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REPORT
FROM YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE NINA MIRANI
Creating a UN People’s Parliamentary Assembly
June 4, 2005
The Palace Hotel, San Francisco, California, USA
BACKGROUND
In 1945 the United Nations Charter was written beginning with the phrase “We, the peoples.” However, it was set up as an organization of governments. In 1990, when the movement to start the Young General Assembly began, the children wrote in the “Children’s Declaration for Peace” that they envisioned a more democratic United Nations. In 1995 the Young General Assembly was named as such because the children envisioned a more democratic UN with an international children’s assembly as a committee under the United Nations General Assembly to advise them on children’s issues. In April 2005 the Parliament and National Council of Switzerland sent an open letter to the UN Secretary General requesting he examine the possibility having a civil society international parliament within the United Nations General Assembly. As a follow-up supporting this request,
The Citizens for a United Nations Peoples’ Assembly organized a daylong event on June 4, 2005 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco called “Creating a UN Peoples’ Parliamentary Assembly.” At this meeting an Open Letter to the UN Secretary General was signed requesting that he convene a high level panel of experts to examine how best to establish a civil society international parliament within the UN General Assembly.
Among world renown speakers such as Dr. Robert Muller (former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN), Jose Aguilar (President of the North South Institute in Madrid), Canadian Senator Douglas Roche, Joseph E. Schwartzberg, (Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota), Andrew Strauss (Professor of International Law at Widener University School of Law), Douglas Mattern, President of the Association of World Citizens and Hans-Peter Bigler, Spokesperson for the Swiss Parliament, was 21 year old Nina Mirani who spoke for the Young General Assembly. In 2000, Nina led a group of high school students at International Polytechnic High School who organized the First Young General Assembly Session at which the YGA Charter was voted into force. She is now a student at University of California in Berkeley working on a degree in International Peace Studies. Nina read a statement compiled from e mail statements sent by Young General Assembly Member Organizations, YGA committee members and YGA Ambassadors. Participants in San Francisco reported that Nina received two loud and long ovations-more than any other speaker.
NINA’S REPORT
I had a wonderful time yesterday. I met many inspirational people, INCLUDING professors that I had spent all
nighters writing essay's about!
The speech went well. I was nervous as first but as soon as I started talking my confidence picked up and I did just fine. After saying the statement, I had many people come up to me wanting to talk to me.
I met Ursula Parker, a Young General Assembly supporter. She was VERY nice and we took pictures near the podium.
We were invited to the "Cultural and Educational Events Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the United Nations in San Francisco" (una-sf.org will give you more details about it). Another conference is "Bringing War and Organized Violence to an End" in San Francisco August 2-5 ( for more information e mail worldcit@best.com). Because of work and my summer classes I will not be able to attend either of these meetings.
Here are the names and titles of the people who approached me after the speech:
Dr. Gary Herbertson, Senior Advisor for Institute for Global Solutions, Long Beach;
Cheng Kuang Chen, President of the Global Forum;
Jerry and Kathy Tetalmanl, (they finished writing a book and want me to read it);
Ronald J. Glossop, PhD Professor Emeritus Philosophy and Peace Studies at Southern Illinois University;
Brian Webster and Associates, (He's a lawyer);
Reports and books were given to me after the speech (a lot of these were supposed to be paid for, but after I spoke I was given everything for free!):
Revitalizing the United Nations, Reform through Weighted Voting. Joseph E. Scwartzberg Institute for Global Policy World Federalist Movement.
Regional Representation as a Basis for Security Council Reform, Joseph E. Shcwartzberg, University of Minnesota.
Of War and World Peace, published by the World Peace Church 2005
I have FOUR of the same book. One of the women decided to buy them for me because she wanted me to pass them out. "Prophet-The Hatmakers Son the Life of Robert Muller".
Developing International Democracy by Andreas Bummel was presented to me by a member of the Swiss Parliament, Hanspeter.
The organization Earth Charter was interested in what we are doing and wanted to know more about the organization. www.earthcharter.org
Thank you for this opportunity to speak. It's been a LONG time since I've been involved and it felt good to be part of something again. This conference validated my major entirely. I'm glad I went!
Also, just for some kicks, you'll be surprised to find out that I looked ALL grown up! No purple hair, piercings or all black. I wore a conservative pinstriped suit!
If you have any questions, I will respond to the best of my ability!
Thanks,
Nina
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YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY STATEMENT READ BY NINA
Peaceways-Young General Assembly Statement
to
“Creating a UN Peoples’ Parliamentary Assembly”
Good afternoon.
My name is Nina Mirani and I am here to represent the Young General Assembly. I was involved with the Young General Assembly throughout high school and now I am preparing to graduate from University of California at Berkeley in December with a major in Peace and Conflict Studies. The statement I am reading today was written by young people over the internet for this occasion.
