Bericht der Zivilgesellschaft: Global Governance ist ineffizient und undemokratisch

Global governance “funktioniert nicht” sagt neuer Bericht / Notwendigkeit verbesserter demokratischer Partizipation betont

CIVICUS, eine globale Nichtregierungsorganisation, die sich als “Weltallianz für zivilgesellschaftliche Partizipation” positioniert, hat eine neue Bewertung nationaler und internationaler Regierungsorganisationen vorgelegt. Vor dem Hintergrund der jüngsten Entwicklungen in Ländern wie Brasilien, Türkei und Venezuela stellt die Organisation in ihrem Jahresbericht zum Status der Zivilgesellschaft 2014

dar, dass zwischen großen Bevölkerungsteilen und Regierungen eine Kluft entstanden sei und dass Menschen in aller Welt das Vertrauen in nationale und globale Institutionen verlören.

Ein besonderer Fokus des Berichts liegt auf der Unfähigkeit internationaler Regierungsorganisationen auf die Belange der Bevölkerung einzugehen sowie ihr Mangel an demokratischen Mechanismen zur Einbeziehung der Bürger. “Global Governance funktioniert nicht. Für die globalen Probleme gibt es immer noch keine bürgerorientierten Lösungen”, fasst der Bericht zusammen und warnt, dass “internationale Regierungsorganisationen mit begrenzten demokratischen Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten Gefahr laufen, irrelevant zu werden”.

CIVICUS hebt hervor, wie Organisationen der Global Governance auch aufgrund ihrer mangelhaften Rückkoppelung zur Bevölkerung stark von wohlhabenden Staaten und multinationalen Konzernen beeinflusst werden. In der Folge bekämen Fragen, die für den Durchschnittsbürger von Belang sind, niedrigere Priorität. Dadurch werde das Gefühl verstärkt, dass Global Governance abgehoben sei. Der Bericht stellt fest, dass ein stärkeres Mandat für demokratische Beteiligung in weltweiten Regierungsorganisationen den Einfluss finanzstarker Akteure in diesen Institutionen zurückdrängen würde. Die Anliegen der Bürger könnten dann stärker in den Vordergrund rücken.

Das Recht zu demokratischer Global Governance

Der Bericht beinhaltet Gastbeiträge zu zivilgesellschaftlichen Perspektiven zum Stand der Global Governance. Der Leiter der Kampagne für ein Parlament bei der UNO, Andreas Bummel, schreibt in einem Artikel, dass “intergouvernementale Gremien weitgehend von demokratischer Kontrolle, Partizipation und Deliberation” entkoppelt seien. Er hebt hervor, dass das “Recht auf demokratische Regierungsführung”, wie es in der Allgemeinen Erklärung der Menschenrechte sowie im Internationalen Pakt über Zivile und Politische Rechte enthalten ist, “unteilbar” sei und “nicht auf die nationale Ebene beschränkt werden kann”, zumal wenn “Agenda-Setting und Entscheidungsprozesse zu wichtigen politischen Fragen zur UN und ihren spezialisierten Institutionen sowie zu internationalen Foren wie die G8 und die G20 abwandern”. Eine Parlamentarische Versammlung bei den Vereinten Nationen sei ein Mittel, um Global Governance durch eine demokratisches und unabhängiges Gegenstück zu den bestehenden intergouvernementalen Gremien zu verbessern.

Im Vorwort des Berichts hebt CIVICUS-Generalsekretär Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah hervor, dass “es eine dringende Notwendigkeit zur Demokratisierung der Global Governance und zur Unterstützung besserer Bürgerpartizipation gibt ebenso wie die Notwendigkeit, ein Umfeld zu erzeugen, dass es der Zivilgesellschaft erlaubt, sich an diesen Prozessen substantiell zu beteiligen”.

Website des State of Civil Society Report 2014

Oberes Bild: CIVICUS World Assembly in Montreal, September 2012. Foto: Tristan Brand

Activists call for 2nd Global Week of Action for a World Parliament

Activists around the world are preparing for a second Global Week of Action for a World Parliament that is scheduled to take place this year from 17-26 October 2014. During the week of action, citizens, civil society, and grassroots movements are called upon to organize activities and events to support the establishment of a democratically elected global parliament.

