Invito - Reclaim Our UN - Porto Alegre, 28 gennaio 2005

[Tavola della Pace <segreteria at perlapace.it>]

Perugia, 18 gennaio 2005



Ai partecipanti italiani
al Forum Sociale Mondiale 2005


Cari Amici,

Vi scriviamo per invitarVi a partecipare all'incontro che si terrà durante
il Forum Sociale Mondiale a Porto Alegre, il 28 gennaio dalle 12.00 alle
18.30, sala H201 (terreno 11).
Il titolo del seminario è "Riprendiamoci l'ONU - Programma 2005 per un
giusto, pacifico e democratico ordine internazionale".

L'obiettivo del seminario è di definire una strategia ed un piano di azione
per il 2005 per un nuovo comune impegno per creare una ONU maggiormente
democratica ed efficace per un ordine internazionale giusto, pacifico e
democratico.

Il 2005 sarà un anno difficile e cruciale per il futuro dell'ONU e della
democrazia nel mondo. La società civile non può tacere. Il FSM può fare la
differenza. La società civile mondiale può fare la differenza. Noi possiamo
fare la differenza. Il tempo per un movimento mondiale per democratizzare
l'ONU e creare un nuovo ordine internazionale giusto, pacifico e
democratico è arrivato.

Il seminario vedrà la partecipazione di un ampio numero di rappresentanti
di organizzazioni operanti nel settore dei diritti umani, giustizia
sociale, pacifisti, movimenti di donne, network internazionali, sindacati e
giornalisti provenienti da tutto il mondo (vedi lista allegata).

Questo seminario è il risultato del processo iniziato durante l'ultimo
incontro del Consiglio Internazionale del FSM nell'aprile 2004. I due
seminari che hanno avuto luogo a Barcellona (Ubuntu, settembre 2004) e a
Padova (novembre 2004) ne hanno posto le basi. Centinaia di rappresentanti
di organizzazioni della società civile mondiale si sono confrontati e
scambiati proposte.

La discussione di Porto Alegre si baserà sul "documento di lavoro"
elaborato dai partecipanti del seminario di Padova (vedi documento
allegato).
Visto il Vostro impegno in queste questioni, saremmo lieti se poteste
contribuire alla discussione di Porto Alegre e al processo che ne deriverà.
Vi invitiamo quindi a partecipare all'incontro e a diffondere l'invito tra
le organizzazioni che ritenete possano essere interessate alla discussione.

Vi preghiamo di comunicarci la Vostra disponibilità a partecipare il più
presto possibile.

Cordiali saluti,

Flavio Lotti
Coordinatore Nazionale della Tavola della Pace


Il seminario prevede la traduzione simultanea in francese, inglese e spagnolo.

Per ulteriori informazioni:
Tavola della Pace, Via della Viola 1, 06122 Perugia (Italy); tel +39 075
5736890; fax +39 075 5739337;
e-mail: flavio at perlapace.it

-----
Al seminario parteciperanno tre gli altri:

