The United States’ withdrawal from UNESCO,combined with the drastic reduction of its financial aid to UN agencies promoting the achievement of the SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals), was already undermining the objective of “human security” theorized by the UNDP in 1994 and progressively highlighted by various UN agencies, as acknowledged for example by Bertrand Badie in his book”L’Art de la Paix”(“The Art of Peace”-2024).
We are now witnessing a new assault on the United Nations(UN) with the establishment by the President of the United States of a “Peace Council”,with prerogatives that would extend beyond the question of Gaza.
This “Peace Council,” entirely under the control of the US President, would directly compete with the Security Council, which is already severely paralyzed by the veto power of its permanent members.
In this context, the hypothesis of a collapse of the UN as we know it becomes serious.
We cannot resign ourselves to this erasure of the UN, and we believe that the situation instead requires an urgent reform of the UN.
From this collapse could emerge, however, a new international organization such as the one we advocate in the New Foundation project. This Project was initially carried by Pax Christi International at UNESCO and now falls under a commission of Pax Christi France, bringing together a collective of associations and NGOs including the Peace Movement, the university network of Convivalists, and Chrétiens de la Méditerranée.
This Project is also connected to the International Peace Bureau and the international coalition Article 109.
The New Foundation Project already advances 13 proposals, aware that change in the structure of the international community can come from civil society pressure. In fact, we believe that civil society will be all the more heard if it has concrete proposals to put forward. (See petition available on the French National Assembly website and Change.org)
New Foundation thus proposes an expansion of permanent members of the Security Council to include countries representing the new South: Brazil, South Africa, India, and an Arab country.
On this occasion, the veto power would disappear.
The role of the Secretary-General would be strengthened with a priority on negotiation and the deployment of peacekeepers in conflict resolution.
The role of civil society would also be increased through its NGOs and the creation of an NGO-UN Liaison Committee.
This new structure could be supported by countries of the “New South” and by the entire international community, running counter to those who already disregard the UN Charter, such as the USA and Russia.
It is time to acknowledge the non-compliance with the 1945 UN Charter and to rebuild from a common foundation of peace-building countries.
The European Union would have a full role to play there in helping to rebuild a new international community favourable to multilateralism and open to the eventual return of those who currently disregard it.
We thus call for a meeting of all international coalitions of NGOs aiming to refound the UN to support state initiatives in this direction.
By the office of the New Foundation collective
Ghislain Le Ray: Head of New Foundation Commission / Representative of Pax Christi International (PCI) at UNESCO
Hervé Dory: Vice President of Pax Christi France
Vlatko Maric: Chaplain of Pax Christi France
Alfonso Zardi: PCI Representative to the Council of Europe
Marylin Pacouret: President of Chrétiens de la Méditerranée
Alain Rouy: National Secretary of the Peace Movement / Vice President of the IPB (International Peace Bureau)
Marc Deluzet: MIAMSI
Consultants: Farah Sakr : PhD / Specialist in International Law; Christophe
Ouedraogo: Africa Group
Pétition · Project for a New Foundation of International Institutions – Belgique · Change.org
The NGOs in the ‘New Foundation’ working group, which began at UNESCO and now includes, among others, Pax Christi International, Pax Christi France, Pax Christi Flanders, Mouvement de la Paix, Chrétiens de la Méditerranée, MIAMSI, les Convivialistes, Université Européenne de la Paix, collectif ANASTASIS and RJMP has developed 13 critical proposals aimed at transforming the United Nations into a more equitable and responsive global institution. These proposals address key challenges and advocate for changes that can better serve the world’s evolving needs.
For your organisation to appear as signatory, kindly write the name of the organisation in the field ‘first name’ and ‘last name’.
If your organisation wants to get practically involved in the project, you can contact Ghislain Le Ray at ghislainleray.paxchristi@gmail.com.
Key Proposals Include:
- Strengthening the role of the UN Secretary-General and General Assembly to overcome Security Council deadlocks on critical international peace and security matters.
- Reforming the UN Security Council’s veto system, with proposals to suspend veto power in cases of mass atrocities or acts of aggression, and enhancing representational fairness.
- Improving the effectiveness of UN Security Council resolutions by introducing measures like banning arms sales to non-compliant states.
- Amplifying the voice and influence of NGOs within the UN, ensuring civil society can play a more active role in shaping global decisions.
- Enhancing environmental and social standards through stronger global governance and legally binding commitments on issues like biodiversity, climate change, and world trade.
These proposals are part of a movement to ensure that the United Nations better reflects the realities of today’s world and can respond effectively to the complex challenges of our time.
Join us in advocating for these reforms and ensure your NGO’s voice is heard.
