA and elaborated on his suggestion to distribute seats according to population, equality, and share in UN membership dues. Andrew Strauss, Professor of Law at the Widener University School of Law, argued that a UNPA should be established through a stand-alone treaty rather than as a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly.

Participants in the meeting generally felt that the campaign has gathered considerable political momentum over the past two and a half years since its launch in April 2007. The event was filmed by a crew led by Lisa Russell who recently won an Emmy Award and works on a documentary on U.S.-UN relations.

Lawmakers step up efforts for UN Parliamentary Assembly

Lawmakers from three world regions have joined in order to expand parliamentary activities for the establishment of an elected body at the United Nations. At an international conference call on Thursday they have formally set up a "Parliamentary Advisory Group" of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (CEUNPA). The group which will guide the campaign on major policy questions is understood as the nucleus for the development of a global network of lawmakers in the world who advocate the creation of a genuine parliamentary body at the world level.

"To date the campaign's appeal for the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly is supported by more than 600 Members of Parliament from over 90 countries. It is our aim to reach out to our colleagues and to stimulate parliamentary initiatives in their regional and national parliaments," said Fernando Iglesias who was elected one of the two Co-Chairs of the Parliamentary Advisory Group and who is a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina which in August was the first national parliament in the world to adopt a resolution calling for a UN Parliamentary Assembly.

"The lack of democratic oversight and the limited participation of elected representatives in global decision-making and negotiations is a major flaw in the design of today's system of global governance," commented Jo Leinen, Member of the European Parliament and the group's other elected Co-Chair. "A global parliament needs to be established as soon as possible. It could help to find more effective ways to cope with global problems such as the financial crisis, climate change and terrorism. For our campaign the establishment of the Parliamentary Advisory Group is a very important step," said Johnson Bartile Toskin, Member of the Parliament of Uganda and the group's elected Vice-Chair.

During the discussion on Thursday it was stressed, among other things, that the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December (COP15) would be a good opportunity to stress the need of genuine global democratization. Said Fernando Iglesias: "Who can still believe that national governments and leaders, who had been chosen to defend the interests of their country and to respond to their national political and economic clients, can solve this problem in the interest of the global common good?"

The Parliamentary Advisory Group of CEUNPA was established for a first term until November 2010 and will then review its terms of reference. The group may be composed of up to 15 Members of Parliament.

The group has seven founding members:

Mokshanand Sunil Dowarkasing, Member of the National Assembly (Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien) and Member of the Pan-African Parliament, Mauritius
Sonia Escudero, Member of the Senate (Partido Justicialista - 8 de Octubre) and Secretary-General of the Latin-American Parliament, Argentina
Fernando Iglesias, Member of the Chamber of Deputies (Coalición Cívica) and Member of the Latin-American Parliament, Argentina
Jo Leinen Member of the European Parliament (Socialist Group), Germany
Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament, United Kingdom
Johnson Bartile Toskin, Member of Parliament (National Resistance Movement) and Member of the Pan-African Parliament, Uganda
Graham Watson, Member of the European Parliament (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe), United Kingdom

"World Culture Forum" appeals to G20, calls for UN Parliamentary Assembly

More than 80 national and international opinion leaders and over 500 guests from all around the world participated in the second "World Culture Forum" convened in Dresden, Germany, to discuss the creation of "a culture of balance." One of the basic questions involved was how cultural, spiritual, intellectual, religous and artistic values can be put on an equal footing with economic thinking. "I have a feeling that the economy is just beginning to learn lessons from the crisis: sustainability and responsibility for future generations instead of short-term profit-seeking," said Hans-Joachim Frey, the Forum's initiator.