Antonio Martins, Attac (Brasil)
Antonio Zurita, Director Gerente, FAMSI - Fondo Andaluz de Municipios por
la solidariedad internacional (Spain)
Aureli Argemi, President, Conseu / CIEMEN - Centre Internacional Escarrè
per a Minories ètniques i les Nacions
Benton Musslewhite, President, One World Now (United States)
Brid Brennan, Programme Coordinator, Transnational Institute
Carola Reintjes, IDEAS (Spain)
Cecilia Fernandez, Dawn / Repem
Celita Eccher, Regional Coordinator for Latin America, DAWN
Christophe Ventura, Attac (France)
David Lionel, Chairman, Earth Television Public Education Foundation
David Wildman, Executive Secretary, General Board of Global Ministries -
United Methodist Church (United States)
David Yakan, CAFOR (Cameroon)
Deborah Gacheri Mwarania Umoja As One Kenya (Kenya)
Dominique Cardon, (France)
Dot Keet, Africa Trade Network
Eduardo Estevez, WCL- World Confederation of Labour
Eduardo Mancuso, International Relations coordinator, Porto Alegre Turismo
- Escritòrio Municipal Prefeitura de Porto Alegre (Brasil)
Edward Oyugi, professor, Social Development Network (Kenya)
Ezat Abdolhadi, ANND - Arab NGO Network for Development
Fatma Alloo, Dawn
Filomeno Sta Ana III, coordinator, Action for Economic Reforms (Philippines)
Flavio Lotti, national coordinator, Tavola della Pace (Italy)
François Houtard, CETRI - Centre Tricontinental (Belgique)
George Martin UFPJ - United For Peace and Justice / Independent Progressive
Politics Network (United States)
Giampiero Alhadeff, Development and Humanitarian Aid Officer, Solidar (Belgium)
Giampiero Rasimelli, Euralat/Forum del Terzo Settore (Italy)
Giorgio Romano Schutte, Asesor Especial, Secretaria General - Presidencia
da Republica (Brasil)
Gustavo Marin, Alliance pour un monde responsable, pluriel et solidaire /
Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer  pour le Progrès de l'Homme (Brasil)
Iliana Stoycheva, BGRF - Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (Bulgaria)
Israel Arkonada, Askapena
Jackie Smith, Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster
University (Canada)
Jason Nardi, Social Watch Italia (Italy)
John Cavanagh, IPS - Institute for policies Studies (United States)
Jordi Armadans, IPB - International Peace Bureau /Fundaciò per la Pau (Spain)
Josep Xercavins, Coordinator, Ubuntu
Jules Renzano, Umoja As One Kenya (Kenya)
Kamal Mitra Chenoy, WSF Indian Organising Committee, (India)
Kate Hudson, chair, CND - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (England)
Lidia Dobre, presidente, Inima Pentru Inima (Romania)
Lilian Celiberti, Articulacion Feminista MARCOSUR (Uruguay)
Maria da Glória Gohn, (Brasil)
Manuel Manonelles, executive officer, Ubuntu
Mario Lubetkin, director, IPS - InterPress Service
Meena Menon, senior associate, Focus on the Global South
Moema Miranda, IBASE - Instituto Brasileiro de Analises Sociais e
Economicas (Brasil)
Monica Sabata, Conseu / CIEMEN - Centre Internacional Escarrè per a
Minories ètniques i les Nacions
Nora McKeon, (Italy)
Norma Fernandez, WSF Argentinian Organising Committee (Argentina)
Oded Grajew, president, CIVES (Brasil)
Pedro Santana, Euralat
Philip Rohrer, Fastenopfer / CIDSE / CCFD - Comité Catholique contre la
Faim et pour le Développement
Pimple Minar, executive director, YUVA / PDHRE
Rik Panganiban, Communications Coordinator, CONGO - Conference of NGOs in
consultative relationship with the United Nations
Rob Wheeler, World Citizen Movement (United States)
Roberto Savio, president emeritus, IPS - InterPress Service
Ramin Shahzamani, World Federalist Movement
Rómulo Torres, Alianza por un Mundo Responsable y Solidario (Peru)
Saad Mujber, (Libya)
Salil Shetty, director, Millennium Campaign
Silla Ristimäki, Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy (Finland)
Teivo Teivainen, Network Institute for Global Democratization (Peru)
Titti Di Salvo, CGIL (Italy)
Vanessa Marx, FAL - Foro de Autoridades Locales de Porto Alegre
Virginia (Gina) Vargas Valente, Articulacion Feminista Marcosur (Peru)
Ximena Machicao, general coordinator, REPEM
Yves-Jean Gallas, Le Mouvement de la Paix / French Peace Movement (France)
Ziad Abdel Samad, director, ANND - Arab NGO Network for Development
Zoe Young, (England)
Adriano Poletti, Presidenza Nazionale, Coordinamento Nazionale Enti Locali
per la pace e i diritti umani
Enrico Paissan, Responsabile Comunicazione, Forum Trentino per la pace
Gianfranco Benzi, Dipartimento Internazionale, Cgil
Giorgio Conconi, Coordinatore nazionale, Mani Tese
Giovanni Balcet, Movimento Federalista Europeo
Giuseppe Iuliano, Dipartimento Internazionale, Cisl
Lisa Clark, Direttivo nazionale, Beati i Costruttori di Pace
Marzia Franceschini, Consigliere, Cipsi
Maurizio Gubbiotti, Coordinatore segreteria nazionale, Legambiente
Paolo Beni, Presidente Nazionale, Arci
Raffaella Bolini, Presidenza Nazionale, Arci
Sergio Marelli, Direttore, Focsiv
Soana Tortora, Responsabile Pace, Acli

