Green party of Sweden supports a UN Parliamentary Assembly

National congress adopts resolution, calls on government to take action

At its national congress in the city of Karlstad from May 13-15, the Swedish Green Party Miljöpartiet de gröna adopted a motion calling "for a democratic United Nations." The motion was accepted by an overwhelming majority of the congress delegates. It expresses the party's support of the international campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly and  for the proposal to "establish and gradually develop a democratic UN Parliament."

According to the document, a first step towards a future UN Parliament could be to establish a UN Parliamentary Assembly that only has advisory powers at the beginning. Within the limitations of the UN Charter, this could be done through a decision of the UN General Assembly. An approval by the UN Security Council would not be required. Furthermore, the text of the motion calls on the Swedish government to start a coalition of progressive UN member states in order to promote the idea within the UN system.

In the national elections of 2014, the Green party received 6.89% of the votes, resulting in 25 of the 349 seats in the Riksdagen. The Swedish government is formed by a coalition between the Social Democratic Party and the Greens.

The foreign policy spokesperson of the Green Party, Valter Mutt, was present at the congress. In a statement for the UNPA Campaign he underlined the potential role of a UN Parliament as a peacemaker:

We need to strengthen the peace dialogue in the world, the conversation between individuals on the one hand and between peoples on the other. A UN parliament is an indispensable platform to make such a dialogue possible beyond national mindsets. Therefore I am happy that the Swedish Green Party supports the establishment a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly.

The UNPA Campaign's international appeal has been signed also by the two leaders of the Swedish Green Party, Gustav Fridolin and Isabella Lövin. Since 2014, Lövin has been serving as Minister for International Development Cooperation in the Swedish government. In a statement from July 2013, when Lövin was a Member of the European Parliament and putting a special focus on a more sustainable fishing policy, she said:

We must not be silent when the Oceans are dying because short-sighted national interests make effective global rules impossible. Through a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly a platform could be established that finally makes the voice of humanity heard in support of the global interest and sustainable life on Earth.

Growing Green support around the world

Through its supportive motion, the Swedish Greens join a growing global green movement for the establishment of a United Nations Parliament. The Global Greens, the umbrella organization for Green Parties around the world, have continuously expressed support for the proposal, for example at their latest congress in Dhakar 2012. In addition, the German Green Party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen is supporting the UNPA proposal. Only a few weeks ago, this was reaffirmed by a statement of its chairman Cem Özdemir.