Ahead of the UN’s Summit of the Future next week in New York, a diverse group of 160 civil society organizations from across the world calls on UN member states in a joint open letter to support “specific measures” to make “global governance more inclusive and accountable.” The document refers to commitments made in the past and notes that to date, “few tangible steps have been taken”.
The UN summit on 22-23 September is expected to pass by consensus a “Pact for the Future” which will again include commitments to strengthen the UN’s “partnerships” with “relevant stakeholders.” According to the open letter, the drafts seen thus far do not go beyond general statements, however.
The letter emphasizes that “the UN’s initiatives to open its doors to the world’s people should be predictable, systematic, representative, and meaningful.”
Four proposals to enhance public participation
The letter advocates four proposals aimed at enhancing public participation which were considered at the UN Civil Society conference in May in Nairobi. They are also endorsed in a “People’s Pact” drafted over two years under the auspices of the civil society network Coalition for the UN We Need.
Firstly, the letter suggests establishing a permanent Global Citizens’ Assembly. This assembly would allow ordinary citizens, who are selected through a civic lottery to reflect the diversity of the world’s population, to deliberate and make recommendations on significant global issues. Secondly, it endorses the idea of a World Citizens’ Initiative. This initiative procedure would empower people worldwide to propose items for the UN General Assembly’s agenda, provided they gather a sufficient number of global signatures.
Thirdly, the letter proposes the formation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly. This assembly would comprise members from national parliaments or directly elected representatives, enabling them to participate in UN activities and serve as a diverse, representative oversight body. Lastly, the creation of a UN Civil Society Envoy is proposed to enhance participation, foster inclusive gatherings, and extend the UN’s engagement with civil society, major stakeholders, and the general public.
As the document points out, these proposals already “enjoy considerable support from a broad range of stakeholders”. Each of them is backed up by separate civil society-led international campaigns. The campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly, for instance, was endorsed over time by more than 1,500 parliamentarians and championed by the late former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali from Egypt.
The “We The Peoples” campaign for inclusive global governance serves as a common platform. The UN Civil Society Envoy is pushed forward by the UNMute civil society intiative. On the occasion of the Summit of the Future, a new coalition for a Global Citizens’ Assembly will be launched.
A number of civil society-organized events on the occasion of the UN Summit will touch on the proposals, in particular a side event during the UN Action Days on “What’s next for global governance?”, the presentation of a “Second Charter” for the UN, or a session on citizen participation at the 2024 Global People’s Assembly.
Looking beyond the UN Summit
Observers of the intergovernmental negotiations on the “Pact for the Future” recognize that the outcome will represent the lowest common denominator of Member States’ views, as a consensus requirement allows even single governments to block language they do not support. Authoritarian regimes, in particular, were pushing back against expanding participation at the UN beyond Member States. The draft Pact in many places emphasizes the importance of the “intergovernmental nature” of the organization.
The open letter already looks beyond the UN Summit. “Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the UN in 2025, we call on UN Member States to put in place an open and inclusive process” to “support the implementation” of its proposals, it states. “If this process is again based on consensus, we will get nowhere. A different approach will be needed”, commented the Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders, Andreas Bummel.
Petition for a “truly democratic United Nations”
A community petition launched on a leading online platform in the meantime calls on heads of state or government of UN Member States to “make the United Nations a truly democratic organisation – one where global decisions are made transparently, inclusively, and with the best possible participation and representation of all people.”
It says that as they “prepare for the Summit of the Future, it is not too late to set us on a different course. Use this once-in-a-generation opportunity: open the doors of the United Nations and create mechanisms for real participation, representation, transparency, and accountability.”
The petition expresses support for the open letter of civil society and can be endorsed here. According to international surveys, majorities in many countries endorse the proposals put forward in the open letter. Opinion polls suggest that majorities even support ideas that go much farther, including an elected legislative world parliament and a democratic global government.
The open letter was initiated by Democracy Without Borders, Democracy International and Iswe Foundation. Groups that endorsed it include Accountability Lab; Asia Democracy Network; Asia Development Alliance; Coalition for the UN We Need; Foundation of Peace; Global Governance Innovation Network; Greenpeace; Plataforma CIPÓ; Resilient 40, an African youth network on climate action; Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development; Southern Voice; United Nations Association-UK; World Federalist Movement–Institute for Global Policy; or Young European Federalists.
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