"There is no salvation for civilization, or even the human race, other than the creation of a world government."
–Albert Einstein"...
"The world no longer has a choice between force and law; if civilization is to survive, it must choose the rule of law."
–President Dwight D. Eisenhower
"A world government with powers adequate to guarantee security is not a remote ideal for the distant future. It is an urgent necessity if our civilization is to survive."
–Albert Einstein
"Unless some effective world supergovernment for the purpose of preventing war can be set up...the prospects for peace and human progress are dark.... If...it is found possible to build a world organization of irresistible force and inviolable authority for the purpose of securing peace, there are no limits to the blessings which all men enjoy and share."
–Winston Churchill
"We must create world-wide law and law enforcement as we outlaw world-wide war and weapons"
–President John F. Kennedy
"There is an increasing awareness of the need for some form of global government."
–Mikhail Gorbachev
"The international community should support a system of laws to regularize international relations and maintain the peace in the same manner that law governs national order."
–Pope John Paul II
"World federalism is an idea that will not die.More and more people are coming to realize that peace must be more than an interlude if we are to survive; that peace is a product of law and order; that law is essential if the force of arms is not to rule the world."
–U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
"We shall live together as brothers or die together as fools"
–Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"... the emergency committee of atomic scientists, having explored for two years all means other than world government for making responsible the control of atomic energy, has become convinced that no other method than world government can be expected to prove effective, and that the attainment of world government is therefore the most urgent problem now facing mankind."
–1948 Resolution
"The abolition of war is no longer an ethical question to be pondered solely by learned philosophers and ecclesiastics, but a hard core one for the decision of the masses whose survival is the issue. Many will tell you with mockery and ridicule that the abolition of war can only be a dream - that it is the vague imagining of a visionary. But we must go on or we will go under ... We must have new thoughts, new ideas, new concepts. We must break out of the straightjacket of the past. We must sufficient imagination and courage to translate the universal wish for peace–which is rapidly becoming a necessity–into actuality."
–General Douglas MacArthur, July 5, 1961
"World federalists hold before us the vision of a unified mankind living in peace under a just world order. The heart of their program - a world under law - is realistic and attainable."
–U.N. Secretary General U Thant
"It is obvious that no difficulty in the way of world government can match the danger of a world without it."
–Carl Van Doren
"A federation of all humanity, together with a sufficient measure of social justice to ensure health, educaion, and a rough equality of opportunity, would mean such a release and increase of human energy as to open up a new phase in human history."
–H.G. Wells
Friday, December 12, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Joint Congressional Resolution
JOINT CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION
A CALL FOR A GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED
NATIONS TO REVISE THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER
TO FORM A DEMOCRATIC WORLD GOVERNMENT.
Whereas there have been numerous wars since the United Nations was founded in l945, and whereas international warfare continues, and there is no evidence that it will cease to occur in the future unless new measures are taken,
Whereas the United Nations, notwithstanding its invaluable humanitarian, scientific, social and cultural achievements, has failed in its basic purpose to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”,
Therefore the Congress of the United States of America calls for a General Conference of the Members of the United Nations, as provided by Article 109 of the Charter, to revise the United Nations to form a democratic world government conforming to the following basic specifications:
A World Legislature, elected by secret ballot in multi-party elections, on the basis of one person, one vote, and possessing authority to levy taxes;
A World Executive, directly elected by the people of the world, or by their elected legislature;
A World Judiciary System, with jurisdiction over corporations and individual world citizens, and with obligation and full authority to protect and enforce the universal observance of all civil and human rights;
A World Bill of Human Rights, adequate to protect the basic human rights of all world citizens, all human beings.
A CALL FOR A GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED
NATIONS TO REVISE THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER
TO FORM A DEMOCRATIC WORLD GOVERNMENT.
