08 August 2009

Argentina: Chamber of Deputies joins call for UN Parliamentary Assembly

The Congress building in Buenos Aires

Image: Flickr / kds1505

The Argentinian Chamber of Deputies backs the creation of a Parliamentary Assembly in the United Nations system. This was stated in a declaration passed unanimously in the lower house of parliament by 203 to zero votes on Thursday, 6 August. The Chamber thus joined the position of the Senate which adopted a similar resolution in last November. With both houses of the legislature supporting the project, the Congress of Argentina now is the first national parliament in the world which unconditionally called for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA). The Chamber of Deputies reiterated the Senate's statement that a UNPA would "strengthen the effectiveness, transparency, representativeness, plurality and legitimacy of the resolutions of the institutions that compose the UN system." The proposed new UN body is conceived as a first step towards a global parliament.

"The project in the Chamber of Deputies was endorsed by legislators from Acuerdo Cívico y Social, Frente para la Victoria, Concertación Party and Unión Pro. This underlines once again that there is support which embraces the whole political spectrum," said Mercedes Carluccio, Coordinator of the international Campaign for the Establishment of a UNPA in Argentina.

"Now that the Congress has come out in favor of the project, it would be the logical next step that the government takes a closer look at it. Making the UN more democratic through a parliamentary assembly is a very valuable goal and would strengthen the world organization. We believe that this is in the government's interest as well," said Fernando Pedrosa, President of Democracia Global, a non-governmental organization in Argentina participating in the campaign.