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(2/2) Introductory document of topic 3
Rob WHEELER WP21 team
Friday, January 03, 2003 5:04 PM
ººº Abstract: parts of the document (1/2) Introduction - the purpose of the
World Parliament -Meeting Time and Place - Funding - Representation and
participation - (2/2) Participatory Methodologies - Program proposals and
Development - Local and Regional Organizing - Organizational Models and
Proposals ººº
Participatory Methodologies
There are those that believe that instead of representatives, everybody
should just vote on everything. One of the problems with this, however, is
that someone will still have to develop the proposals to be voted on and
then decide which proposals will be put to the vote. Still there are
proposals for dealing with this, such as that the World Parliament could
include Peoples Agenda Commissions, Communities of Ideas, or Working Groups
that would discuss the primary issue areas and put forward proposals for
consideration or vote. And if local and regional assemblies are established
then they could also put forward such proposals for consideration.
And then during the past months' discussion Gary Alexander and Rasmus
Tanbergen have told us about the programs that they have developed on their
websites that would allow discussions, which can be coupled with proposal
development moving towards voting on the proposals selected. I would suggest
that this month's topic could provide us with a good opportunity to
experiment with such technologies and methodologies to see how well they
work and if any modifications might be needed. See:
http://earthsummit.open.ac.uk/ and http://www.tgde.org/ .
The e-Parliament and e-Forum will also most likely provide another means for
such discussions to take place on-line and for mechanisms to be developed to
put specific proposals on the table. See: http://www.e-parl.net/
(informative provisional site). In addition, there are quite a number of
on-going intergovernmental, as well as civil society processes, that could
somehow be integrated into the WP21 processes as the WP is developed.
I would like to suggest three primary topics that could be discussed and
voted on using the Global Democracy Experiment and/or e-Gaia discussion
format during this month's discussion. Thus we could include:
A) What rules, procedures, and processes might be needed in order to
organize and hold legitimate elections or selection processes?
B) How could we fund the World Parliament on-goingly? How could we raise or
provide at least seed monies to organize local, regional, and the global
parliament?
C) Assuming that the WP would include and be based upon the Communities of
Ideas or Peoples Agenda Commissions, how should these be organized and
operate? Similarly, what would be the primary thematic issue areas that
should be addressed? Should we include four or five primary issue areas with
many sub-topics, or would it be better to include 40 or 50 different
Communities/Commissions?
The Millennium Forum identified around 35 different issue areas, categorized
into 6 different working groups. The Alliance identified and grouped into 17
parallel strands or axis, during its Earth Citizens Assembly in Lille,
France last year; and has included quite a number of working groups that
have created 55 proposal booklets. If we want to begin with a limited number
of Commissions then the primary topics could include such areas as: Peace
and Disarmament; Human Rights; Social and Economic Justice; Globalization;
Environment and Sustainable Development; and Global Governance.
Then one would need to decide where each of the other issue areas (such as
education, health, media, cultural relations, and information and
communication technologies, etc) would fit into the primary
Communities/Commissions. However, rather than discuss this level of detail
during this month's discussion, I would suggest that we instead focus on how
such Communities/Commissions could more generally be organized and operate;
and then discuss the more detailed specifics during month 4 when we will be
discussing political issues and means of implementation.
Program Proposals and Development
Most proposals or initiatives could actually be handled by sectoral
commissions or communities of ideas themselves rather than by the world
parliament as a whole. The plenary sessions of the world parliament could
then be more for ceremonial purposes, drawing attention to a key program or
plan of action, information sharing, networking, cross - sectoral
initiatives, and /or focusing on a specific topic in a more intense or
focused way, etc. The ideas for People Agenda Commissions and Communities of
Ideas are very similar to the Alliance Working Groups- these organizational
methods could either be merged or the WP processes could address and include
the proposals from the Alliance Working Groups as they are developed.
In addition the thematic commissions could develop formal relationships with
NGOs that are active in the field, with government agencies, and the other
major groups for each issue or thematic area. They could also hold public
hearings and/or townhall meetings and consultations (similar to what has
been done with Business and with NGO Consultations during the Finance for
Development process or with the Multi-stakeholder Dialogues of the
Commission on Sustainable Development at the United Nations). In both cases
representatives of civil society and business have been invited to address
the governments through panel presentations and roundtable discussion
formats, with the governments then responding through questions and
dialogue.
Rather than establish whole new processes, perhaps it will be worthwhile for
us to build from existing initiatives and processes to the extent that we
are able to. Thus, we could base the initial work and activities of the
world parliament on such processes as Simultaneous Policy; Charter 99's work
on accountability; Ubuntu's work on reforming global institutions; the
Assembly of the UN of the Peoples (held every two years in Perugia, Italy)
and the World Civil Society Forum (meeting in Geneva); and the single text
negotiating process that has been suggested for the e-Parliament and which
was used for the development of the International Criminal Court, Land Mines
Treaty, etc.
Local and Regional Organizing
Assuming that it is seen to be important to include popular participation
and to organize assemblies in local communities and regions around the
world, then we ought to discuss how these local assemblies could be
structured and operate:
For example, local assemblies could hold monthly meetings focusing on
various topics which cover the connection between local and global issues.
