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The Cardoso Report on International Democracy
by William R. Pace

The WFM judgment of the Report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations – Civil Society Relations, best known as the Cardoso Report, is a mixture of support and concerns. The World Federalist Movement welcomes the Secretary-General's reform initiatives and applauds the Panel's effort to enhance the engagement of civil society in the United Nations. Likewise, we support the spirit of inclusiveness in the Report and the recommendations for participation of all relevant stakeholders in the United Nations.

We are concerned with the Panel's emphasis on the participation of other actors such as the business sector without outlining a framework for the rules of engagement for these actors.

Overall, WFM supports the Panel's steps to facilitate greater involvement of parliamentarians in UN processes and approves of the initiative of Global Public Policy Committees. However, we have some concerns regarding the need for more inclusiveness in consulting with parliamentary associations.

Since the release of the Report many substantive, legal, political and practical questions have been raised by all actors indicating a need for an inclusive follow-up process where such questions could be attended to. Given that the Report is addressing the issue of civil society engagement in the UN, WFM finds it especially vital that a follow-up framework with modalities for input and participation of civil society is established.

SWISS NATIONAL COUNCIL PUSH FOR A U.N. PARLIAMENT

At a press conference in the Swiss federal building in Bern, an open letter to UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, was presented on Wednesday. With their signature, 108 members of parliament, among them the majority of the Swiss National Council, support the idea of the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA). Through such an assembly civil society could be better integrated into decision-making on the international level, says the joint letter of the parliamentarians. A UNPA could be suitable to increase the legitimacy, transparency, acceptance and efficiency of the United Nations. The UN Secretary-General is requested to "introduce the idea of a Parliamentary Assembly at the UN into the reform debate and to forward this suggestion to the governments of the UN member states for further discussion". The open letter was born of an initiative between the Committee for a Democratic UN (CDUN) and the Society for Threatened Peoples Switzerland (STP).

"In a first step the Parliamentary Assembly could be affiliated to the UN General Assembly as a secondary body or specialized agency with consultative status. It would thereby be able to adopt recommendations directed at the UN General Assembly", said Hanspeter Bigler, STP Secretary-General. According to the example of the European Parliament, the Assembly shall be vested with genuine rights of information, participation and control.

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