A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

The challenges humanity is facing today, at the beginning of the 21st century, require decisive joint efforts of the international community. Global economic, technological and ecological developments are taking place which, in their nature, are beyond the control of individual nation-states. Global warming is a threat for the whole planet. Increasing international coordination and decision-making is inevitable. In the process, the United Nations has been allocated an ever-growing number of mandates and tasks. Alongside the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, the UN and its specialized entities constitute the core of global governance.

While the decisions taken at the UN and its activities in the field affect the daily life of millions, its antiquated decision-making structures do not provide for adequate participation and representation of the world's citizens. In the UN's decision-making, the pluralism of opinions and political views held in societies at the national level is reduced to one uniform voice of the representative of the national government. In an ever intertwined world this reductive centralism is not sufficient to achieve sustainable solutions in the interest of the global common good.

Bearing in mind these considerations the Global Greens

- Convinced that parliamentary representation is a suitable means to reflect the diversity of public opinion in a legitimate, democratic and plural manner and in a manner that takes into account the importance of the population of the various nation-states

- Pointing out the – perfectible but useful - examples of parliamentary representation at the international level provided by the European Parliament, the Pan-African Parliament and the plethora of regional parliamentary assemblies;

- In awareness of the resolutions of the European Parliament (2005), the Pan-African Parliament (2007), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2006), the Socialist International (2003), the Liberal International (2005) and the World Federation of United Nations Associations (2006) calling for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA);

- Recalling the statement included in the Charter of the Global Greens adopted in Canberra in 2001 that "the Greens have as a priority the encouragement and support of grassroots movements and other organisations of civil society working for democratic, transparent and accountable government, at all levels from local to global";

- Noting that a UNPA, as a parliamentary link to the citizens, has the potential to make the UN more democratic, accountable, transparent, responsive and representative;

- Further noting that a UNPA would strengthen the UN's credibility in promoting national democratization and would be a means to give minorities and political opposition a voice in international affairs;

Therefore

- Join the call for the establishment of a UNPA as parliamentary body within the UN system;

- Recommend that the UNPA eventually should be directly elected but in a first step could be composed of representatives of national parliaments;

- Support the demand that a UNPA should be vested with parliamentary rights of participation, information and oversight;

- Stress that a UNPA would be complementary to the UN General Assembly;

- Resolve to launch a global dialogue on a UNPA and the resulting notion of a bi-cameral UN.