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“Save the United Nations!” Draft Resolution on UN Reform The General Assembly of the United Nations Fully aware that the objective of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms must be a priority of governance agendas at local, national and international levels, Concerned at the persistent threats to stability and security presented by terrorism, by the economic and social imbalances in the living conditions in the world, by acts of violence perpetrated by authoritarian regimes, by flagrant violations of international law, by the current rearmament trends, by criminal behaviour of individuals and groups who incite racism, xenophobia, racial and gender discrimination, Seriously concerned by the fact that some countries, although boasting a long-standing tradition of democracy and respect of human rights and the principles of the rule of law, brazenly violate the United Nations Charter, an essential part of international law, using military force for operations contrary to the principles and objectives of the United Nations, Deploring the persistent instrumental use of human rights and democratic principles as an excuse to pursue vested interests incompatible with the common good of all members of the human family, Convinced that international multilateral cooperation is always necessary in the effective exercise of government functions at any level, Aware of the positive role played by the United Nations in various sectors, and notably in the affirmation of International Human Rights Law, in the dissemination of a culture of peace and human development, in the promotion of non-governmental organizations, in the promotion of greater sensitivity towards the rights of women and children, Intending to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Organisation of the United Nations by urging all parties to undertake a more determined commitment in order to ensure that the UN be enabled to effectively act in implementing the objectives of peace, security and human development in all parts of the world, 1. Reaffirms its faith in the ideals, the principles and the objectives enshrined in the United Nations Charter, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in International Law as innovated and humanized by the Charter itself, 2. Reaffirms with conviction the centrality of the United Nations in the construction of a world order based on peace and social and economic justice as defined in Article 28 of the Universal Declaration, 3. Renews with the utmost strength its repudiation of war, which the United Nations Charter itself, in peremptory language, forbids as a “scourge,” 4. Urges all Governments to respect the letter and the spirit of Article 20 of the International Covenant on civil and political rights: “Any propaganda in favour of war must be prohibited by law,” 5. Calls upon all States to comply fully with the obligation, enshrined in the United Nations Charter, to resort to peaceful means for the resolution of international controversies, 6. Urges all parties to proceed immediately, in full respect of the principles and the objectives of the Charter, to enable the United Nations to function efficiently and effectively, safeguarding its identity as the highest world institution whose task it is to maintain peace and security in justice and to facilitate social and economic development in all parts of the world, 7. Stresses that the reform of the UN must in no way jeopardize this identity and must therefore be implemented with the goal of strengthening the United Nations, 8. Takes note positively that the Secretary General of the United Nations, in his report called “In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All,” states that “The principles and the purposes of the United Nations, as set out in the Charter, are as valid and relevant today as they were in 1945” adding further that “the present moment is a precious opportunity to put them into practice”, 9. Expresses serious concern over the “extensive” interpretation, provided in said Report, of Article 51 of the Charter concerning the use of force by States as individual and collective self-defence in response to an armed attack, and underscores that the above Article constitutes an exception, the circumstances of which are strictly defined, to the overall prohibition of the use of force for the resolution of international controversies, 10. Therefore believes that, as well as being contrary to the spirit and the letter of the Charter, the interpretation provided in the Report, according to which force may be used by States when the threat is imminent, and even non-imminent or latent, constitutes a serious and macroscopic threat undermining the system of collective security envisaged by the Charter, 11. Is seriously concerned also by the alarmed reactions that this interpretation is already producing in public opinion, already disconcerted by acts of war perpetrated by Coalitions of States in blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and of International Law; this alarm is increasing as more information transpires as to the accelerating pace of current rearmament trends and the increase of military expenditure in States’ budgets, 12. Feels compelled to denounce the fact that the Report, alongside a total absence of attention to issues related to the democratization of the UN and other international institutions, contains an absolute lack of sensitivity to the role in peace and human development that innumerable non-governmental organizations and global civil society networks have been playing for decades throughout the world, 13. Declares its disappointment in view of the scarcity of