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Global Democracy
The Question of Global Democracy Increasing numbers of people all across the world have some level of influence in how their lives are governed through the means of democracy. Over 50% of the world’s population now have some kind of franchise. Almost 500 million European citizens are eligible to vote for the European Parliament as well as their own national Parliaments. But no-one has a vote for who represents them at the UN or the WTO. World federalists believe that citizens should have a right to democratic influence on decisions that affect their lives . International decision-making on such matters as security, trade, environment and migration increasingly affect all of our lives, and we work therefore to promote a variety of proposals for the democratisation of international institutions, leading eventually to a World Parliament. The Case for Global Democracy The UN charter begins with three words “We, the peoples” but the UN, like other international institutions currently represents only governments. It’s your world, why shouldn’t you have a voice in how it is run? Word federalists are not asking for elected representatives to replace governments at the UN and other institutions, but rather that some form of parliamentary mechanism should be added to existing bodies to introduce the beginnings of democracy to the processes of global governance. The experience of the creation of a supra-national Parliament for the European continent shows one example of how this is possible. We also believe that the international institutions themselves are often viewed with distrust and ignorance by ordinary people, and this undermines their legitimacy, so perhaps the UN and the WTO need the participation of the people as well… A UN Parliamentary Assembly Democracy is a process, and not an event and progress may come in stages. One idea to introduce the beginnings of greater representation into the international system would be to create a Parliamentary Assembly for the UN. Other international bodies such as NATO and the Council of Europe have such bodies already, so such an idea already has acceptance in the political world. Delegations of existing national Parliamentarians, such as MPs from Westminster could be nominated to represent the interests of the people of Britain, rather than the interests of the government. Existing Parliamentary Assemblies, such as that of the Council of Europe, allow ordinary people and representatives of civil society to bring their concerns to delegated MPs who then reflect their concerns on such issues as democracy and human rights. A UN Parliamentary Assembly would be an important first step to real global democracy and allow greater opportunity for the concerns of the people to be heard at the UN. A World Parliament In the long run we believe in the creation of a World Parliament. There have been a number of different proposals for how this might work. Jo Leinen, a German MEP, believes it could be created according to article 22 of the UN Charter, by a simple majority in the UN, as a second consultative body to the General Assembly.. Journalist and campaigner George Monbiot thinks a World Parliament could be developed out of the countless thousands attending the World Social Forum.. Alternatively, it could be created in the same way as the International Criminal Court was, with an intergovernmental conference whose decision had to be ratified by a number of national governments. You can find more details of all these ideas from links on this web-site Our main purpose is to promote the principle of a World Parliament. Your support is welcome! Growing Support World Wide Another noble idea, another unattainable ideal? Most people are unaware of how much international support there is for some form of global democracy. Recently 108 members of the Swiss National Council wrote an open letter to Kofi Annan in support of the creation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly. This one of a growing number of high level endorsements for some form of democracy at the UN – the more people accept the idea in principle, the sooner it will become reality.
Links George
Monbiot's book, 'The Age of Consent' Democratic
World Federalists 20*20
Vision
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