Worldvotenow

On the occasion of the event, Watson presented the Brussels Declaration on Global Democracy that demands “sound democratic structures at the global level” and that ”mechanisms and preconditions are explored that make it possible to conduct a global referendum.”

BRUSSELS (February 23, 2010) – At an event inside the European Parliament hosted by European lawmaker Graham Watson, the Club of Rome – EU Chapter and the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly, the cornerstones for a possible future global democracy were debated on the occasion of a special screening of the documentary “World Vote Now” by Joel Ben Marsden.

Jessica Elio, Chargé d´affaires of the Bolivian Embassy to the EU elaborated on the proposal for a global referendum that Bolivian President Evo Morales made during the recent Climate talks in Copenhagen. “When my President, went to Copenhagen, what most struck him was the lack of democracy,” she stated. “It´s the people that will decide what the states have not been able to decide.” According to President Morales, the citizens of all nations should be asked, among other things, whether consumption patterns on the planet should be changed, and whether pollutants emission should be reduced to one percent. Elio commented that “President Morales gave this idea, now it is up to a World Vote to decide on this.”

Pau Solanilla, representing the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, stated that “we need to create the conditions for this democratic process.” Solanilla named five fundamental conditions for global democracy. These included global citizenship with equal rights and duties, a global constitution and rules at the global level, a global public opinion and debate, a parliamentary assembly at the global level and truly global political actors,“that think globally and not only in terms of their territory or their particular interests.”

Solanilla, who is Parliamentary Advisor to the Spanish Secretary of State for the EU stressed that “we need a kind of parliamentary assembly.”

The Director of the Secretariat of the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly, Andreas Bummel, pointed out that the efforts for global democracy are closely connected with the struggle to establish democracy at the national level. “Both is interlinked and cannot be separated,” he said.

Commenting on the debate, the Director of Amnesty International’s EU office, Dr. Nicolas J. Beger said that “I do not see why the Utopia of global democracy should not come.”

Graham Watson summarized: “People are recognizing that we have a global economy, but we don´t yet have a global culture, or a global governance or even a coherent vision of global concern. And that´s what I think we have to build.”

Guantanamo, Dec 17 (CMKS).-  Bolivia’s President Evo Morales proposed on Monday the creation of a global referendum on climate change during his speech at the Parties Conference of United Nations (COP15) on the subject.

Speaking before the plenary of the Copenhagen summit, Morales described as hypocrisy the fact that here it is being discussed the effect and not the causes of the atmosphere´s global warming, which, he emphasized, are due to excessive consumption patterns.

In the Bolivian president´s new initiative, he pointed out five questions that should be asked to citizens of all nations to then determine what to do.

The first one would say whether civil society wants to establish or not a harmony with nature, whether to change or not extravagant consumption patterns on the planet, and whether it should reduce pollutants emission to one percent.

In addition, other questions indicate whether or not people want that huge war budgets are used for fight against climate change, and finally whether they would accept or not a Court of justice to defend Mother Earth.

Morales underlined that they must release Mother Earth from slavery to which capitalism subdue it and should pay its climate debt, pledging to use less and drastically reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

“Our obligation is to save all humanity, not just half of it,” he said.

The Bolivian head of state urged the rich countries to assume their responsibility to stop the asymmetry between continents and accept all those forced to migrate by climate change and not expel them, as they do now.

Like yesterday in statements to Prensa Latina, he said that the Earth can and will exist without humans, “but they can not live without it, so it is more important the right of the Earth than human rights.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Nobel laureate and peace activist
“I have lived through apartheid in my country. In our struggle against injustice, we didn’t fight for hand-outs. We fought for an equal voice and for the power to make our own choices.

We are now facing a global apartheid, in which the richest dominate global decision-making, often to the detriment of the poorest.

Many of the problems we face in the world are interconnected. Pollution in one country becomes devastating floods in others, making millions homeless. A banking crisis in one corner of the world quickly engulfs us all. Conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will impact cities far away, with repercussions that fracture our global community.

But who decides how we address these problems? Sidelined from the decisions are those who live on the frontlines of climate change, poverty and war.

We need to rethink our politics for today’s world. We must strive for a global democracy, in which not only the rich and the powerful have a say, but which treats everyone, everywhere with dignity and respect.

LA PAZ, March 16, 2010 (AFP) – An alternative “people’s conference” on climate change in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba in April will seek to advance an international global warming referendum, organizers said.
“The only thing that can save mankind from a (climate) tragedy is the exercise of global democracy,” said Bolivia’s United Nations Ambassador Pablo Solon, a key organizer of the summit.
A priority of the meeting would be discussing the possibility of a global referendum “with the goal of reaching two billion people,” he told reporters
Thousands of people, mostly members of social movements and indigenous groups, are expected to attend the People’s World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights from April 20-22.
Organizers say it is intended to “give a voice to the people” on climate change after the perceived failure of the United Nations-sponsored Copenhagen summit on the same issue.
Solon said he expected participants from 94 countries and representatives from 70 governments to attend, without giving further details.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, who in January issued an open invitation to the conference to governments, scientists and social movements, has said a number of South American presidents would also attend.
But the outlines of the conference remain vague, and it is shaping up so far like something between an environmental forum and a political rally.
It is expected to tackle many of the themes Morales raised at the Copenhagen summit last year, including creating a “climate court of justice” and the need to “change the system of capitalist consumerism” — proposals that could be included in the suggested global vote.
Solon said the summit’s conclusions would be delivered to the next UN-sponsored meeting on climate change, currently scheduled for December in Mexico.

“WORLD VOTE NOW” was shot in 26 countries, in every region of the planet, to explore if we can extend universal voting rights to everybody. Can we really build a global democratic system?

A practical experiment in global democracy. Can we establish one electronic voting station in every country and territory on the planet and then hold a simultaneous pilot-voting event online? The results are in.

Can we design, construct and test a device that allows for instant participation for every person on the planet, even in zero connectivity zones?