----


Towards the WSF 2005




"Reclaim Our UN"

Working Document
of the International Seminar "Reclaim Our UN"
Padua, 19-20 November 2004 (*)



1.    Unilateralism is bad for the world. Multilateralism is not an option,
it is indispensable. The alternative is world chaos, wars, terrorism,
growing poverty, greater insecurity, injustice, environmental devastation.

2.    The UN remains the highest form of multilateralism available today.
It is full of limitations, has been hijacked by powerful governments, but
it is the only one we have.

3.    Most of the huge challenges facing humankind are global and to
address them we need a global solution. The UN, with representatives from
191 countries, is the only worldwide forum that can and has to be the
instrument for the people to achieve a world of peace and social justice,
the goals of its charter.

4.    The weakening of the UN, the failure of governments to fulfill their
commitments to the decisions taken at the UN is part of a broader attack on
a world order based on international law. It extends to international
institutions the strategy of neoliberal globalisation, based on economic
power, deregulation and privatisation, against peoples' rights and needs.

5.    In the last ten years the emerging global civil society has become a
new actor. Millions of people and thousands of organisations have become
active against war, neoliberal globalisation and unilateralism, for a more
democratic and just world order. They continue to challenge the actions and
power of international institutions, developing alternatives from below on
peace, security, human rights, combating impunity, economic and social
justice, environmental sustainability.

6.    As the UN system turns sixty, these mobilisations have filled the
void left by the inaction of governments and showed the path for a radical
reform that would make the UN system more democratic and effective.

7.    Today these mobilisations have to be drawn together and developed on
a broader scale with  a more focused and effective strategy, built on the
broadest participation, bringing together a diversity of perspectives and
experiences, and creating a new consensus. The key players in this process
have to be, first of all, the peoples who are excluded from global decision
making, social and grassroots movements, civil society organisations and
NGOs, national and international networks, trade unions, religious groups,
migrants and refugees groups, local authorities.

8.    Many long years of inconclusive studies, reports and debates of the
inter-governmental system have gone without reaching any conclusion. In
order to start a positive reform process, it is now clear that there is a
need for a global mobilisation of all sectors of civil society, from women
to environmentalists, from indigenous people to human rights activists.

9.    The fundamental objectives of such a strategy of mobilisation can be
summarised as follows:

·     oppose the strategy of "preventive and infinite" war, and unilateralism;
·     reclaim and revitalise the UN system on the base of international law
and human rights, putting it at the centre of a multilateral order;
·     democratise the UN system, opening its doors to local authorities,
local governments, other decentralised governments, parliaments, civil
society voices representing the plurality of social, ethnic, gender and
other diversities;
·      ensure that the UN has the resources for implementing its mandate:
prevent war, eradicate the causes of war (economic, social and cultural),
promoting human rights, the global rule of law and international justice,
and recover control over economic, social and environmental issues,
subordinating the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO to the principles and
agreements under the UN and it's agencies;
·      promote general disarmament and the ban of all nuclear arms and of
all weapons of mass destruction;
·     prevent conflicts, protect civilians, and react to humanitarian
catastrophes.

10. New strengths and opportunities are available for this strategy of
mobilisation. The success of the global days of action such as February 15
2003 and March 20 2004 against the war in Iraq has shown the new strength
and awareness of global civil society. The greater concern of many
governments in defence of multilateralism offers opportunities for exerting
pressure.

