United Mankind Initiative – founding and development
How do we achievet he unification of humanity we want?
At Democracy Without Borders, you can read how civil society groups imagine the time after the UN Summit for the Future. The question is: What's next for global governance? The answer is to be found at various lecture events. There is a petition at AVAAZ: Time for a truly democratic United Nations. The petition is intended to reinforce the open letter of the same name from over 150 organisations to the heads of state and government of the UN member states. No stone should be left unturned. But let's not kid ourselves. No matter how many organisations have signed the open letter, no matter whether the petition receives hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands of signatures, the vast majority of heads of state and government will not get involved.
Therefore, as a follow-up to my article ‘The disappointment comes closer’, I would like to discuss the possible establishment of a United Mankind Initiative. In my opinion, this can only happen if several competent civil society organisations take the initiative. It is not to be expected that something like this will emerge from a disorganised movement of activists. And if it does, it will be chaotic and at best a flash in the pan.
The establishment of the United Mankind Initiative requires a coalition of experienced organisations and groups that are skilled in the various forms of cooperation. They must have the necessary connections and also know how to organise the necessary funding. I think that this could work in a similar way to the ‘Coalition for the UN we need’. Only then it would be a ‘Coalition for the UM we want’. The difference would then be that it would no longer be a question of repairing or improving something old, but of building a new organisation from scratch. The advantage is that the new organisation would be open to all progressive ideas and proposals, whereas the doors of the UN would remain closed. But it will be a hell of a lot of work, more than continuing to run on the UN's hamster wheel.
If no civil society organisation is interested in this new approach and takes on the initiative, my proposal would be finished for the time being.
But let's not give up so easily. Let's assume that a coalition of civil society organisations succeeds in founding the United Mankind Initiative. Since the initiative would be open to a certain extent in terms of content, it could expand quickly. It goes without saying that this would require democratic leadership structures. But I don't want to prejudge that here. Branches could be established in countries where this is legally possible. In countries with authoritarian structures, we will have to wait and see. International expansion could focus on smaller countries. Here it would be easier to enter into dialogue with the respective governments.
Over time, the leadership of the initiative should develop into a parliament that corresponds to the concept of the World Parliament propagated by Democracy Without Borders. This would allow the concept to be adapted and optimised in practical application. How should the parliament be elected worldwide? There are many questions that need to be tested and clarified. The preliminary culmination of such a development would then be the period in which the World Parliament, as a general assembly, draws up and adopts a charter on the basis of which the United Mankind Organisation can be officially founded. Then ‘We the Peoples’ would no longer be an empty slogan, but a reality.
To think a little further into the future: a strong world organisation based on the will of the people could have a positive influence on the governments of the UN member states, so that the United Nations itself could also develop positively. Then the time would not be far off when the United Mankind Organisation, together with the United Nations, would realise the creation of a federal world union - or world federation. Now humanity could focus all its energy on overcoming the problems that lie ahead. A bright future for all people would be more likely than ever before.