The week of action's announcement declares that people across the world feel to be voiceless in global decision-making. It says that "world’s citizens have little influence on decisions taken at institutions such as the UN, the IMF, the WTO, the World Bank, the G20 or the G8." Further it states that the governments represented in these bodies are "often being influenced heavily by the lobbyists of global corporations." 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."

Invitation to open conference call

The coordination team has invited everybody who is interested to be involved in the global week of action to participate in an open teleconference that will be held via Skype on 29 May 2014. Here is the Facebook page of the call that provides more details.

The first week of action was organized last year. Here is a report.

Great Transition Initiative enters new phase, relaunches website

For over a decade, the Great Transition Initiative has advanced a visionary scenario of a future rooted in human solidarity, well-being for all, and ecological sustainability. It now enters a new phase with renewed energy and heightened sense of urgency. Its new website serves as a platform for exploring bold visions and change strategies.

According to GTI, "History has entered the Planetary Phase of Civilization, a profound shift in the condition of society and the dynamics driving change. In our time, multiple threads of interdependence are binding people, places, and the wider community of life into a single social-ecological system." Yet, as the initative highlights, "the worldviews and institutions of the past persist, a disjuncture where crises incubate and a zeitgeist of apprehension spreads."

Transformative scenarios, which the initiative terms "Great Transitions," envision the advent of a new paradigm redirecting the global trajectory.

GTI’s past and future publications engage with the questions of global citizenship and global democracy on both a theoretical and a practical level.

A paper published in 2010, for example, states that "One specific change to work towards is creating a bicameral system for the United Nations to consist of the existing General Assembly representing nations and a new World Parliament elected through universal suffrage and representing the citizens of the world."

http://www.greattransition.org/

Experte: UN muss Demokratiedefizit angehen und Bürger besser einbeziehen

Vorsitzender des internationalen Forschungsprojekts zum Erdsystem spricht bei interaktivem Dialog der UN-Generalversammlung, unterstützt Vorschlag einer Parlamentarischen Versammlung bei der UNO

Bei einem von der UN-Generalversammlung in New York durchgeführten interaktivem Dialog anlässlich des "Tages der Erde" am 22. April hat der

Professor Biermann spricht vor der UN-Generalversammlung

Bild: UN

Vorsitzende des internationalen Earth System Governance Project, Frank Biermann, die internationale Staatengemeinschaft aufgefordert, "einen Prozess ernsthafter Reformen internationaler Governance und Institutionen" durchzuführen, um "neue Formen des Mulitlateralismus" zu erreichen. Der Politikwissenschaftler hob hervor, dass die Menschheit es mit "einer fundamentalen Transformation von Kernelementen des gesamten Erdsystems" zu tun habe und dass die existierenden internationalen Mechanismen nicht ausreichend effektiv seien, um dieser Herausforderung zu begegnen.

Entscheidungsfindung, Rechenschaftsplicht und Fairness müssen verbessert werden

Nach Biermann legen die vom Erdsystem-Netzwerk gesichteten Forschungen nahe, dass "die Entscheidungsregeln in multilateralen Verhandlungen und im UN-System weitgehend veraltet sind. Sie sind nicht effektiv und im allgemeinen nicht fair", sagte er. Statt per Konsens solle per Mehrheit abgestimmt und Entscheidungen so beschleunigt werden. "Wir könnten über verschiedene Abstimmungsverfahren und -mehrheiten für unterschiedliche Gebiete nachdenken. Möglich sind multiple, komplexe, kombinierte und geschichtete Mehrheiten. Und sicher müssen wir institutionelle Garantien klar definieren, die kleinere Länder schützen", schlug der Professor vor.

Mit Blick auf ein "demokratisches Defizit" der UN, das in "vielen Teilen der Welt" wahrgenommen werde, sagte der Wissenschaftler, dass "wenn wir die Vereinten Nationen stärken wollen, um so dem übergeordneten Ziel planetarer Verantwortung näher zu kommen, dann müssen wir uns mit diesem potentiellen Mangel an Vertrauen und Verständnis in der Bevölkerung beschäftigen".

Als Beispiele zur besseren Einbeziehung "der Stimme der Bürger in UN-Verfahren", die akademisch diskutiert werden, führte er "globale deliberative Versammlungen von Bürgern aller Länder und Regionen", eine "Parlamentarische Versammlung als eine Zweite Kammer im UN-System, die direkte Vertreter der Bürger einschließt", sowie eine Aufwertung der Major Groups im UN-System "durch ein Forum zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen" an.

