European Parliament Joins Launch of International Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 3rd May 2007

Today, Members of the European Parliament join a worldwide call for the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations (UNPA).

A joint appeal demands that, in an age of globalization, citizens need to be vested with a stronger voice in global affairs. "We are represented by parliaments at local, national and European levels" says Jo Leinen "But now with critical global challenges such as climate change, it's time that citizens have their representation and voice on the level of the United Nations as well."

Graham Watson: "With UNPA the UN has the potential to become more transparent and democratic and thus has broad political support across the world."

Gérard Onesta: "The Assembly would be the first parliamentary body directly representing the citizens of the world in the United Nations. In the long-run the UNPA could evolve into a World Parliament."

The appeal supported by 550 political leaders, personalities of the civil society from 89 countries, calls for the assembly being vested with "genuine rights of information, participation and control" and could eventually be composed of directly elected members.

378 MPs from 70 countries have joined to call for the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations (UNPA). The appeal is the core document of an international campaign, which is being launched through a series of events in many countries in these days.

The campaign is being organised by non-governmental organisations. The campaign's Secretariat is led by the Committee for a Democratic U.N.