The forum of representatives from politics, business, science, religion, arts, and media closed with the adoption of a manifesto which was addressed to the heads of states and governments of the Group of Twenty (G-20). The document points out, among other things, that the G-20 represents "two-thirds of the world population and over 90% of world economic output." According to the statement, the forum considers it "an important step toward more democracy at world level" that it was decided at the recent summit in Pittsburgh to have the G-20 supersede the Group of Eight as "main forum" for the coordination of issues associated with the global economy, finances and resources. "We need the G-20 to coordinate global processes," the communiqué stresses. The forum calls upon the G-20 to take action to bring about "a transition from market fundamentalism to an ecologically and socially regulated global market economy." As part of this agenda, the manifesto asks the G-20 leaders to commit to the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA).

Individuals who participated in the forum and support the manifesto include Prof. Franz Josef Radermacher, co-founder Global Marshall Plan Initiative, Sir Sri Ravi Shankar, International Art of Living Foundation, Prof. Dr. Georg Milbradt, former Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony, actor Armin Müller-Stahl, Volker Hassemer, former Vice-president of the Federal Constitutional Court, Aiman A. Mazyek, Secretary General of the Muslim Central Council in Germany, Petra Bahr, Cultural Council of the German Protestant Church, Dr. Gerhard Prätorius, Director of CSR and Sustainability, Volkswagen AG, Hiroo Saionji, President Goi Peace Foundation, and Prof. Dr. Ervin László, Club of Budapest. The forum convened from 8 to 10 October.

A democratic world parliament is possible, study concludes

A study published today by the Committee for a Democratic U.N. draws the conclusion that there are realistic models for the establishment of a democratic world parliament. The background paper on "the composition of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations" which was released by the Berlin-based independent think tank explores four different models for the distribution of seats in a future global parliament. The analysis draws upon the example of the European Parliament and suggests some key principles such as "degressive proportionality" according to which small states would get relatively more and large states relatively fewer seats. "The world population is distributed extremely unequally among the world's states. Any realistic model needs to alleviate this imbalance. Our analysis illustrates that this is feasible and justified," says Andreas Bummel, the Committee's chairman and author of the study.

According to Mr Bummel there is a "common misjudgement" that there is only one option for the composition of a world parliament, namely exactly according to the share of the various countries in the world population. "This improper assumption gives rise to wide-spread fears that a global parliament would necessarily be dominated by a few populous countries and, even worse, that a majority of seats would be controlled by authoritarian regimes," says Bummel. As the study claims, the models discussed therein reveal that "these assumptions are not substantiated."

According to the paper a basic feature of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) would be that its membership "would not be state-based" but instead be composed of "autonomous delegates". These delegates initially could be chosen "from within and by existing political groups or parties constituted in national legislative branches." All models discussed in the study assume that all UN member states would participate and provide for a minimum number of two seats for each country in order to guarantee "that the majority and minority from each national parliament are represented." Otherwise different formulas are applied to distribute the seats among the countries. Two of the models are primarily based on population size while two others also consider a country's share in the total UN budget in order to take economic strength into account. The total number of seats in the models varies between 675 and 809.

"We have used the data included in the survey of freedom and democracy which is conducted by Freedom House to calculate how many delegates would come from countries which are considered electoral democracies. In all models it is a clear majority. The lowest percentage is 56.9 and the highest 67.1," says Bummel. As the study states, "it is possible to conclude that a majority of seats in a UNPA could be held by delegates from democracies."

South Asian Federalists seek support for UNPA in Nepal

The Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) was presented for the first time in Nepal last Saturday at an event which was organized by the South Asian Federalists and the National Press Institute. The President of the South Asian Federalists, Dr. James Arputharaj, explained in Kathmandu that the goal of the campaign is "to give the citizens of the world a voice at the United Nations." According to Dr. Arputharaj, who promotes the campaign in South Asia, "effective global governance is of utmost importance to guarantee the stability and welfare of our globalized human civilization. But if the UN and other global institutions are to be strengthened, there is no way around making them more democratic and responsive to the needs of the ordinary citizens. There must be a direct link between the people and decision-making at the global level." As a first step Dr. Arputharaj recommended the establishment of a UNPA "where representatives elected by the people could come together and deliberate on global issues." The campaign coordinator said that "the UNPA would be added to the UN General Assembly as a lower chamber."