Schließlich äußerte Biermann Sorge über die Ungleichverteilung des Wohlstands in der Welt. "Es gibt keinen Zweifel darüber, dass Gerechtigkeit und Fairness der Kern eines dauerhaften internationalen Rahmens nachhaltiger Entwicklung darstellen müssen", sagte er.

Weitgehende Vorschläge wie der einer UN-Parlamentarierversammlung sind notwendig

Nach der Präsentation kommentierte Biermann gegenüber der internationalen Kampagne für ein Parlament bei der UNO, dass er persönlich die "generelle Idee einer Parlamentarischen Versammlung im UN-System" unterstütze, "weil es eine dringende Notwendigkeit gibt, Bedenken bezüglich der Legitimität und der Verantwortbarkeit globaler Institutionen anzugehen, wie ich es in meiner Rede vor der UN-Generalversammlung erläutert habe".

Darüber hinaus hob er hervor, dass die Unterstützung für den UNPA-Vorschlag wachse. "Ich hoffe, dass es das Interesse unter politischen Entscheidern steigert, wenn das Thema in Gremien wie der UN-Generalversammlung aufgebracht wird. Schrittweise Reformen des UN-Systems werden nicht ausreichen, um mit den Problemen des 21. Jahrhunderts und dem Demokratiedefizit auf der globalen Ebene umzugehen. Mutiges Denken und kühne Vorschläge wie der für eine Parlamentarische Versammlung bei den Vereinten Nationen oder Vorschläge für Mehrheitsentscheidungen in der UNO, die ich ebenfalls in meiner Rede erwähnt habe, sind erforderlich, um zu transformativen Veränderungen zu inspirieren und diese in Gang zu setzen", so Biermann.

UN-Webcast des interaktiven Dialogs

Vollständige Rede von Professor Biermann

Mehr lesen

28. November 2012: Interview with Frank Biermann: 19th century global governance not fit to tackle climate change

22. April 2012: Globales Parlament ist Thema bei Konferenz über Steuerung des Erdsystems

Oberes Bild: Das Podium während des interaktiven Dialogs, Screenshot vom Webcast, Quelle: UN

Now over 1,300 sitting and former elected representatives endorse the appeal for a UN Parliamentary Assembly

In the course of 2014 so far, 52 members of parliaments from 11 different countries have signed the international appeal for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, UNPA. The signatories come from Australia, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Ghana, Germany, Malaysia, New Zeeland and Tunisia.

In total, 807 sitting members of parliament from 106 countries and all populated continents now support the call for the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly (here's the list). We estimate that they represent around 130 million constituents. Together with 524 former elected representatives who in the course of time left parliament after signing the appeal, the total number of endorsements from current and former members of parliament counts 1,331.

This worldwide, continued support by parliamentarians from across the political spectrum and a broad range of political traditions, is based on the efforts of those individuals and organizations involved in the international campaign for a UNPA. In particular, we would like to express thanks to all volunteers for assisting the campaign at the national, regional, and international levels.

Regionalparlament von Katalonien berät über Parlamentarische Versammlung bei der UNO

Vorschlag beim Auswärtigen Ausschuss des Regionalparlaments vorgestellt

Am Freitag, den 21. März, hat eine lokale Gruppe der Kampagne für eine Parlamentarische Versammlung bei den Vereinten Nationen in Spanien den Vorschlag beim Auswärtigen Ausschuss des Regionalparlaments von Katalonien in Barcelona vorgestellt.

Die Präsentation wurde von allen im Parlament vertretenen, großen politischen Fraktionen verfolgt

Unterstützer der UNPA-Kampagne nach der Präsentation im katalonischen Parlament

Bild: WDGpa

und zahlreiche Unterstützer der Kampagne nahmen teil, um das Interesse der Zivilgesellschaft an der Etablierung einer Parlamentarischen Versammlung bei der UNO, UNPA, zu demonstrieren.

Der Präsident der World Democratic Governance project association, WDGpa, Josep Xercavins, und der Koordinator der UNPA-Kampagne in Spanien, Joan Marc Simon, stellten den Abgeordneten die Hintergründe und Ziele der Kampagne vor. Darüber hinaus präsentierten sie den Vorschlag, dass das Parlament von Katalonien eine unterstützende Resolution verabschieden solle.