11. This strategy of mobilisation should be developed at a variety of
levels. There is no opposition between actions at the local level, national
struggles for policy change and initiatives on  international institutions.
All civil society work at local, national or regional level needs a change
in the international system of governance. A more democratic functioning of
international institutions would open up spaces for change at the national
and local level. Implementing the principle of subsidiarity would restore
decision making power for national and local democratic processes. Building
new solidarities would strengthen the search for alternatives in countries
of the South.

12. This strategy of mobilisation should develop from the bottom up with a
process of education and communication within civil society and social
movements. It should use the available means for changing national
policies.  It should use all available spaces within international
institutions to demand and practice a more democratic and participatory
functioning.

13. Civil society has to monitor closely the activities of the UN and
international institutions. A global observatory on the international
institutions could be studied and established with the object to evaluate
periodically the commitment in practice of the UN activities  to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

14. 2005 can be a turning point for such a mobilisation at the local and
global level. We propose a global day of action for democracy, freedom and
peace, against all fundamentalisms and wars, to be held on the eve of the
Summit of Heads of State convened by the UN in New York in autumn 2005 for
a review of the commitments undertaken at the Millennium Summit and the
reform of UN.

15. Within the dynamics of the World Social Forum, the participants to the
international Seminar "Reclaim our UN" in Padua commit themselves to work
together to continue the dialogue on these issues and facilitate the
emergence of common mobilisations. At the WSF to be held in Porto Alegre in
January 2005, within the activities of terrain 11, we will hold a seminar
on the objectives of such mobilisations; another seminar where we will
discuss the action plan for 2005; an open meeting on the future of the UN
system bringing together social movements active on a variety of issues; we
will ask all other terrains to take up the question of a more democratic
world order, as a transversal issue, identifying possible specific
strategies.



(Second section of the working document. This part does not reflect the
richness of the proposals that emerged in the Padua Seminar because there
was not enough time for discussing them.)


16. This effort does not start today. Civil society has developed in the
last decade a variety of proposals and activities for reforming and
democratising the UN system. They were never considered by governments and
international institutions. Today many campaigns are demanding specific
changes in international institutions; these could be linked into a global
strategy of mobilisation.

17. The UN system has to be transformed in order to make it more
democratic, representative and accountable. Any process of reform must
include the active participation of key actors such as civil society
organisations, local governments and parliaments.

18. The fundamental aim of such a strategy is to make human security the
core mission of the UN system that should be reformed and restructured in
order to fulfill this mission.

19. The concept of human security includes the economic social and legal
dimensions, and the UN system should be reformed in order to extend its
activities in these fields, regaining control over the rules and
institutions regulating international finance, trade, social conditions,
labour, the environment.

20. The creation of a Human Security and Development Council , with a
transformation of ECOSOC, could be studied as a tool of governance of
globalisation and control over IMF, World Bank and WTO, and on the
operation of multinational corporations.

21. As the representative body, the UN General Assembly should be brought
back at the centre of the UN, strengthened and democratized.

22. The present structure of the UN Security Council is unacceptable. Its
composition, activity and the unlimited veto power contradicts the very
concepts of democracy and human security.

23. The reform of the UN should include a renewed financial architecture
reducing the dependence on decisions by powerful states, and a move towards
a decentralisation of its locations and functions.   

24. For too long the UN has been the exclusive domain of unaccountable
governments. It needs to open up to democratic processes involving new
actors representing the peoples. The status of civil society should be
improved and its voice and role should be strengthened. All institutions
and bodies within the UN system should be opened up to the involvement and
participation of civil society, maintaining a bottom up approach.

25. The role of Local Authorities, that are closer to the needs of people,
should be recognised and empowered.

26. Possible tools for recovering a democratic control over the activities
of the UN system are the development of a representative Parliamentarian
presence in the governance of the UN system.

27. An important experience of involvement of civil society in the
development of the UN system has been the creation of the International
Criminal Court, the adoption of universal jurisdiction laws at the national
level and other UN Human Right and Humanitarian organisations. Their power
and mandate should be preserved and expanded.


