Thinking Aloud
Democracy in the United Nations
By Bill McCarthy
|
With democratic institutions being established in countries around the world, the number of democratic nations in the United Nations rising significantly, especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the creation of a democratic fund at the United Nations, it is only a matter of time before democracy comes to the United Nations with the establishment of a people’s parliamentary assembly.
This is not a new idea, as the beginnings of this movement could be traced to 1889, when the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the oldest international organization of parliamentarians of sovereign States, was established and later changed to an association of national parliaments. In the 1920s, the idea of a people’s assembly was proposed to be part of the League of Nations, but was rejected.
Since then, there have been numerous proposals, conferences and international gatherings on the creation of this democratically elected second assembly within the UN system, which is envisioned as a companion to the General Assembly. The People’s Parliamentary Assembly would function initially as an advisory body, gaining credibility over time until it reaches its full political participation at the global level, similar to the status that the European Parliament has achieved at the regional level.
The year 2005 has been a landmark period for this international movement. In January, The Club of Budapest called for the creation of a civil parliament at the United Nations, and in February 108 Swiss parliamentarians signed an open letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, calling for the establishment of a people’s parliamentary assembly at the United Nations. While meeting in Sophia, Budapest in May, the 53rd Congress of Liberal International, a world federation of liberal parties, put forth a resolution to establish a parliamentary assembly.
In June in San Francisco (United States), the Citizens for a United Nations People’s Assembly presented a special United Nations sixtieth anniversary event, chaired by former UN Assistant-Secretary-General Robert Muller. The focus was the signing of an open letter to the Secretary-General, requesting him to appoint a high-level panel to determine the steps necessary for the creation of this democratically elected second assembly at the United Nations. The European Parliament also called for the establishment of a body that would increase “the democratic profile and internal democratic process” of the world Organization.
In a paper published on the occasion of the Second South Summit, meeting in Doha, Qatar from 12 to 16 June, the South Centre, an intergovernmental think tank of 48 countries, supported stronger inclusion of the people in the United Nations. It picks up on the proposal to establish a parliamentary assembly, a concept that Chairman Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former UN Secretary-General, strongly supports. Finally, the German Parliament passed a resolution stating that “it is necessary to create a parliamentary dimension of the United Nations system”.
Most recently, at UN Headquarters in September, the need for the voices of the people to be heard was strongly proclaimed by Joseph Donnelly, Chairman of the 58th Annual DPI/NGO Conference organized by the UN Department of Public Information, in his opening address. At the closing plenary, with the theme “We the Peoples: Every Voice Counts”, he again stressed the importance of every person’s voice being heard.
There is growing international support for a parliamentary assembly within the United Nations system, and at the same time there are various approaches to creating this second assembly, as well as many issues that will need to be addressed before it becomes a reality.
In their article in Foreign Affairs Magazine titled “Towards Global Parliament”, Richard Falk and Andrew Strauss offer two approaches to establishing a parliament. First, they suggest that civil society could, on its own, attempt to organize a parliament with sympathetic Governments playing only a supporting role. Under this approach, it would be up to civil society to come together to, at least provisionally, agree on voting districts and finance and organize elections. They also suggest that such an assembly, without an official sanction of States, would start as an advisory body, but that its unique legitimacy would give it the potential to eventually gain law-making powers. Both professors believe their second suggestion is more practical: that is for civil society to lobby a core group of 20 to 30 economically and geographically diverse States to establish an initially advisory parliament by way of a treaty. They suggest that such a parliament could play a supportive role in coordinating with the United Nations.
In “The Case for a UN Parliamentary Assembly”,* Senator Douglas Roche of Canada analyzes the possibility of establishing a second assembly and explores two ways to achieve this goal. The first would make use of the IPU and its process, whereby existing parliaments select other parliamentarians as members of the new assembly. As a significant figure within the IPU, Mr. Roche has a great deal of sympathy for this process, but despite its advantages he believes that popular legitimacy throughout the globe requires a new parliamentary assembly established by and carried on through citizen elections.
“Overcoming Practical Difficulties in Creating a WPA” (World Parliamentary Assembly),* by Joseph E. Schwartzberg, in addition to reviewing the many problems involved in creating a world parliament, takes on the formidable task of providing one precise model of how to achieve a representative system in which all the peoples of the world would have the opportunity to vote. His “technical” solution for this issue is a major contribution. It is clear that there will have to be a detailed statement of what the units of voting and representation will be in order to achieve a global consensus for a world parliamentary assembly.
In order to facilitate the next phase in the process for establishing a people’s parliamentary assembly, the Citizens for a United Nations People’s Assembly delivered its open letter to Secretary-General Annan, who replied with an initial letter of encouragement. The letter was signed by Robert Muller, Douglas Roche, Dr. Helen Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Ervin Laszlo, President of The Club of Budapest, and other prominent international figures. The organization was especially pleased that the Young General Assembly also signed on to the open letter. We need the signatures of the peoples of the world to move this process forward—every voice is important and every voice should be heard.
As the movement for a people’s parliamentary assembly continues to gain momentum and credibility, one thing is certain: it is only a matter of time before the dream of democratizing the United Nations becomes a reality. This is the future of humanity!
(*A Reader on Second Assembly & Parliamentary Proposals, edited by Saul H. Mendlovitz and Barbara Walker, published by the Center for UN Reform Education, May 2003)
|
|
Bill McCarthy is Co-Chair of the Citizens for a United Nations People’s Assembly. This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Lucile Green, who worked tirelessly for almost six decades for the creation of a people’s parliamentary assembly and to Dr. Harry Lerner, who has dedicated his life to establishing this democratically elected second assembly within the United Nations.
(To sign the open letter online, visit www.EmpowerTheUN.org). |
Go Back Top
|
|
Print