Die teilnehmenden Vertreter aller politischen Fraktionen drückten ihr Interesse an der Kampagne aus, sicherten ihre Unterstützung zu und stellten in Aussicht, dem Parlament baldmöglichst eine Resolution vorzulegen.

Joan Marc Simon sagte, dass das nächste Ziel der UNPA-Kampagne nach der Verabschiedung einer Resolution durch das Regionalparlament von Katalonien darin bestehe, das Anliegen beim spanischen Parlament in Madrid vorzubringen.

Mehr lesen

20. März 2013: Presentation of the UNPA Campaign in Barcelona

26. Juni 2012: Neue Organisation will Spaniens Unterstützung für ein UNO-Parlament erreichen

Oberes Bild: Vorstellung des UNPA-Vorschlags beim Auswärtigen Ausschuss, von WDGpa

Women in Parliaments Global Forum stresses the need of gender equality in a future UN Parliamentary Assembly

The Women in Parliaments Global Forum that has held its first international conference from 27 to 29 November 2013 in the European Parliament in Brussels has emphasized the need "that the gender dimension will be taken into consideration" in the efforts for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly.

"We want to ensure gender equality in a new UN Parliamentary Assembly that will address global challenges and take global decisions, on behalf of citizens worldwide," the Global Forum announced on its website.

Following this initiative, the international Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly has confirmed that ensuring gender equality is an important goal that should be implemented in a future global parliamentary assembly. "This is a matter that we will pursue," said the Co-Chair of the Campaign's Parliamentary Advisory Group, Gabriela Michetti, who is a member of the Argentinian Senate.

In December last year, more than fifty members of the Women in Parliaments Global Forum individually endorsed the international appeal for a UN Parliamentary Assembly that was handed over to a representative of the UN Secretary-General in Brussels.

At the moment, the list of supporters includes 1,281 sitting and former members of parliament from over 100 countries.

Proposal for a UN Parliamentary Assembly presented at forum on "parliaments in global governance"

On Tuesday, 18 February, the Parliamentary Forum on “EU Parliaments in global governance”, hosted by the European Parliament's Vice-Presidents Miguel Angel Martínez and Othmar Karas in Brussels, focused on the "role of parliamentarism in an increasingly connected world" and the question whether "current forms of political representation are adequate to address today's international challenges."

The Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Advisory Group of the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly, European lawmaker Jo Leinen, introduced the campaign and its proposal at the afternoon session of the conference that was devoted to global parliamentary initiatives. Mr Leinen emphasized that it was no longer sufficient that parliamentarians occasionally participate as observers in government delegations to intergovernmental organizations. Instead, he said that elected representatives should be formally recognized and included at the UN through a new parliamentary body.

Other speakers at the conference who voiced support of the proposal of a UN Parliamentary Assembly included the Member of the European Parliament Silvana Koch-Mehrin who represented the Women in Parliaments Global Forum and Jan Wouters, a professor of international law and director of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies.

The Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Anders Johnson, complained that in his opinion there are too many inter-parliamentary initiatives. He was skeptical towards the idea of a world parliamentary assembly and said that "national parliaments constitute the cornerstone of an international democratic environment" and that "international negotiations are the prerogative of governments, but under scrutiny of national parliaments."

Speaking at the opening session, Othmar Karas stressed his view that parliamentarians should play a "decisive role" in international organizations.

New statements in support of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

In the past five months since we last posted an overview of new supportive statements on a UN Parliamentary Assembly, many more have accumulated.

If you follow this blog, you've already seen some of the extraordinary statements made on the occasion of the 5th International Meeting on a UN Parliamentary Assembly that was held in Brussels in October 2013 which we published here in full, namely from the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the European Parliament, Elmar Brok, and the UN's Independent Expert on a Democratic and Equitable International Order, Alfred de Zayas (by the way, here on Youtube you can watch contributions made by Alfred de Zayas, Hanno Schedler, Antonio Vigilante, and Gerald Häfner at a panel during the conference).

