The anemic results of the UN meeting in Copenhagen - no binding agreement and no agreed upon targets - should lead us to ask: How can the UN be transformed from a forum of self-interested nations into a global community able to take timely and effective action?
Substantive UN reform has proved intractable, largely because of the veto granted by the permanent Security Council powers to themselves in 1945. One way to force a re-organization of the UN system would be to introduce a new element, a UN Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA), that would act as a peoples’ watchdog with moral clout.
As proposed by a coalition of NGOs, Parliamentary Assembly members would not be accountable to national governments but directly to constituent citizens. This key point must be emphasized—national governments will not be able to fire, recall or instruct UN Parliamentarians. That independence will allow these representatives to raise sensitive issues, table innovative proposals, and express disapproval when the UN and its member states fail to discharge their global responsibilities. For the first time the United Nations would have an official opposition inside the gates. As with our own Parliament, debates and question periods would attract media scrutiny, public attention, and more political pressure on the UN to do the right thing.
The proposal for a UN Parliamentary Assembly is based on the actual development of the European Parliament which currently represents almost 500 million citizens in the European Union. Shortly after WWII, the Europeans started with a seed that they nurtured—an assembly drawn from parliamentarians of member countries. Originally advisory in nature, this body was given co-decision powers and converted to direct elections in 1979. Through its questionings and special commissions, the EP kept bureaucrats and member governments on their toes, and gave citizens and nongovernmental organizations significant influence. Europe underwent a remarkable transformation. From slaughtering and demonizing each other through two catastrophic World Wars, Europeans are now sitting in the same parliamentary chamber, organized not along national but party lines.
At the UN, a consultative Parliamentary Assembly could be established as a subsidiary body by a vote in the General Assembly under Article 22, and without changing the UN Charter. Until direct elections become practical, delegates could be seconded from national parliaments and chosen from both government and opposition benches. Over time the Assembly could gradually transition into a world parliament with powers of co-decision. Since April 2007, an international campaign has collected endorsements from over 699 national parliamentarians in 94 countries, including 49 MPs and Senators from Canada.
If you believe it's time to hasten the arrival of a global democratic institution with immense transformative potential, check out the international website of the Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly at www.unpacampaign.org for more details, and please endorse the appeal online.
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