Whereas there have been numerous wars since the United Nations was founded in l945, and whereas international warfare continues, and there is no evidence that it will cease to occur in the future unless new measures are taken,
Whereas the United Nations, notwithstanding its invaluable humanitarian, scientific, social and cultural achievements, has failed in its basic purpose to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”,
Therefore the Congress of the United States of America calls for a General Conference of the Members of the United Nations, as provided by Article 109 of the Charter, to revise the United Nations to form a democratic world government conforming to the following basic specifications:
A World Legislature, elected by secret ballot in multi-party elections, on the basis of one person, one vote, and possessing authority to levy taxes;
A World Executive, directly elected by the people of the world, or by their elected legislature;
A World Judiciary System, with jurisdiction over corporations and individual world citizens, and with obligation and full authority to protect and enforce the universal observance of all civil and human rights;
A World Bill of Human Rights, adequate to protect the basic human rights of all world citizens, all human beings.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Selection from The World Citizens Party Bylaws
Selections from The World Citizens Party Bylaws
PREAMBLE
Recognizing that humanity has entered a turning point--a turning point which has brought with it all of humanity living together as a single people,
noting that a single people conscious of itself as one is sovereign,
realizing that government functions which can be effective at a lower level should not be assigned to a higher level of government,
understanding that the doctrines of national sovereignty and national security, as well as their associated endorsement and use of war as an acceptable means of defense, are outdated and must be replaced by human sovereignty and human security,
convinced that the removal of social injustice and the protection of human rights, as an expression of its commitment to human dignity and the social well-being of humans everywhere, should be among the principal aims of government,
aware that humans are part of nature and that life and life communities depend on the uninterrupted functioning of natural systems,
mindful that the political decision-making process must always express the recognition that human needs and the needs of other life communities can be met only by ensuring the proper functioning of natural systems and protection of the global commons,
considering that humans have a fundamental right to an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being for present and future generations,
awake to the fact that the nurturing of human moral solidarity, the respect for protection of human diversity, the use of peaceful modes of dispute settlement, and the promotion of the common good should be the foundation of all public policy, and
persuaded that new forms of governance must be created to provide for the well-being of humanity as a single people,
we, the members of the World Citizens Party for a Democratic World Government, Massachusetts Branch (WCPMA), unite to form a new political party dedicated to the earliest possible achievement of a democratic federal government at the world level, a government of the people of the world, by the people of the world, and for the people of the world.
We embrace this cause in the conviction that only a democratic and strong planetary government, unconditionally dedicated to human rights, can adequately deal with the desperate problems threatening the survival and progress of the whole human race. These problems, which are political, environmental, economic, social, and cultural in nature, include population growth, climate change, scarcity of fresh water, depletion and maldistribution of certain natural and other resources, pandemic diseases, biological, chemical and nuclear warfare, worldwide poverty and starvation, and spreading global anarchy.
We call for total commitment, deep and integral to our worldwide movement, to the rights of the individual (without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political and other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status), to the rights of minorities, and to the rights of indigenous peoples. These rights--civil, political, economic, social, and cultural, as provided in the International Bill of Human Rights--we seek to weave, along with their corresponding obligations, into the underlying fabric of a democratically and constitutionally governed world.
As the first branch of the World Citizens Party, we call on our fellow world citizens to rise in every land to form other branches of the WCP. We stand ready to affiliate with all branch parties committed to similar key values and objectives, and we look toward the early formation of a global federal World Citizens Party for a Democratic World Government.
PART III.
ESSENTIAL ORGANS, INSTRUMENTS, PRINCIPLES OF A DEMOCRATIC WORLD GOVERNMENT
Article 1. Organs
a) A World Legislature to enact world law.
At least one chamber, directly elected by secret ballot in multiparty popular election, shall reflect total population in direct numerical proportion. Another chamber may more directly represent states; but a state's material wealth, financial reserves, gross national product and other resources, or its contribution to the world government budget, shall not be a factor in the assignment of official representation and voting.
Legislative powers include the authority to levy taxes.
b) An Economic, Social, and Cultural Council, established by the Legislature and serving in an advisory capacity, shall include in its composition, and in its appointed commissions as appropriate to their purpose, representatives of both governmental and non-governmental organizations, the latter to include labor unions, business groups, and universities. In addition, the council may include artists and leading intellectuals not necessarily associated with any formal group or institution.
c) An executive to administer and enforce world law.
The executive shall be either directly elected by the citizens of the world, or it shall be selected by and responsible to the legislature.
There shall be no great-power veto.
A standing military force, individually recruited on a volunteer basis, is available for peacemaking and peacekeeping, eventually to replace national military forces.
d) A court system, having local, regional and universal jurisdiction, as appropriate, to interpret the law. This court system will have the authority to hold government officials accountable for violations of human rights.
Article 2. Instruments
A World Bill of Human Rights. adequate to protect the basic civil and human rights of all world citizens, all human beings. The World Bill of Human Rights shall incoroporate the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Article 3. Principles
a) An Article of limitation reserving to the nation-states, autonomous cultures, communities, and the sovereign people of the world, all powers not delegated to the world federal government.
b) The principle of subsidiarity. Functions which can be adequately performed by a lower level of government should not be assigned to a higher level.
PART IV.
