A coalition of climate activists, civil society groups, academics, and world federalists have signed the Open Letter for World Parliament as part of the 8th Annual Week for World Parliament happening from October 21st to 22nd. Translated into seven languages thanks to the amazing work of Young World Federalists volunteers and partners, the Open Letter calls for "the creation of a democratically elected world parliament and for an open and inclusive discussion in the halls of power on reforms to the system of global governance in order to make it more effective and democratic". An impressive lineup of climate activist groups from around the world have all signed the letter. Fridays For Future Sénégal, Fridays For Future El Savador, Fridays For Future Pakistan, Citizens Network For Community Development Zambia, Sierra Leone School Green Clubs (SLSGC), Extinction Rebellion Uganda, and Extinction Rebellion Japan all support the creation of a world parliament. Other civil society groups like the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, College of Complexes, Lakshya Organization, The Youth Café, The Health Cave, ALAGS, and Sanjeevani - The Unspoken Voice Of The Youth have also signed the Open Letter. Additionally, world-renowned academics and activists have also signed in support of democratic global governance. These include Saskia Sassenthe, the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Chair of The Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University; Bertrand Badie, expert in international relations and professor emeritus at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and researcher associated with the Centre d’études et de recherches internationales (CERI); Arvind Ashta, senior professor at the Burgundy School of Business and holder of the Banque Populaire Chair in Microfinance; and Maria (Mary) Macdiarmid Ingouville Burton, anti-apartheid activist and author from South Africa.
We call on the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN General Assembly, and all UN Member States to support the creation of a world parliament and to initiate a World Summit for Inclusive Global Governance to deliberate on and approve the necessary reforms to our current system of global governance. We believe the proposed UN Summit on the Future should be devoted to this, among other things. - Open Letter
Of course, the world federalist community has demonstrated an incredible amount of support for both the Open Letter and the Week for World Parliament. The World Citizens Association of Australia (WCAA), the World Parliament Experiment, the World Federalist Movement - Canada and its Toronto Branch, the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe), and the World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy have all signed the open letter. Outstanding advocates such as Lucio Levi, Professor of Political Science and Comparative Politics at the University of Torino, Italy, and Member of the Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists; Andreas Bummel, co-founder and director of Democracy Without Borders and the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly and author of the book “A World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century” (with Jo Leinen); and Fernando Iglesias, Member of Parliament in Argentina (2007-2011 and 2017-2021) and a founding member of Democracia Global – Movimiento por la Unión Sudamericana y el Parlamento Mundial, have also added their names to the list.
Additionally, nearly 200 individuals from every corner of the globe have signed the letter! Together, we can make ourselves heard. We can show that a diverse global movement is calling for a transformation in global governance. We can draw attention to the benefits of a world parliament in addressing global issues like pandemics and the climate crisis. And we can build a peaceful, just, and sustainable world #ForHumankind.
Update on October 28th: Several individuals, as well as Citizens for Global Solutions, JEF North Macedonia, Democracy International e.V, and Movimento Federalista Europeo, have also added their names to the open letter.