WORLD
FEDERALIST
NEWS
Fall 2008 • Issue 54
UK Federalists Reunite After 43 Years
After 43 years of separate existence, Federal Union and the Association of World
Federalists have reunited. The AWF was founded by members of Federal Union
back in 1965 to focus more on issues of federalism at a more global level.
A summer’s worth of negotiations for a reunification culminated at a meeting
held in London on Saturday, 6 September 2008 at which the reunification was
approved (with only one dissenting voice).
The day opened with a seminar addressed by Michael Burgess, professor of federal studies at the University of Kent, and Keith Best, chair of the AWF Council
and chair of the WFM Executive Committee. The political debate was followed
by a business session in which the terms of the reunification were agreed. The
statutes of the new organization are based on the former statutes of Federal
Union, although specific posts for Deputy Chairs are included to ensure neither European nor world federalism is neglected in the future workplan. Elections for a new committee will be held at an Annual General Meeting in March
2009. Until then, the organization will be led by a committee composed of all
the existing members of the two previous committees. The organization will
preserve the name Federal Union, which it first adopted in 1938, and will be a
member organization of both UEF and WFM.
The organization will focus on federalism at UK, European and global levels,
with a particular interest in issues where different levels overlap.
By Richard Laming, Director of Federal Union
Welcome New WFM Director of Programs!
At the end of July, Ms. Jelena Pià-Comella joined our
staff as the new WFM Director of Programs, bringing
over 11 years of experience in international relations
and a deep knowledge of the UN system to the WFM
International Secretariat.
Ms. Pià-Comella began her career in 1996 as a diplomat representing the
country of Andorra to the UN, US and Canada. In 2002 Ms. Pià-Comella was
appointed Deputy Permanent Representative of Andorra to the UN, responsible for coordinating and overseeing Andorra’s overall participation at the
UN, as well as maintaining and fostering Andorra’s relationships with other
countries. In addition, Ms. Pià-Comella served as Chargé d’affaires a.i./Chief of
Mission to the US and Canada from 2001 to 2007.
In 2008, Ms Pià-Comella, joined the Center for Women’s Global Leadership
and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) as a
consultant to coordinate the Gender Equality Architecture Reform Campaign
(GEAR), a coalition of over 270 NGOs for the purpose of strengthening the gender equality machinery at the UN. Fluent in Catalan, English, French and Spanish she has already proved a welcome and invaluable member of our team.
WFM Members participate in the G8 Religious Leaders Summit
Approximately 50 foreign delegates and scholars,
in addition to 100 Japanese religious leaders met
to focus on common concerns of world faith at the
G8 Religious Leaders Summit in Osaka and Kyoto,
Japan from 27 to 29 June 2008. The event was
coordinated and arranged by Yoshinobu Miyake
and WFM’s Council Vice-Chair, Most Rev. Mitsuo
Miyake. WFM Council Chair, Rev. Dr. James Christie, served as a Select Adviser and WFM Councilor,
Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton, served as a member of
the Expert Committee.
As participants of one of the key assemblies of interreligious dialogue, leaders arrived not to engage
in theological debate, but to engage in discussions
revolving around the theme “Living with the Earth:
Message from World Religions.” This was
the third Summit at which religious leaders focused on sending a common declaration to the leaders of the Group of Eight,
which met in Hokkaido 7 to 9 July 2008.
Leaders addressed the current environmental crisis, called for the G8 to
condemn the oppression of religious
and other freedoms in countries such
as Tibet and Myanmar, and emphasized Participants of the G8 Religious Leaders Summit. Courtesy: Rev. Mitsuo
the critical necessity of education in Miyake
the development of global community.
primacy,” and that all sought “to be considered
Ultimately it was recognized that common to all equal partners in the solution of these entangled
religious traditions was the belief that “justice and problems.”
the preservation of human rights must be given
By Tracey Hsu, WFM-IGP intern
Call for UN Parliamentary Assembly Gains Momentum
Support for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) has been growing continuously since its launch in April 2007.
The campaign’s appeal for the creation of a UN body composed of elected
representatives has attracted support from more than 520 members of parliament from over 80 countries. Inspired by the campaign, the Pan-African
Parliament passed a resolution endorsing the proposal in October 2007. The
Latin American Parliaments Commission on Political Affairs in June 2008
adopted a similar declaration in favor of a UNPA, inviting “all parliamentary organizations to participate actively in the process of its creation.” The
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr. Luís
Maria de Puig of Spain stated in a campaign media release that “the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly would be an important step to
bring the UN closer to the world’s citizens.”
Political support crosses all party lines and
political affiliations. In
May 2008 the second
Green World Congress
included an endorsement of a UNPA in its
final declaration. In
2003 and 2005 respectively, the Socialist
International and the
Liberal International also expressed their support. In addition, leading Christian Democrats are among the campaign’s many individual supporters.