BASIC POLICY AND STRATEGY OF THE WORLD CITIZENS PARTY
Article 1. Party policy on the formulation of world federal government structure
The primary purpose of the World Citizens Party is to build and maintain a worldwide popular demand for a truly representative and democratically elected world federal government. The precise formulation of the structure of the world-level institution is not its purpose, and will not become the preoccupation of the WCP. The WCP will, however, help to evaluate all serious proposals for such a government, and will be strongly critical of those proposals which fall short of its preamble and the basic outline Part III, Article 1.
Article 2. The World Citizens Party and the United Nations
The World Citizens Party supports the United Nations, but only as an interim institution. The WCP will build worldwide popular pressure to effect its fundamental structural reform. We hold that the amendment provisions of the United Nations Charter are critically flawed. Under Article 109, any one of the permanent members of the Security Council can veto any proposed amendment. If, as is probable, the reforms we advocate are vetoed, the only alternative is a World Constitutional Convention. Support for such a convention under these circumstances is therefore a declared strategy of the World Citizens Party.
Article 3. The World Citizens Party and instant runoff voting
In Massachusetts and those other political entities which do not already enjoy the benefits of instant runoff voting, its adoption will be a primary political objective, thereby ensuring the election of the candidates most favored by the people they represent.
Article 4. The World Citizens Party and nonviolence
The right to use coercive force does not extend to political parties seeking to influence the thinking of their fellow citizens and the policies of governmental institutions. The World Citizens Party is committed to nonviolence in all its activities.
Adopted by the Membership at Cambridge, Massachusetts this 4th Day of October, 2003.
PREAMBLE
Recognizing that humanity has entered a turning point--a turning point which has brought with it all of humanity living together as a single people,
noting that a single people conscious of itself as one is sovereign,
realizing that government functions which can be effective at a lower level should not be assigned to a higher level of government,
understanding that the doctrines of national sovereignty and national security, as well as their associated endorsement and use of war as an acceptable means of defense, are outdated and must be replaced by human sovereignty and human security,
convinced that the removal of social injustice and the protection of human rights, as an expression of its commitment to human dignity and the social well-being of humans everywhere, should be among the principal aims of government,
aware that humans are part of nature and that life and life communities depend on the uninterrupted functioning of natural systems,
mindful that the political decision-making process must always express the recognition that human needs and the needs of other life communities can be met only by ensuring the proper functioning of natural systems and protection of the global commons,
considering that humans have a fundamental right to an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being for present and future generations,
awake to the fact that the nurturing of human moral solidarity, the respect for protection of human diversity, the use of peaceful modes of dispute settlement, and the promotion of the common good should be the foundation of all public policy, and
persuaded that new forms of governance must be created to provide for the well-being of humanity as a single people,
we, the members of the World Citizens Party for a Democratic World Government, Massachusetts Branch (WCPMA), unite to form a new political party dedicated to the earliest possible achievement of a democratic federal government at the world level, a government of the people of the world, by the people of the world, and for the people of the world.
We embrace this cause in the conviction that only a democratic and strong planetary government, unconditionally dedicated to human rights, can adequately deal with the desperate problems threatening the survival and progress of the whole human race. These problems, which are political, environmental, economic, social, and cultural in nature, include population growth, climate change, scarcity of fresh water, depletion and maldistribution of certain natural and other resources, pandemic diseases, biological, chemical and nuclear warfare, worldwide poverty and starvation, and spreading global anarchy.
We call for total commitment, deep and integral to our worldwide movement, to the rights of the individual (without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political and other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status), to the rights of minorities, and to the rights of indigenous peoples. These rights--civil, political, economic, social, and cultural, as provided in the International Bill of Human Rights--we seek to weave, along with their corresponding obligations, into the underlying fabric of a democratically and constitutionally governed world.
As the first branch of the World Citizens Party, we call on our fellow world citizens to rise in every land to form other branches of the WCP. We stand ready to affiliate with all branch parties committed to similar key values and objectives, and we look toward the early formation of a global federal World Citizens Party for a Democratic World Government.
PART III.
ESSENTIAL ORGANS, INSTRUMENTS, PRINCIPLES OF A DEMOCRATIC WORLD GOVERNMENT
Article 1. Organs
a) A World Legislature to enact world law.
At least one chamber, directly elected by secret ballot in multiparty popular election, shall reflect total population in direct numerical proportion. Another chamber may more directly represent states; but a state's material wealth, financial reserves, gross national product and other resources, or its contribution to the world government budget, shall not be a factor in the assignment of official representation and voting.
