+++  We The Peoples is a global civil society campaign advocating for public participation at the UN.  +++

A UN World Citizens’ Initiative

Enabling people to put forward proposals for UN action

#WorldCitizensInitiative

We are all connected

Pandemics, climate change and many other challenges underline the fact that all people on this planet are connected to each other. As world citizens we are all in the same boat but we have no say at the United Nations (UN) as the most important arena of planetary politics. The Security Council decides on matters of international peace and security and the General Assembly makes recommendations, launches treaty negotiations or is engaged in international agenda-setting. The UN, however, is an exclusive club of appointed government diplomats.

 

The UN’s democratic deficit has been complained about for decades. While the UN has made some effort to include civil society organizations and other major groups in some of its deliberations, there are no means for ordinary citizens to take influence.

we-are-all-connected

Precedents

In many countries there are instruments that allow citizens to provide input for consideration of the executive or legislative branch of government. In the European Union there is the official instrument of a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) which gives citizens the power to submit a legislative proposal to the European Commission.


In principle, the ECI enables everyday citizens to identify a problem, propose a solution and submit their proposal, based on the support of one million EU citizens, to the European Commission for review. The ECI represents the first transnational tool of participatory democracy in the world.

The idea

The idea of a UN World Citizens’ Initiative (UNWCI) is that if a certain number of citizens from around the world endorse a proposal, UN bodies such as the General Assembly or the Security Council have to put the item on their agenda and give representatives of the initiative the floor to make their case. In terms of the General Assembly, this could be done during the annual general debate while heads of state and government are present.

 

A UNWCI will allow citizens around the globe to have more impact in a world with growing dilemmas that require global cooperation of both states and citizens alike. It will help create a citizen-based global political sphere that transcends national boundaries.

To learn more about why a UNWCI is needed and how it can be implemented, read our detailed report:

un-citizen-initiative

Our other proposals:

A UN Parliamentary
Assembly

Giving elected representatives a voice in global decision-making.

A UN Civil

Society Envoy

Ensuring stronger public and civil society engagement.

Together, we call for a more inclusive and accountable UN — add your voice.

News & Notes

Ahead of the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024, over 150 organisations in a joint open letter call on UN Member States to consider four priority measures for making global governance more inclusive and accountable.
A public opinion survey across 22 countries revealed a robust demand for citizen participation in global governance and validated the proposals put forward by the We The Peoples campaign
At the UN's conference on Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, a civil society declaration was presented by the Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) network. In the section on strengthening and expanding civic space and fundamental freedoms, the document calls for "institutional changes that aim at improving representation, participation and deliberation at the global level" including through the initiatives proposed by the We The Peoples campaign.