United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
The United Nations Parliamentary Assembly is a proposed parliamentary body within the United Nations system.
The Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly was launched in 2007 by Democracy Without Borders. As of December 2025, the campaign has received the support of over 1,800 members of parliament from 138 countries.
Timeline
1920s
Proposals for a parliamentary assembly within global organizations date back to at least the 1920s, when the founders of the League of Nations considered plans to include a people's assembly as part of the League's structure.1940s
In 1945, British politician Ernest Bevin proposed a people's world assembly, saying in the British House of Commons that, "There should be a study of a house directly elected by the people of the world to whom the nations are accountable."On 16 October 1945, before the UN Charter had entered into force, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts and former New Hampshire Governor Robert P. Bass held a conference in Dublin, New Hampshire, which passed the Dublin Declaration. It stated that the UN Charter was inadequate to preserve peace and proposed the transformation of the UN General Assembly into a world legislature, suggesting "Such a government should be based upon a constitution under which all peoples and nations will participate upon a basis of balanced representation which will take account of natural and industrial resources and other factors as well as population. It cannot be based on treaties in which the states act and vote as states".
1990s-2000s
In the post-Cold War era, several factors contributed to a more favorable environment for UNPA proposals. A Trilateral Commission report notes that the shift from a world led by the two rival Soviet- and U.S.-led blocs meant a general diffusion of power. Growth of economic interdependence, proliferation of transnational actors, nationalism in weak states, spread of technology, and an increasing number of issues that are both domestic and international have generated a stronger incentive to develop international cooperation than ever before.In 2003, Freedom House counted 121 electoral democracies, compared to 66 in 1987 and 30 in 1975.
In early 1993, the House of Commons of Canada Standing Committee on External Affairs and International Trade presented a report stating, "By way of building the public and political constituency for the United Nations, the Committee recommends that Canada support the development of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly." The Campaign for a Democratic United Nations, the International Network for a United Nations Second Assembly, and the Global People's Assembly Movement, began circulating UNPA proposals around 1995, and other organizations, such as One World Trust, began publishing analyses of how to proceed in the current political situation.
The World Trade Organization and similar organizations prompted concern among some observers as they seemed to be gaining more influence and control over trade disputes, yet were not accountable to the people; U.S. President Bill Clinton argued, "We must insist that international trade organizations be open to public scrutiny instead of mysterious, secret things subject to wild criticism." A "new diplomacy" seemed to be taking shape in which NGOs and governments cooperated to create new global institutions such as the International Criminal Court.
On 8 February 2005, on the initiative of the Committee for a Democratic UN, 108 Swiss Parliamentarians signed an open letter to the Secretary-General calling for the establishment of just such a body. On 14 May 2005, the Congress of the Liberal International issued a resolution stating that "the Liberal International calls on the member states of the United Nations to enter into deliberations on the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations." On 9 June 2005, the European Parliament issued a resolution that contained an item stating that Eurostar "calls for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly within the UN System, which would increase the democratic profile and internal democratic process of the organization and allow world civil society to be directly associated in the decision-making process; states that the Parliamentary Assembly should be vested with genuine rights of information, participation and control, and should be able to adopt recommendations directed at the UN General Assembly; " In 2006, Citizens for a United Nations People's Assembly circulated a petition to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to "convene a High Level Panel to determine the steps required for the establishment of a Peoples' Parliamentary Assembly within the United Nations Organization"
In April 2007, international NGOs launched the International Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, the principal current movement for the establishment of a UNPA. Its secretariat is led by Democracy Without Borders. Over 150 civil society groups and nearly 1,500 parliamentarians are part of the Campaign. As of June 2017, thousands of signatories from over 150 countries have endorsed CUNPA's appeal, including parliamentarians, civil society leaders, leading academics, and others such as former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former President of the Pan-African Parliament Gertrude Mongella, actress Emma Thompson, author Sir Arthur C. Clarke, and former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell.
On 25 September 2007, the statement by H.E. Mr. José Sócrates, Prime Minister of Portugal, on behalf of the European Union, at the United Nations 62nd Session of the General Assembly, General Debate, stated, "We remain committed to the reform of its main bodies in order to enhance the Organization's representativity, transparency and effectiveness." On 24 October 2007, the Pan African Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations, noting, "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 fora lacking an integrated and institutionalized Parliamentary Assembly." So far, four international conferences of CUNPA have taken place.
One of the most influential and well-known pro-UN organizations, UNA-USA, has been on both sides of the issue. In 2003, UNA-USA's executive director of policy studies, Jeffrey Laurenti, wrote an article, "An Idea Whose Time Has Not Come", arguing that there were important unresolved issues of inclusivity, authority, and efficiency with the UNPA. UNA's position seemed to reverse in November 2006, when the 38th plenary session of the World Federation of United Nations Associations issued a resolution stating that it "Supports the establishment of a United Nations parliamentary Assembly as a consultative body within the United Nations system as a voice of the citizens; Calls upon the governments of the United Nations member states, parliamentarians and civil society representatives to jointly examine possible steps and options to create a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly."
| Name | 1st session | Direct el. | N. |
| Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe | 1949 | N/A | |
| European Parliament | 1952 | 1979 | |
| Assembly of WEU | 1955 | N/A | |
| NATO Parliamentary Assembly | 1955 | N/A | |
| Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE | 1992 | N/A | |
| Arab Parliament | 2001 | N/A | |
| Pan African Parliament | 2004 | N/A | |
| Mercosur Parliament | 2007 | N/A |
The post-World War II years, particularly the 1980s and 1990s, saw tremendous growth in parliamentary assemblies, with more than 40 established since 1949. About 42% of the world's parliamentary assemblies are formally affiliated with an intergovernmental organization; 32% are informally affiliated; and 26% are unaffiliated. The spread in parliamentary assemblies was spurred by acceptance of a parliamentary system as a means of legitimizing decisions; initiatives for intergovernmental cooperation reaching a point at which stronger parliamentary backing was needed; and regional integration. However, many global organizations, such as the UN and WTO, still lack a parliamentary assembly and "have been heavily criticized for what is supposed to be an institutional deficit."
2010s
In February 2010, an international conference of current and former judges from the highest courts of more than 30 countries was held in Lucknow, India. The judges adopted a resolution calling for changes to the United Nations Charter and for the creation of a global parliamentary body that would represent citizens more directly at the international level.
In 2013, the East African Legislative Assembly passed a resolution in support of creating a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. The assembly encouraged the East African Community to take the lead in developing a shared African position on the proposal. Supporters argued that a UNPA could make the United Nations more open, accountable, and effective by giving elected representatives a formal role in its work. The resolution was introduced by Mike Sebalu and supported by several other assembly members.
In a related effort, the Commission on Global Security, Justice and Governance called for the creation of a United Nations Parliamentary Network. The commission was chaired by former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Nigerian foreign minister Ibrahim Gambari. It described the proposed network as a way to increase public understanding and involvement in global decision-making by giving national legislators a stronger voice in international institutions. The commission suggested that the network could follow existing models that already link parliamentarians to major global organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.