Legislative powers include the authority to levy taxes.
b) An Economic, Social, and Cultural Council, established by the Legislature and serving in an advisory capacity, shall include in its composition, and in its appointed commissions as appropriate to their purpose, representatives of both governmental and non-governmental organizations, the latter to include labor unions, business groups, and universities. In addition, the council may include artists and leading intellectuals not necessarily associated with any formal group or institution.
c) An executive to administer and enforce world law.
The executive shall be either directly elected by the citizens of the world, or it shall be selected by and responsible to the legislature.
There shall be no great-power veto.
A standing military force, individually recruited on a volunteer basis, is available for peacemaking and peacekeeping, eventually to replace national military forces.
d) A court system, having local, regional and universal jurisdiction, as appropriate, to interpret the law. This court system will have the authority to hold government officials accountable for violations of human rights.
Article 2. Instruments
A World Bill of Human Rights. adequate to protect the basic civil and human rights of all world citizens, all human beings. The World Bill of Human Rights shall incoroporate the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Article 3. Principles
a) An Article of limitation reserving to the nation-states, autonomous cultures, communities, and the sovereign people of the world, all powers not delegated to the world federal government.
b) The principle of subsidiarity. Functions which can be adequately performed by a lower level of government should not be assigned to a higher level.
PART IV.
BASIC POLICY AND STRATEGY OF THE WORLD CITIZENS PARTY
Article 1. Party policy on the formulation of world federal government structure
The primary purpose of the World Citizens Party is to build and maintain a worldwide popular demand for a truly representative and democratically elected world federal government. The precise formulation of the structure of the world-level institution is not its purpose, and will not become the preoccupation of the WCP. The WCP will, however, help to evaluate all serious proposals for such a government, and will be strongly critical of those proposals which fall short of its preamble and the basic outline Part III, Article 1.
Article 2. The World Citizens Party and the United Nations
The World Citizens Party supports the United Nations, but only as an interim institution. The WCP will build worldwide popular pressure to effect its fundamental structural reform. We hold that the amendment provisions of the United Nations Charter are critically flawed. Under Article 109, any one of the permanent members of the Security Council can veto any proposed amendment. If, as is probable, the reforms we advocate are vetoed, the only alternative is a World Constitutional Convention. Support for such a convention under these circumstances is therefore a declared strategy of the World Citizens Party.
Article 3. The World Citizens Party and instant runoff voting
In Massachusetts and those other political entities which do not already enjoy the benefits of instant runoff voting, its adoption will be a primary political objective, thereby ensuring the election of the candidates most favored by the people they represent.
Article 4. The World Citizens Party and nonviolence
The right to use coercive force does not extend to political parties seeking to influence the thinking of their fellow citizens and the policies of governmental institutions. The World Citizens Party is committed to nonviolence in all its activities.
Adopted by the Membership at Cambridge, Massachusetts this 4th Day of October, 2003.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Peace requires government. World peace requires world government.
Statement of Purpose.
The World Citizen's Party is a new political party, organized to operate at the local, state/provincial, national and global levels, with branches throughout the world.
Its purpose is to promote worldwide popular support for a fundamental restructuring of the United Nations and its related institutions.
The Party calls for the earliest possible establishment of a truly democratic and effective federal world government capable of protecting human rights and addressing the desperate problems currently threatening the future of humanity and the natural environment.
The Party does not champion a precise design for a federal world government beyond the inclusion of the basic organs of a democratic system: a World Legislature, with all representatives directly elected by secret ballot in multiparty popular elections (one person, one vote); an Executive, either directly elected by the citizens of the world or selected by and responsible to the Legislature, and a Judiciary, to adjudicate world law cases and to provide advisory opinions regarding world law. The World Constitution will include the customary constitutional checks and balances; no great power veto authority; and, most important of all, a World Bill of Rights, adequate to protect the basic civil and human rights of all world citizens -- all human beings.
The World Citizens Party supports the United Nations, but only as an interim institution. The WCP will build worldwide popular pressure to effect its fundamental structural reform. We hold that the amendment provisions of the United Nations Charter are critically flawed. Under Article 109, any one of the permanent members of the Security Council can veto any proposed amendment. If, as is probable, the reforms we advocate are vetoed, the only alternative is a World Constitutional Convention outside of the U.N. structure. Support for such a convention under these circumstances is therefore a declared strategy of the WCP.
We believe that this global political party is a logical instrument for achieving the political objective of a democratically governed world.
In Massachusetts, we will field our own candidates for public office, or, where a 'third party' candidate would be a 'spoiler,' we may endorse an acceptable candidate of another party. We will make instant runoff voting a primary political objective.
We are not a single issue party. In addition to their commitment to democratic federal world government, our candidates will be selected on their qualifications to serve all aspects of the public interest.
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