Here are now some of the new sound bites. We begin with a statement from Fernando Iglesias, a former member of parliament from Argentina who was co-chair of the UNPA campaign's  parliamentary advisory group and who now serves as council chair of the World Federalist Movement. According to him,

There are different ways to build a better global order and many initiatives for any of them. But there is only one path towards a democratic global order: a world parliament. The campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly currently is the most advanced initiative in existence that works towards this goal.

Last year, the Italian member of parliament Federica Mogherini introduced a motion in the Italian parliament in support of a UN Parliamentary Assembly. We asked her to describe briefly why she endorses the proposal. Here's her statement:

Faced with the globalization of economy and finance, the mounting imbalance in the distribution of wealth, or asymmetric threats to international security, the answer that is provided by the cooperation of nation-states is often no longer enough. There's an increased urgency that political institutions and instruments of participation and democracy also go through a process of globalization. That's why I support the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly.

The parliamentarian and leader of the Norwegian liberal party Venstre, Trine Skei Grande, described her motiviation to support a UNPA as follows:

We are all global citizens. Our mutual challenges are dealt with by a variety of international institutions and forums, unfortunately with varying lack of effectiveness, and varying lack of transparency and democratic participation. Venstre supports the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly in order to increase democratic participation in the world’s most important international institution.

The Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Swiss parliamentarian Liliane Maury Pasquier, said that:

The creation of a consultative Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations would strengthen the legitimacy of the UN and make it breathe some air of democracy. Just like what happens in the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly could function as the UN's democratic conscience and as an engine for change.

In a written message addressed to the participants of the conference in Brussels, the Minister of Textiles in the Union Government of India, Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, explained:

The UN system as it exists today does not reflect the changing dynamics of the new world order. Minority communities and opinions continue to be neglected. It is essential that a United Nations Parliamentary Asembly comes into place which reflects the vast diversity of this globe. This could result in better collaboration between governments and addresses current concerns like war, poverty, terrorism, drug trafficing etc. in a better manner.

Speaking at the conference, the co-founder and secretary-general of the UNPA campaign, Andreas Bummel, emphasized the idea of an inclusive parliamentary assembly that was also part of the final declaration:

A UN Parliamentary Assembly could be designed in more innovative ways than just as a copy of existing parliaments at the global scale. I conceive of it as a Cosmopolitan Congress that deals with all matters that concern humanity. In addition to elected representatives as core members it could also involve other international parliamentary networks as well as cities and local authorities, civil society, and representatives of indigenous peoples and nations.

The founder of the feminist initiative of Sweden and former member of parliament Gudrun Schyman said that:

A democratic world parliament could strengthen the voice of our world's women who are often marginalized in the forums of male-dominated national governments. A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly would be a decisive step in this direction.

As always, we've posted these and more statements here at Flickr and here on Facebook.

Manifesto for Global Democracy presented in Paris

On Tuesday last week, 31 January, the Manifesto for Global Democracy was presented in Paris at an event held at the university Sciences-Po which was attended by around 150 people including students of political sciences and international relations and several civil society activists.

The speakers included Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations; Mr. Pascal Lamy, former director of the World Trade Organization; and professors Bertrand Badie (Sciences-Po), Fernando Iglesias (Spinelli Chair, CUIA), Alain Touraine (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) and Heikki Patomäki (University of Helsinki). The discussion focused on global challenges and how institutions that are responsible to deal with them could be structured in a democratic way.

In the beginning, Fernando Iglesias introduced the manifesto and reported on the previous four presentations that were made in London, Rome, San Sebastián and Buenos Aires during 2012 and 2013. Professor Patomäki referred to different proposals for achieving a more democratic global order, pointing out in particular the creation of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations. Alain Touraine stressed that an initiative like this should have a universal character while Pascal Lamy raised doubts about the possibility of achieving democratic representation on a global scale. Mr. Boutros-Ghali related the initiative of the manifesto with the necessary democratic reform of the international system and the UN itself according to the agenda for democratization that he developed during his term as UN Secretary-General. The host, Bertrand Badie, closed the panel by stressing the importance of the concept of global democracy in order to overcome the limits of the global debate that is currently dominated by the controversy between neoliberalism and populist nationalism.

Among other things, the manifesto includes support for "a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly as the embryo of a future World Parliament." The next presentation of the manifesto will take place in the last week of March in Helsinki.

Read more:
Presentation of the manifesto in Rome in 2012
Publication of the manifesto in June 2012