19 May 2008

CIVICUS calls for UN to start discussions on Parliamentary Assembly

At a Civil Society Forum on the World Food Crisis hosted by the NGO Section of the United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs on 16 May in New York, the main representative of CIVICUS, Vicente García-Delgado, has called for the UN to deliberate the establishment of a parliamentary body. "The peace and security challenges that the hunger crisis and climate change present must be understood as global challenges calling for global solutions that address adequately the concerns of all nations and all peoples," the representative said. Hence institution of global governance need to become "more supra-national". According to the statement, the alliance of civil society organizations considers that a UN Parliamentary Assembly could be a step into this direction: "CIVICUS would welcome the start of discussions at the General Assembly on the creation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly, as has been called over time by various civil society coalitions, most recently by the World Federation of UN Associations, the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly and others," García-Delgado stated in New York.

CIVICUS website