proposals in the Report, especially in the Chapters addressing the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, 14. Deplores the fact that Report makes no mention of the need to abolish the power of veto within the Security Council, 15. Considers useless, and also discriminatory towards the member States, the introduction of a new category of members in the Security Council having the status of permanent or semi-permanent members, although for neither of these is the power of veto envisaged, 16. Views favourably the idea, contained in the Secretary Generals’ Report, to establish on a permanent basis, under the direct authority of the United Nations, a system to coordinate the regional rapid deployment military units (stand-by) for purposes of international policing and pursuit of justice, not for purposes of war, seeing in this the legal and political premise for the entry of the European Union into the Security Council, Therefore resolves to: a) Establish a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, a second-degree elected body with consultative functions (the issuing of “opinions”) as the premise for the subsequent establishment of a United Nations Parliament. The composition of the Parliamentary Assembly shall consist in delegations from national Parliaments, from the European Parliament, from the Panafrican Parliament, from the Latin American Parliament, b) Transform the current Conference of NGOs with consultative status within ECOSOC (CONGO) into a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, with consultative functions and promoting the political participation of the peoples, c) Make the composition of the Security Council more representative by increasing the number of States from the South of the world, d) Include in the Security Council, as special status members, the European Union, the African Union, and all those other regional organizations which manage peace missions authorized by the United Nations, e) In view of the abolition of the power of veto, to establish a moratorium on its exercise, with special reference to issues related to peace and human rights, f) Establish a permanent body of international police in accordance with Article 43 of the Charter, g) Abrogate articles 53, 106 and 107 of the Charter, h) Establish the United Nations High Authority for Disarmament and the control of the production of arms for use by domestic and international police forces, i) Transform the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) into the Council for Economic, Social and Environmental Security, whose functions shall be: to guide the world economy according to the principles of social and economic justice; to supervise world public policies in the management of global goods and commons and to implement the Action Plans deliberated in World Conferences; to coordinate the specialized Agencies and to institutionalize cooperation with Regional Organizations on economic and social issues; to effectively coordinate the World Bank and International Monetary Fund; to manage the complex international human rights system; to manage the system of United Nations “own resources”, j) Extend the sphere of competence of the International Court of Justice to include cases submitted by individuals and to evaluate the legitimacy of the deeds of the Security Council, k) Establish a force of international judiciary police (judiciary blue helmets) to support the activities of International Criminal Court, l) Broaden the membership of the Human Rights Commission to include all UN member States, with functions prevalently aimed at political and intercultural exchange, m) Establish a permanent Human Rights Council with a limited and “mixed” membership, i.e. including representatives of States and representatives of civil society organizations, exercising more effectively the function of guaranteeing the observance of internationally recognized rights, n) Integrate all existing international treaties on human rights by including a provision envisaging “communications by individuals” according to the procedure defined in the optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, o) Strengthen the functions of the bodies established in accordance with international conventions, envisaging, among other measures, the submission by NGOs of reports on the status of human rights within individual countries to the competent United Nations Committees, p) Broaden the powers of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, q) Adopt an Additional Protocol to the two International Covenants (1966) which recognizes the rights to peace, development and the environment as fundamental human rights, r) Strengthen the consultative functions, including the competence to issue official “opinions”, of the current United Nations Advisory Committee on Local Authorities, UNACLA, s) Raise consultative status to joint-decision-making status on issues such as human development, human rights, the environment, t) Extend consultative status to include also the Security Council and the General Assembly, u) Establish a UN Fund for Capacity Development of Civil Society in developing countries, v) Institutionalize the participation of tripartite national delegations to the Assembly General, to ECOSOC and to World Conferences, w) Promote the consultation of non-governmental organizations with consultative status on candidate selection for the post of Secretary General, x) Extend the practice of World Conferences on major global issues, promoting greater involvement of civil society networks and providing effective monitoring of the implementation of the contents of final documents. For further information: Tavola della Pace – Peace Roundtable |