RSS news channel of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assemblyhttp://en.unpacampaign.org/news/en.xml 06/30/2008 The international Campaign for the Establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly now is supported by over 500 members of parliament from over 80 countries. "The enthusiastic response of these politicians demonstrates that lawmakers elected at the national level see the necessity of an elected body at the global level and that they now want to take action," said Andreas Bummel, head of the UNPA Campaign Secretariat, in a media release issued to highlight this milestone. The parliamentarians have signed the Campaign's appeal which recommends "a gradual implementation of democratic participation and representation on the global level" through a UN Parliamentary Assembly. The media release features comments of five elected representatives from Argentina, Spain, Canada, Nigeria and Belgium. http://en.unpacampaign.org/news/307.php 06/14/2008 At its meeting on 12 June 2008 in Colombia's capital Bogotá, the Commission for Political Affairs of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) has unanimously adopted a declaration endorsing "the creation of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly." The document states that "gradual implementation of citizens’ participation and representative democracy at the global level" is essential to reduce the "democratic deficit" in the international arena. A UNPA is regarded as an "indispensable step into this direction". The Commission declares that it "invites all parliamentary organizations to participate actively in the process of its creation." The Argentine deputy Fernando Iglesias, who introduced the motion, said "Elected representatives throughout Latin America are aware of the advantages a UN Parliamentary Assembly will entail. The unanimous decision of the Commission for Political Affairs of Parlatino is an important first step to build political momentum for this cause in the region." The Latin American Parliament was created 1964 and is based on an international treaty concluded 1987 which by now 22 member states from the region have joined. The parliamentary assembly is composed of elected representatives of their national parliaments. Its purpose includes to strengthen human rights and parliamentary democracy. The meeting on 12 June was chaired by the Argentine Senator Sonia Escudero. http://en.unpacampaign.org/news/302.php 06/06/2008 In its official annual report for 2008 on the relations of Switzerland with the United Nations adopted on 21st May, the Swiss government informs about the participation of Swiss government observers in the first international meeting of the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly which gathered in November 2007 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The report now publicly states that at the meeting Switzerland expressed its "sympathy" for the proposal to create a parliamentary body at the UN. "It is increasingly recognized by democrats that participation of civil society is essential throughout the entire UN system. In its yearly report to parliament the Swiss government devotes a whole chapter to this question and thereby expressly supports the creation of a parliamentary assembly. This is an encouragement which probably can also be ascribed to the experience that the Swiss government policy gains acceptance and legitimacy by including parliamentarians into opinion making at the UN," commented Remo Gysin, former member of parliament and Director of the Centre for the Millennium Development Goals (CMDG). http://en.unpacampaign.org/news/298.php 05/19/2008 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. http://en.unpacampaign.org/news/294.php 05/09/2008 From 5th to 9th May a delegation of the Secretariat of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly visited the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, South Africa, at the occasion of its 9th session. At its last session in October 2007 the parliamentary body of the African Union had adopted a resolution urging its administration to take “the initiative to achieve the establishment of a consultative United Nations Parliamentary Assembly within the UN system”. In its consultations with PAP officials and PAP members from over 10 countries the UNPA-Campaign delegation has raised the question of how it could assist in this process. The visit was concluded on 9th May with a meeting with PAP President Dr. Gertrude Mongella, on the photo with UNPA-Campaign Secretariat leader Andreas Bummel and Hon. Mokshanand Dowarkasing MP. http://en.unpacampaign.org/news/290.php 05/08/2008 The Canadian Senator Roméo Dallaire supports the call for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA). "So many of my current causes, projects and interventions in the Parliament of Canada have a single common denominator - the urgent need to transform the United Nations System, to make it more accountable and more responsive to the collective needs, and rights, of the world's citizens. A UN Parliamentary Assembly would be an important step in the right direction,” Dallaire noted. From 1993 to 1994 Dallaire served as force commander of UNAMIR, the United Nations peacekeeping mission for Rwanda. At the time of his command, the ill-equipped mission was faced with the massive genocide lasting for a total of 100 days and leading to the murder of between 800,000 and 1,171,000 Tutsi and Hutu moderates. Dallaire’s efforts to constrain and stop the atrocities have been widely recognized. Proponents of a UNPA argue that if the body had been in place at that time, it could have helped to alert the international community to the urgent need to intervene. http://en.unpacampaign.org/news/286.php