Since its launch in April 2007 the campaign has gained support by more than 600 members of parliament and civil society organizations from all around the world. Dr. Arputharaj who met Minister for Cultural and Parliamentary Affairs Minendra Rizal, sought support from Nepal's government for the proposal to set up a UNPA. "Nepal as the youngest democracy in South Asia can play a major role in the campaign and raise its voice for a people's parliament in the UN," Dr. Arputharaj was quoted saying in a report published by República. The presentation in Kathmandu was covered by several TV channels and national newspapers.

PACE: "Global governance must be based on democratic principles", debate on UN's parliamentary dimension

In a resolution on the reform of the United Nations which was adopted today, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called for "the incorporation of a democratic element in the United Nations system." While the assembly reiterates its "unabated support" to the UN and multilateralism, it also stresses that "the United Nations is in urgent need of a far-reaching reform in order to make it more transparent, accountable and capable of facing the global challenges of today's world." The resolution states that the assembly regrets that although numerous reform proposals have been advanced over the last years in the UN none of them aimed at "improving the democratic character of the United Nations." This could be done, according to PACE, through "the introduction of a parliamentary element in the structure of the UN General Asssembly."

"We need a parliamentary body in the United Nations," said Andi Gross, leader of the Socialist Group in PACE and parliamentarian from Switzerland who introduced the resolution as responsible rapporteur of PACE's Political Affairs Committee. "Some words are missing from the UN Charter, these are democracy and fair representation. There is a distance between the UN and the people. This democracy defict needs to be addressed," Gross emphasized.

Taking the floor during the debate, Hendrick Daems, Member of Parliament from Belgium, said that a parliamentary body composed of "elected people" would be important in order to implement "checks and balances" at the UN. Paolo Giaretta, a Senator from Italy, remarked that no alteration of the UN Charter would be necessary to create a UN Parliamentary Assembly. "The procedure to be followed is Article 22 of the UN Charter according to which the UN General Assembly may establish subsidiary organs," Mr Giaretta pointed out.

The Swiss parliamentarian Doris Stump stressed the important achievements which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the association of national parliaments, has already reached in establishing a parliamentary dimension at the UN. Mrs Stump in particular refered to the IPU's observer status at the UN and that yearly hearings are carried out.

The resolution adopted by PACE now suggests that a UN Parliamentary Assembly could be "composed either by representatives of international regional parliamentary assemblies or directly elected representatives." Rapporteur Andi Gross stated that "nobody should claim to have the exclusive solution." The Chair of the Policial Affairs Commission, the Swedish parliamentarian Göran Lindblad, added that from his point of view there could be multiple ways at the same time to strengthen the UN's parliamentary dimension.

The resolution was part of a report on UN reform prepared by Mr Gross. An amendment was passed in order to acknowledge that besides of a new assembly, the IPU is "one of the potential options to be considered as the parliamentary branch of the UN." "We want to work together," Mr Gross commented.

UN reform: Network of MPs, NGOs welcomes report to be tabled in Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe

The Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (CEUNPA), a network of parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations from over 100 countries, has strongly welcomed the report on United Nations reform which is scheduled to be on the agenda of the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday this week.

The report which was prepared by Swiss parliamentarian Andi Gross and was unanimously passed by the Political Affairs Committee of PACE on 10 September stresses, among other things, that the UN "is in urgent need of far-reaching reform to make it more democratic, transparent, accountable and up to the task of dealing with today’s global challenges." As a means to increase the democratic character of the UN, the report recommends the strengthening of the involvement of elected representatives in the UN's deliberative process: "This involvement should be enhanced progressively: it should start by ensuring that parliamentarians are fully informed of UN activities, culminating with the inclusion in the UN system of a parliamentary assembly with consultative functions for the UN General Assembly." This position would reiterate a recommendation adopted by PACE in January 2006.

