A move aimed at achieving greater transparency, democracy and efficiency at the United Nations kicked off Tuesday in Vancouver.
A Network of groups from around the world attended a press conference at the Vancouver Central Library as part of a campaign launch for the proposed United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA).
A German-based NGO, the Committee for a Democratic UN (KDUN), is coordinating an international coalition, most notably the World Federalist Movement, to create a citizens' parliament that would attach to the U.N.
"It is a move to reestablish confidence in the U.N., to restore more democracy and to ensure that there is a more democratic form of decision making which would be on behalf of people, not corporations or any other interests," said Adrienne Carr, who spoke at the launch and endorses the UNPA on behalf of the Green Party of Canada.
The movement already has the support of nearly 400 members of parliament, many non-governmental networks and individuals from 98 countries, as well as former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The coalition consists of close to 900 members.
Panelists at the press conference included Ian Waddell, former MP and B.C. Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Adriane Carr, deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada, former MP and member of the Order of Canada Simma Holt, and Leonard Angel, philosophy professor at Douglas College.
Waddell said the UNPA is a modest yet revolutionary proposal, because "it introduces the concept of a global community and the global good and ties it into the grass roots."
Article 22 of the U.N. Charter allows for the General Assembly to establish subsidiary organs "as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions," thus opening the door for the proposed parliamentary assembly to be established by a majority vote of the General Assembly. Changes in the Charter would be necessary should the UNPA take on greater powers in the future.
Initially the parliamentary assembly would consist of current parliamentarians chosen by the democracies of the world. Supporters say this is the quickest route to establish what they really want, which is an elected assembly.
Angel acknowledged that there are other ways to proceed, but says "this group of people [KDUN] thought it through and worked it through for many years" before choosing this approach.
Many of the approximately 60 people who attended the press conference raised issues of credibility and accountability to the panel. They questioned the plausibility of real issues getting raised and dealt with, and whether the UNPA would be just another ineffective world body.
Waddell, referencing his personal experience in helping to establish the International Criminal Court, said a multi-party, non-partisan approach works. "We found that we got on; we had different interests but we found that we were far more connected to the grass roots than to the interests of the state."
Carr says a parliament at the U.N. would be transparent and would hold international bodies such as the World Trade Organization and the World Bank accountable.
"At this critical point in our planet's history there is a need to make a choice [to do something]," says Carr.
Patsy George of the United Nations Association Canada admits the idea of UN reform is not new, but over the last few years support for the idea has been growing. She says increasing public awareness of environmental issues is helpful for bringing people together.
"When it comes to these kinds of international issues it seems to me we should be forgetting what party we belong to and really work toward solutions, but I think the only way we can do that is if we have dialogues and discussions where we can really trust each other, not in situations where people are here to promote a certain political point of view."
The World Federalist Movement Canada is looking for citizen volunteers to contact MPs in every riding and request their endorsement of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly.
After Vancouver, the coalition's campaign will include press conferences in cities such as Rome, London, Berlin and New York, with an international conference planned for Geneva in October under the patronage of Boutros-Boutros Ghali.
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