I speak to you today as a representative of Peaceways-Young General Assembly which is an international organization involving over two and a half million young people in 91 Member Organizations in 57 countries. The Young GA is unique because is was created by children on a global scale, developed by children over a period of 10 years starting in 1990, and established by Charter in 2000 by children themselves. At an international children’s summit held near San Francisco during the 1995 UN 50th Celebration, the Young General Assembly was first described in writing from the ideas brought together by delegates from 64 national and international meetings. It was named “Young General Assembly” because the children envision an international assembly of people under the age of 18 as an advisory body to the United Nations General Assembly. They debated at lot over the name “YOUNG General Assembly” because they didn’t want the United Nations to think they were calling the existing United Nations body the “OLD” General Assembly. However, they strongly felt that if the word “children” was used in the title, that the organization would not be given serious consideration because of the low status of children in today’s world.
The Young General Assembly aims to strengthen the United Nations through Child Participation. Child Participation is not happening when adults give the orders and children must obey. Child Participation is a mutually respectful partnership between adults and children in which the experience, resources and wisdom of adults are fused with the energy and creativity of children and their ability to see a situation in a new light and readily adapt to change. Child Participation upholds and enhances the principles of Democracy. Without Child Participation, there can be no true Democracy. Little by little, this is being realized in the world today. Several United Nations Member States have established national children’s parliaments. Some are token one-day meetings, but some have a respected voice in their adult national parliaments. In Malawi most cities and villages include children in voting positions on their local governing councils due to the efforts of the Malawian national government. We in the Young General Assembly believe that when children are included in local, regional, national and global governance, then there will be true democracy. Also, when Child Participation becomes the “norm,” democracy will work better because people learn best by doing. Just imagine what kind of citizens adults will be if they have been raised playing an active, responsible role in democracy! Democracy will no longer be words on paper to the vast majority people. Democracy will be as much a part of everyone’s life as breathing is.
Children view the United Nations as the world’s hope for a global Democracy. They want it to thrive. The children believe in the Preamble to the United Nations Charter and that “We, the peoples” is the essence of a global Democracy. In spite of the UN Charter Preamble, for 60 years the United Nations has been mainly an exclusive club of governmental representatives with “We, the peoples” far away in the distance. In very recent years more UN doors have opened to “We, the peoples,” but there are still large hurdles for civil society to overcome. For example, the Young General Assembly has been awarded NGO status by the United Nations Department of Public Information. It has received special consultative status from the UN Economic and Social Council giving the Young GA rights to submit papers and in some cases speak to United Nations bodies. It has been awarded consultative status by UNICEF and endorsed by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Young GA is officially recognized by four major United Nations agencies. Yet, a Young GA representative under the age of 18 is not allowed to conduct organizational business at United Nations headquarters. This is because people under the age of 18 are not allowed to have an annual security pass. In many of the major United Nations Summits in the last 15 years, NGOs have been given limited access and a limited voice. However, the vast majority of NGO recommendations have been thrown out in the final documents written by governments. “We, the peoples” are not yet part of the United Nations.
In the Secretary General’s recent report, “In Larger Freedom,” he states in paragraph 20, “We need an active civil society.” To achieve freedom from want he states in paragraph 38, “Civil society is an indispensable partner” in “making poverty history.” To achieve freedom from fear he urges, “civil society organizations everywhere to join in” to stop terrorism. However, he mentions no role for civil society in the section on “Freedom to Live in Dignity.” But in paragraph 153 the Secretary General does state that the United Nations “must be open not only to States but also to civil society.” However, he falls short in suggesting how this can be accomplished. Now we have the Swiss Parliament and National Council’s proposal for a Parliamentary Assembly in the United Nations
to fill that void.
In this room you cannot see the two and a half million young people in the Young GA, but I am here to tell you that the Swiss Parliament and Swiss National Council’s proposal for a Parliamentary Assembly to the United Nations has brought loud cheers of joy and brightened thousands of eyes of the children and youth who have been informed about it. We are happy to see that one of the youngest Member States of the United Nations initiated this move towards a global democracy. It’s good to listen to the young !!
On behalf of the 2 and ½ million young people in Peaceways-Young General Assembly I am happy to sign the “Open Letter to the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan” requesting him to convene a high level panel to examine the benefits of a parliamentary assembly at the UN. However, my peers and I would be a lot happier if that letter requested that the High Level Panel include at least one person under the age of 18. In any case, we young people strongly request that the door be left open so that the Parliamentary Assembly of adults at the United Nations will quickly add an assembly of children between the ages of 12 and 17 and an assembly of youth between the ages of 18 and 24. Then the United Nations will truly live up to the opening phrase of its own Charter. After all, children and youth are part of “We, the peoples,” too.
Thank you for your attention.
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