SIGN THIS PETITION NOW and Help Us Create a Fairer, More Effective United Nations!
—– FULL PETITION TEXT —–
Version française disponible ici.
A- Strengthening the roles of the UN Secretary-General and of the UN General Assembly
PROPOSAL 1: Give the Secretary-General the possibility of having a decision adopted by the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority to overcome deadlocks in the Security Council, particularly on crucial issues relating to the maintenance of international peace and security under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.
B- Strengthening the responsibility of the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council
PROPOSAL 2: Suspend the right of veto[i] of any permanent member of the Security Council that commits a ‘mass atrocity’. An initial proposal along these lines has already emerged from a joint initiative by France and Mexico,[ii] supported by around a hundred Member States. Mass atrocity refers to crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and large-scale war crimes. In the long term, the idea is even to abolish the right of veto.
PROPOSAL 3: Suspend the right to vote of any Permanent Member of the UN Security Council as currently determined by Article 27-3 of the UN Charter, currently limited to decisions taken under Chapter VI of the Charter relating to Pacific Settlement of Disputes, but enlarging its scope to Chapter VII, relating to its Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression.
The mentioned Article 27-3 would hence cite as follows: “Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI and VII, […], a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.”
The aim of this amendment would be to suspend the right to vote of the permanent members including for decisions taken by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter, for the matters mentioned above.
PROPOSAL 4: Introduce the following procedures for suspending the right of veto:
- Procedure 1: suspension of the right of veto following a 2/3 majority vote of the members of the UN Security Council.
- Procedure 2: suspension of the right of veto following a decision by the International Court of Justice after referral by the UN Secretary General or by a member of the UN Security Council.
PROPOSAL 5: Introduce better representativeness in the UN Security Council to reflect more fairly the geopolitical realities of today’s world, thereby making the decisions taken more effective.
C- Strengthening the effectiveness of binding Security Council resolutions
PROPOSAL 6: Favour a ban on the sale of arms by third-party states to any ‘aggressor’ state that does not comply with a resolution aimed at it, rather than economic sanctions that penalise the civilian population.
D- Reinforcing the role of civil society through enhancing status of NGOs in the institutions, organs and agencies of the UN
PROPOSAL 7: Raise the status of NGOs, particularly those participating in the realisation of the various UN objectives, within the bodies where they are represented, so that the demands of civil society are better heard. This would also put NGOs in a better position to exercise their roles of influence, advocacy, warning and monitoring for the common good, and even mediation to help bring peace into international relations. This could be achieved by setting up permanent NGO representation within the UN General Assembly, through the creation of a Liaison Committee[iv] allowing permanent representation of the most influential NGOs around the world.[v]
PROPOSAL 8: Institutionalise and perpetuate the NGO World Forums[vi] organised by the United Nations in order to create a permanent international body, integrated into the United Nations system, made up of representatives of civil society.
E- Reinforcing environmental and social standards by drawing on existing institutions or institutions to be created
PROPOSAL 9: Strengthen institutions and standards for the sharing and protection of common goods (biodiversity, water, fisheries, air, etc.), with appropriate support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
PROPOSAL 10: Introduce international social and environmental standards to govern world trade. Such reforms could be carried out with the support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
PROPOSAL 11: Introduce a system for monitoring the application of these standards, through specific committees, in order to ensure their effectiveness in national legislation.
PROPOSAL 12: Set up a permanent global environmental institution to deal with the issues already raised by the various international environmental conventions, in particular the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and make the provisions of these Conventions legally binding through the creation of a treaty body responsible for ensuring the proper application of these provisions.[vii]
PROPOSAL 13: Regulation of digital technology and AI at the international level is necessary and must place human dignity at the heart of its actions, combining technological innovation with ethical principles, in line with humanist values.
Footnotes:
- [i] Although the expression ‘right of veto’ does not appear in the UN Charter, we will use this shortened formula to refer to the need for an “affirmative vote of nine […] members [of the Council] in which the votes of all the permanent members are included,” as provided for in Article 27 of the Charter.
- [ii] Proposal reiterated on 11 November 2024 before the UN General Assembly (seventy-ninth session, AG/12654).
- [iii] The act of aggression was recognised as an international crime in 2010 by the International Criminal Court (article 8bis of the Rome Statute).
- [iv] Based on the model of the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee.
- [v] This would complement the role of the NGOs represented at ECOSOC, whose remit is limited to economic and social issues.
- [vi] In continuation of the 2024 United Nations Conference on Civil Society in Nairobi, ahead of the Summit of the Future of September 2024 in New York.
- [vii] Based on the model of the Human Rights Council established by the ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