The meetings could begin with a presentation providing an overview of the
general issue under discussion and then proceed to either general or focused
discussion. In addition, local and regional assemblies could respond to
proposals that are being considered by or for the World Parliament, both
substantive (thematic) proposals and organizational (or procedural) matters.
During the World Summit on Sustainable Development a new focus on
Partnership Initiatives (including business, governments, and civil society)
was established to include cooperative efforts for implementation. These
initiatives can, and are, being developed by various types of groupings of
such major groups or stakeholders. Recognition of best practices and success
stories has also been recognized as an important means leading towards
further implementation. Thus meetings of local or regional assemblies, or of
the world parliament, could focus on reviewing or highlighting various
Partnership Initiatives or Best Practices. They could also include training
programs and conferences for Programme Development and Implementation.
The Alliance have developed the geocultural groups. One example of a
geo-cultural dynamic highlighting best ideas and experiences has been the
Project Rethinking Society http://www.novacis.org/repensar.htm Another
current dynamic group is from the South Cone http://www.ctera.org.ar/
Local or regional assemblies could also discuss and establish procedures for
electing/selecting representatives to represent them, or act as liaisons on
their behalf, during other local, regional, and/or the global assemblies.
Thus one of the key functions would be educational or passing on information
between various assemblies or parliaments. Similarly, a key purpose of local
assemblies, particularly in the developing world, would be to share
information, discuss, and vote on proposals which have been circulated
through the internet.
Thus, a primary role of local and regional assemblies could be to establish
the means through which people can participate and vote in the World
Parliament process. The Global Peoples Assembly Network has developed
provisional By-laws and a Charter by which a network of local and regional
assemblies, associated with the world parliament, could be structured and
operate. It anticipates the development of an International Registry,
maintained through local and regional assemblies, through which a membership
base and voting registries can be established. Through this means all
participants in the network could vote on all major issues or proposals
being considered by the World Parliament.
In addition, GPAN has developed a proposal for a Delegates Council which
would include representatives of the local and regional assemblies and
participating or partner organizations. The Council would act as a
coordinating council and a means through which proposals can be circulated
through all of the local and regional assemblies. Similarly, input from
local and regional assemblies, in response to proposals that are being
discussed, could be submitted to the Delegates Council for dissemination and
consideration.
The Delegates Council would thus act as one means through which the
relationship between the local and regional assemblies and the world
parliament is developed. However, local and regional assemblies could also
include Committees associated with the Peoples Assembly Commissions or
Communities of Ideas; and thus there could be a direct connection between
these local and regional committees and those that are organized at the
global level. In fact, the commissions/communities at the global level could
include, or be based upon, the participation of those active at the more
local level.
Organizational Models and Proposals
There are a number of different proposals for what a World Parliament could
actually be. Perhaps the most formal is that of the World Constitution &
Parliament Association (WCPA), www.wcpagren.org which proposes a developed
constitution which pretty much sets out the structure and workings for a
global government. Then there is the proposal by Roger Dittman for a 2nd House organized through the non-governmental
organizations (acting as Voluntary ) at the United Nations. Similar
proposals for such a 2nd or people's house have been put forward by CAMDUN
(Campaign for a More Democratic United Nations),
http://www.camdun-online.gn.apc.org/, EarthAction Network,
http://www.earthaction.org/ the Assembly of the UN of the Peoples and in a
number of reports studying intergovernmental processes including the
Commission on Global Governance http://www.cgg.ch/ in preparation for the UN
50 activities in 1995.
The World Federalist Movement www.wfm.org has long endorsed the idea that
there should be a world parliament that evolves from beginning initially
with representation by parliamentarians. However, this past summer the WFM
endorsed a proposal during its quadrennial conference calling for a
popularly elected body that would grow out of a grassroots organizing
process held around the world.
During this month's discussion we can continue to discuss why we might
choose one type of a structure, process, or framework for a World Parliament
rather than another. We can consider what might be the advantages or
benefits of one rather than another. We can also discuss the internal
workings and procedures for the world parliament. Should it include
executive, legislative, and judicial functions? How could it implement or
enforce legislation or measures that are passed? And then we will need to
discuss how it will relate to or be integrated with other intergovernmental
processes.
However, as we discuss the various questions and ideas that have been raised
above, perhaps it would be worthwhile to consider that we don't necessarily
have to all agree on one proposal or model. We may in fact be able to
promote and experiment with multiple methods and organizing processes within
the WP at the same time. Similarly, program proposals can include various
activities and approaches that can be adopted as wished in different places
around the world. Thus proposals could be passed that would allow local and
regional assemblies or governments to modify or implement them as they might
wish, provided this doesn't conflict with the basic proposal or agreement.
It will also be important to consider both what can be accomplished within
the next period of years and what we might be able to accomplish ultimately.
Thus, we could consider how a WP might contribute to correcting major
problems as soon as possible, while also developing a long term governance
model, which can be modified and evolve over time. Thus we can consider how
we can develop experimental models and processes; and yet at the same time
establish a World Parliament that is strong enough to have a significant and
immediate impact.
Thank you for your considerations and rich contributions to the discussion.
Sincerely,
Rob Wheeler
WP21
(Read first half)
WP21 Alliance Forum on a World Parliament for the 21st Century
E-mail : world-parl@forums.alliance21.org
Fax 1 717 264 5036
Information, inscriptions, désinscriptions: germa@alliance21.org
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