Assembly of the Peoples' UN; Peace Roundtable (Italy); Ibase (Brasil);
Inter Press Service; Ubuntu; Euralat; Cives (Brasil); Attac (Brasil);
Conseu/CIEMEN - Centre Internacional Escarrè per a Minories ètniques i les
Nacions; CADTM - Comité pour l'annullation de la Dette du Tiers Monde;
IDEAS; the Interdepartmental Centre for Research and Services on Peoples'
and Human rights; the UNESCO University Chair on "Human Rights, Democracy
and Peace" in Padua; Campaign for the Reform of the World Bank; ACLI
(Italy); Action for Economic Reforms (Philippines); Africa Peace Point
(Kenya); Africa Trade Network; Agesci (Italy); AIC - Alternative
Information Center (Israel/Palestine); Alianza por un Mundo Responsable y
Solidario (Peru); Alliance pour un monde responsable, pluriel et solidaire
/ Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le Progrès de l'Homme (Brasil); ANND
- Arab NGO Network for Development; ANONG - Cotidiano Mujer (Uruguay); ARCI
(Italy); Articulacion Feminista MARCOSUR; Attac France; Bahrain Association
for Human Rights (Bahrain); Beati i costruttori di pace (Italy); Bridge
Initiative (France); BGRF - Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation
(Bulgaria); CAFOR (Cameroon); CCFD - Comité Catholique contre la Faim et
pour le Développement (France); Center Aziz Belal (Morocco); Centre Ubuntu
(Burundi); Centro de Investigacion para la Paz (Spain); CGIL (Italy); Cipsi
(Italy); CIDSE; CISL (Italy); Cities for Peace (United States); CNCA
 (Italy); Comunidad de autodeterminacion «Vida y Dignidad» of
Cacarica-Chocò (Colombia); Comunidad de Paz San Jose de Apartadò
(Colombia); CND - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (GB); CONGO - Conference
of NGOs in consultative relationship with the United Nations; CUT (Brasil);
Dawn - Dev. Alternatives for Women; DION - Development Indian Ocean
Network; Disabled Peoples' International - Europe; Djazairouna - des
familles victimes du terrorisme (Algeria); Emmaus  (Italy); FAL - Foro de
Autoridades Locales de Porto Alegre; Fastenopfer (Switzerland); Focsiv
(Italy); Focus on the Global South; Forum Mulher (Monzambique); Fride;
General Board of Global Ministries - United Methodist Church (United
States); Groupe Medialternatif (Haiti); Helsinki Process on Globalisation
and Democracy; Instituto de Estudios de CTA - Central de Trabalhadores
Argentinos (Argentina); Instituto Ethos (Brasil); IPB - International Peace
Bureau; Le Mouvement de la Paix/French Peace Movement (France); Legambiente
 (Italy); Libera (Italy); Mani Tese (Italy); National Bureau of the
Moroccon Federation of Trade Unions (Morocco); NGLS Unctad; Oxford Research
Group (England); Pax Christi  (Italy); Peace Boat Europe; Rodheci
(Democratic Republic of Congo); Romania in the world cultural association
(Romania); SID - Society for International Development; Social Watch; South
Centre (Switzerland); The Socialist International; Transnational Institute;
UFPJ - United For Peace and Justice (United States); Umoja As One (Kenya);
University of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic); UN Millennium Campaign;
WCL - World Confederation of Labour; World Citizens Movement; World
Federalist Movement.



(*) This document has been elaborated, thanks to the contribution of the
co-ordinators of the working groups during the International Seminar
"Reclaim our UN" that took place on November 19-20 2004 in Padua (Italy).
The seminar saw the participation of over 600 people representing 25
International networks, 50 national organisations and 284 Italian
associations. This is a working document and therefore it is useful for
understanding the central elements of the discussion that took place in
Padua and for continuing the discussion up to the World Social Forum, that
will take place in Porto Alegre from the 26 to the 30 January. All the
participants of the Padua seminar and  those that were not able to come can
contribute with comments and proposals. Please send them to:
international at peacepoint.org .  We will gather and circulate them. In Porto
Alegre we will discuss them all and try to find a common platform.