"The global system of intergovernmental institutions does not provide for adequate mechanisms which give elected parliamentarians an opportunity to directly participate in its deliberations and decision-making. Neither the UN nor any of its many specialized agencies and programs possess a parliamentary body, not even in an advisory capacity. The PACE report correctly identifies this flaw as a source of the democratic deficit of the UN and global governance," said Andreas Bummel, Head of the CEUNPA Secretariat.

At an international meeting in November 2008 in the European Parliament, CEUNPA in particular dealt with the relationship of the proposed UN Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) and the association of national parliaments, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). It was concluded that both "would be complementary institutions." A document released after the meeting stated that "a UNPA would not replace or duplicate the IPU's functions. Quite the contrary, a UNPA would provide a response to the democratic deficit in global governance which the IPU in its current structure is unable to offer." It is accurate if the PACE report says that "the IPU does not have the capacity nor the ambition to exercise an oversight over UN bodies and institutions," Bummel pointed out.

International meeting of NGOs in Mexico calls for review of UN Charter and world parliament

Representatives of around 20 non-governmental organizations decided on Saturday in Mexico City to establish a joint network to advocate for “a General Conference to Review the UN Charter”. In a declaration adopted by the “World Alliance to Transform the United Nations” (WATUN) which was founded at the meeting, the participants expressed “dismay” over the “UN’s lack of legislative and governmental powers for solving urgent global problems.” The declaration urges “the UN General Assembly to call a General Conference to Review the UN Charter according to Article 109”. The document stipulates that such a review conference shall consider, among other things, the UN’s purposes and principles, its organs, their composition and decision-making structures. According to the WATUN mission statement agreed upon at the meeting, the alliance intends to work towards “the establishment of an effective system of global governance.” As Francisco Plancarte, President of the Mexican NGO Planetafilia A.C. pointed out at a panel discussion, “the review conference can take as much time as is needed to deliberate on these important issues. But it needs to be convened as soon as possible.” Mr. Plancarte stressed that such a conference originally was scheduled for 1955. “The matter then was postponed 12 consecutive times and then indefinitely.”

The establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly as a step towards a world parliament is a key element in WATUN’s mission statement. “While we do not take a stance on the question of a Charter review conference, we clearly agree that a UN Parliamentary Assembly could be an important, if not decisive catalyst for substantive changes in the international system. It could be a forum for global deliberations on the issues which WATUN bears in mind,” said Andreas Bummel who observed the meeting in Mexico on behalf of the Campaign for the Establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly.

The NGO gathering on the Charter review was held subsequent to a conference on disarmament organized in Mexico City by the UN’s Department of Public Information Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (UN DPI/NGO) from 9 to 11 September. In a keynote address at the closing ceremony of that conference on Friday the Costa Rican lawyer Roberto Zamora stressed the need to democratize the UN.

Sofia: Proposal for a global parliamentary assembly discussed at Model UN

The proposal for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) was discussed at several presentations during the Sofia International Model United Nations (SOFIMUN) in the Bulgarian capital from 18-25 July. The simulation of key UN bodies such as the Security Council, the Human Rights Council or the Peacebuilding Commission attracted over 150 young participants from 40 nations worldwide. The simulation was organized for the second time by SOFIMUN Foundation which officially endorses the goal to create a UN Parliamentary Assembly. "The idea was well received by the conference participants. As soon as they took over the roles of government representatives in the simulation, they started to bargain over national interests. The global common good then regularly gets the short straw. That's why the UN cannot remain an exclusive club of governments. There needs to be a voice which can act in the interest of humanity. That's where elected representatives enter the picture," said Dimiter Mandradjiev, Executive Director of SOFIMUN Foundation. "Our team is eager to start working on a campaign. We want to promote the project of a UN Parliamentary Assembly here in Bulgaria," Mr. Mandradjiev added.