Pan-African Parliament Endorses UN Parliamentary Assembly

In a major milestone for the international Campaign for the Establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), meeting in October 2007 in Midrand, South Africa, passed a strong resolution in support of the UNPA.

The resolution was forwarded by the PAP’s Committee on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution
and introduced by Mokshanand Dowarkasing of Mauritius.

The resolution aligns the goal of establishing a UNPA with the objectives of the African Union (AU), the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous AU initiatives intended to promote democratization. Additionally, the resolution:

• Considers that “if democratization is a major means to legitimize and improve national governance, it is also the most reliable way to legitimize and improve international organization, making it more open and responsive by increasing participation;”

• Notes that “in contrast to regional international bodies such as the African Union, the European Union, the Council of Europe, or Mercosur, the United Nations and its specialized organizations is one of the last international forums lacking an integrated and institutionalized Parliamentary Assembly;”

• Recommends that the Pan-African Parliament take the initiative to achieve the establishment of a consultative United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) within the UN system according to Article 22 of the Charter of the United Nations which enables the UN General Assembly to establish subsidiary bodies;

• Notes that in a first preliminary step the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly “could be composed of national parliamentarians, but that eventually it should be directly elected by universal adult suffrage in the UN member states.”