Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly

Milestones

Calls for a UN Parliamentary Assembly build on a long tradition of support and activism. Here is a brief overview of selected milestones. A detailed account is provided in the book A World Parliament.

  1. Today

  2. The 2026 SDG16+ civil society declaration calls for consideration of a UN parliamentary body.

  3. The largest survey on the subject to date, carried out in 101 countries, finds a relative majority of global respondents supportive of a citizen-elected world parliament to handle global issues.

  4. The study group on a Second UN Charter proposes a formula for allocating seats in a UNPA

  5. The draft Second UN Charter presented by a study group of the Global Governance Forum suggests to establish a UNPA as a new principal body

  6. Ahead of the UN Summit of the Future, over 150 civil society groups publish a statement endorsing a UNPA as one of four priority proposals in the field of inclusive global governance

  7. A UNPA is endorsed in the People’s Pact for the Future drafted by the Coalition for the UN We Need

  8. In a survey covering 18 G20 countries, 52% support a UN Parliamentary Assembly while only 11% oppose the idea

  9. The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) endorses a UNPA in their annual report

  10. The creation of a UNPA is discussed at the UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi

  11. The new Mobilizing an Earth Governance Alliance supports the Campaign for a UNPA

  12. A report of the Climate Governance Commission supports the “We The Peoples” platform, including a UN Parliamentary Assembly

  13. According to a survey in G7 and BRICS countries, overall 62% of respondents support the creation of a UN Parliamentary Network while only 17% opposed

  14. A UNPA is supported by the Interim’s People’s Pact drafted by civil society’s Global Futures Forum

  15. The foreign minister of Malaysia, Saifuddin bin Abdullah, supports the creation of a UNPA

  16. A joint statement of over 120 lawmakers from over 40 countries endorses the “We The Peoples” campaign and a UNPA

  17. A joint statement of over 100 civil society organizations supports a UNPA, launching the “We The Peoples” campaign for inclusive global governance

  18. The United Nations publishes its UN75 report with a reference to UNPA as a way to make the UN more inclusive

  19. A UNPA is supported by civil society’s UN75 People’s Declaration

  20. Before 2020

  21. The European Parliament calls on the EU’s governments to support a UNPA

  22. A first monograph detailing the history, relevance and implementation of a world parliament is published: “A World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century” by Jo Leinen and Andreas Bummel

  23. The support of the international campaign has grown to over 1,500 current and former members of parliament

  24. The European Parliament calls for a UN debate on a UNPA

  25. The Pan-African Parliament calls on the African Union to support the establishment of a UNPA

  26. The Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance endorses a UN Parliamentary Network

  27. The support of the international campaign has grown to over 1,200 current and former members of parliament

  28. At a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, the Foreign Minister of Malta endorses a UNPA

  29. The Fifth International Meeting on a UNPA comes together at the European Parliament in Brussels

  30. The first Global Week of Action for a World Parliament is launched

  31. The UN’s Independent Expert for the Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order endorses a UNPA

  32. The East African Legislative Assembly endorses a UNPA

  33. The third Green World Congress reiterates the Green’s support for a UNPA in Dakar

  34. The Parliament of Mercosur endorses a UNPA

  35. In a resolution on the EU’s UN policy, the European Parliament endorses a UNPA

  36. The Fourth International Meeting on a UNPA comes together in premises of the Senate of Argentina in Buenos Aires

  37. The National Assembly of the Seychelles endorses a UNPA

  38. Before 2010

  39. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supports a UNPA

  40. The Third International Meeting on a UNPA gathers in New York

  41. The Argentinian Chamber of Deputies endorses a UNPA

  42. The campaign issues a “Call for global democratic oversight of international financial and economic institutions”

  43. The support of the international campaign has grown to 600 current and former members of parliament

  44. The Second International Meeting on a UNPA meets at the European Parliament in Brussels, stresses complementary nature of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and a UNPA

  45. The Senate of Argentina supports a UNPA

  46. The Latin-American Parliament endorses a UNPA

  47. In an official report, the government of Switzerland expresses a supportive view

  48. The first Green World Congress in Sao Paulo supports a UNPA

  49. The First International Meeting on a UNPA comes together in Geneva under the patronage of former UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali

  50. In a resolution adopted on UN day, the Pan-African Parliament calls for a UNPA

  51. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Canadian House of Commons supports a UNPA

  52. Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali addresses a supportive message to the participants of the UNPA campaign

  53. The international campaign for a UNPA is launched with events in over ten countries. The campaign’s appeal for a UNPA is endorsed by around 400 members of parliament from 70 countries, among others.

