Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly

In September 2018, CIVICUS published the following article by Andreas Bummel to their series “Reimagining Democracy” that suggests the establishment of a UN World Citizens Initiative as a consultative mechanism to the UN General Assembly.

Read the article below:
Let’s imagine global citizen participation at the UN
Andreas Bummel is Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders.

To find out more, receive updates and get involved, email contact@democracywithoutborders.org, or visit the Democracy Without Borders website here.

Visit unpacampaign.org to learn more about the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly or take action now.

Proposal

The Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) is a global network of parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations advocating citizen's representation at the United Nations. At the Campaign's launch in April 2007 at more than one dozen events on five continents an international "Appeal for the Establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly" was published. In April 2009 the Campaign issued a "Call for Global Democratic Oversight of International Financial and Economic Institutions". The Campaign's statements are supported by individuals from 156 countries, among them 755 members of parliament, and 389 NGOs from all around the world. Five international conferences have taken place so far.

International appeal for a UNPA (Click here for all available languages)

The bodies of the UN and international organizations are occupied by officials who are appointed by the executive branches of national governments. In view of the growing importance of international organizations and their decisions, this is no longer sufficient. A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) for the first time would give popularly elected representatives a formal role in global affairs. As an additional body, the assembly will directly represent the world's citizens and not governments.

Initially, states could choose whether their UNPA members would come from national parliaments, reflecting their political spectrum and gender equality, or whether they would be directly elected. Eventually, the goal is to have all members directly elected.

Starting as a largely consultative body, the rights and powers of the UNPA could be expanded over time as its democratic legitimacy increases. The assembly will act as an independent watchdog in the UN system and as a democratic reflection of the diversity of world public opinion.

In the long run, once its members are all democratically elected, the assembly could be developed into a world parliament which - under certain conditions and in conjunction with the UN General Assembly - may be able to adopt universally binding regulations.

Objectives:
» To make the UNPA proposal visible in political debates and the media
» To facilitate the creation of national and local networks of individuals, non-governmental organizations and parliamentarians advocating a UNPA in their sphere of influence
» To establish a global multi-stakeholder coalition which unites parliamentary and civil society efforts for a U.N. Parliamentary Assembly
» To facilitate contacts and debates with potentially like-minded parliaments and governments

Implementation

A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) can be established without a reform of the UN Charter.

In a first step, a UNPA could be created with a decision of the UN General Assembly under Article 22 UN Charter. According to this provision, the UN General Assembly “may establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions.”

The General Assembly would instigate the preparatory process and finally adopt the UNPA’s Statutes. Limited only by the scope of its own powers, the assembly would be able to vest the UNPA with distinct rights and functions.

Alternatively, the UNPA could be created through a new international treaty. This treaty would consist of the UNPA’s Statutes and would be negotiated by a group of like-minded governments. To enter into force, the treaty would have to be ratified by a certain number of countries as stipulated in the Statutes. Rights and functions vis-à-vis the UN would have to be confirmed by a cooperation agreement adopted by the UN General Assembly. Again, the UNPA’s rights could not exceed those of the General Assembly.

In either case, the UNPA should be open to the participation of all UN member states.

The establishment of a UNPA could be prepared by a United Nations Parliamentary Network set up by individual parliamentarians.

Numerous existing international parliamentary institutions such as the European Parliament or the Pan-African Parliament provide important experience to draw upon.

Various models have been put forward to demonstrate options for the allocation of seats.

Publications