  54. Before 2007

  55. The Congress of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, meeting in Buenos Aires, adopts a resolution that calls for a UNPA

  56. An open letter signed by a majority of Swiss parliamentarians asks UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to look into the proposal of a UNPA

  57. The Congress of the Liberal International endorses a UNPA

  58. The 22nd Congress of the Socialist International, meeting in Sao Paulo, endorses the goal of a UNPA

  59. The London Declaration of the World Campaign for In-Depth Reform of the System of International Institutions lead by UBUNTU Forum, a network of international NGOs and intellecutals, endorses a world parliament

  60. The first International Conference of Chief Justices of the World meets in Lucknow, India, and supports the establishment of a world parliament ever since

  61. In Paris, a Committee for a World Parliament is formed. Many former heads of state join the advisory board, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela

  62. The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, calls for an elected world parliament in his speech at the UN’s Millennium Summit

  63. Before 2000

  64. On the occasion of the WTO’s conference in Seattle, 150 international parliamentarians and the European Parliament call for the establishment of a WTO Parliamentary Assembly

  65. Professors Richard Falk and Andrew Strauss from the U.S. publish the first article in a subsequent influential series that promotes a world parliament

  66. The report of the Commission on Global Governance says that when the time comes, a global parliamentary body should be considered

  67. In a resolution on UN reform, the European Parliament suggests that a UNPA should be considered

  68. A report of the InterAction Council, an association of former heads of state and government, suggests that a UNPA should be studied

  69. A study by renown UN experts Erskine Childers and Brian Urquhart, “Renewing the United Nations System,” recommends a UNPA

  70. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Canadian House of Commons endorses a UNPA

  71. The World Federalist Movement, an international NGO established in 1947, promotes a UNPA as a first step towards a world parliament. A WFM paper published by Dieter Heinrich creates new momentum.

  72. A report of the Liberal International endorses the long-term goal of a directly elected world parliament

  73. The Conference on a More Democratic United Nations, CAMDUN, discusses proposals for a world parliament, among other things

  74. Before 1990

  75. The International NGO Network for a UN Second Assembly, INFUSA, calls on the UN to study proposals for a “Second Chamber”

  76. In a speech at the UN, the Indian UN Ambassador calls a world parliament “a very desirable thing”

  77. Assembling in Copenhagen, Denmark, more than 400 parliamentarians endorse a UN Charter revision that would establish a world parliament

  78. Louis Sohn, a former U.S. delegate to the San Francisco conference that established the United Nations in 1945 suggests the establishment of a UNPA according to Article 22 of the UN’s Charter

  79. Albert Einstein publishes an open letter to the UN General Assembly that calls for direct elections of UN delegates

  80. In a poll conducted in the United States, 62 percent agree that the U.S. should participate in an elected world parliament

  81. After the end of the Second World War, the British Foreign Minister suggests that the establishment of a world parliament should be studied

  82. Before 1945

  83. Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, calls for a directly elected world parliament

  84. Shoghi Effendi, Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá’í Faith, endorses a world parliament

  85. The international conference of League of Nations societies in Berne calls for an international parliament

  86. The British delegation at the Versailles Peace talks following the First World War suggests that the League of Nations should include a world parliament

  87. The peace movement headed by feminist and peace activist Bertha von Suttner supports a world parliament

  88. At a conference in Brussels, a delegation of the United States Congress suggests the establishment of a world parliament

  89. Alfred Tennyson, a British poet, promotes a “Parliament of man, the Federation of the world” in the poem “Locksley Hall”

  90. During the French Revolution, cosmopolitan revolutionary Anacharsis Cloots calls for the creation of a world republic with a world parliament