In November 2007 campaign representatives
met in Geneva for the first
international UNPA conference, convened under
the patronage of former
UN Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
During the meeting Swiss
government observers
expressed their government’s “sympathy” for
the proposal to create a UNPA Campaign activists and WFM Councilors,
parliamentary body at Andreas Bummel and Fernando Iglesias, MP in
the UN. By June 2008, Munich, Germany. Credit: UNPA
this stance was made public in an official government report.
In addition to these government supporters, 150 NGOs organizations (including WFM-IGP) have also endorsed the campaign.
In November 2008 the campaign Steering Committee will meet in Brussels
to reflect on its activities thus far and to coordinate plans for 2009. The next
major step is to inspire as many national parliaments as possible around the
world to express their support for a UNPA and to continue to broaden the
base of NGO support.
By Andreas Bummel, Executive Chairman, Committee for a Democratic UN
Planetafilia Creating Awareness for UN Charter Review and Transformation
This year has been fruitful for Planetafilia’s activism through its Institute
and partnership with other international NGOs. In February 2008, Planetafilia signed a Collaboration Agreement with the United Nations Association of
Mexico (UNA Mexico) to promote the Millennium Development Goals among
children. Planetafilia also joined the UNPA Campaign, promoting it at the
Mexican Federal Congress and at the University of Guadalajara.
One of this year’s highlights for Planetafilia came on 24 to 25 April when its
Institute and the University of Guadalajara, in collaboration with the International Ad-Hoc Committee for Transforming the UN, organized a conference for
students, academics and civil society, calling for a General Conference to Review the UN Charter. The Conference concluded with participants signing the
“Guadalajara Declaration” calling for a General Conference to Review the UN
Charter with the hope of transforming it into a World Federation of Nations.
On 26 April the International Ad-Hoc Committee created the World Alliance for
Transforming the UN (WATUN) and established its Secretariat in Guadalajara,
Mexico.
In June Planetafilia participated in “The World Conference for the Research and
Realization of a World Federation” in Hokkaido, Japan. The event, organized
by Sapporo University, also had participation
from WFM Japan. There, participants signed
the “Toyako Declaration,” later delivered to
the G8, promoting World Federalism as a solution for the most pressing global issues.
The Annual DPI/NGO Conference held 3-6
September 2008 in Paris, France, allowed
Planetafilia and other members of WATUN to
participate in a workshop sponsored by the
Center for War/Peace Studies on “Strengthening and Democratizing the UN.”
Afterward WATUN held its first meeting to organize future events to promote
a General Conference to review the UN Charter.
Planetafilia is currently organizing the 4th International Forum on Article 28 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Everyone is entitled to a social and
international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration
can be fully realized.
By Celia Cuellar Zarate and Veronica Reyes Baron of Planetafilia
WF News 54 • Fall 2008 • 2
In April 2008, the WFM Executive Committee and the Executive Bureau of
the Young European Federalists (JEF) came to a mutual agreement to reinstate JEF as a member organization of WFM and encouraged collaboration
between the two organizations.
Peter Matjašič from Slovenia taking over the position of office manager and
Secretary General as of 1 September 2008. Peter was welcomed to the Brussels milieu with a small but cozy reception introducing him to the various
partners and interlocutors JEF works with there.
Who is JEF?
The JEF Executive Bureau also met in Brussels recently to prepare a JEF campaign for the upcoming European Parliamentary Elections in June 2009.
JEF is a supranational,
Under the slogan “It’s Time for Change, it’s Time for Europe,” JEF wants to
political
movement
bring Europe closer to its citizens and present the added value offered by
active in most EuroEuropean integration and focus around three main topics: a global Europe,
pean countries. It is
a greener Europe and a Europe of citizens.
an autonomous youth
organisation which has In addition to this campaign, JEF has a number of ongoing projects. The first
no political party affili- is the annual Balkan Training Days project (1-5 October 2008). Thanks to the
ations or commitments. Norwegian JEF section, the project focuses on strengthening civil society—
It participates in the exchange of opinions and experiences with other po- and the role of young people within it—in a region still divided by differing
litical movements, but will not identify with any of them. JEF’s interlocutors interpretations of history but with a common vision for the future: a stable
are political parties, European, national and local institutions and associa- Balkans within a united Europe. The second is the international seminar in
tions, as well as the general public. In this sense JEF is a political movement, Riga, Latvia: “Active Youth for a Truly Democratic European Family” that
but not a party.
aims to promote the values of active citizenship and participation in young
people that are shaping the future of European democracies in transition.
The aims of JEF are to work for the creation of a European Federation, the
first step towards peace, a World Federation, and for a freer, more just and If you are interested in our activities check out the website www.jef.eu and
more democratic federal society.
read about our opinions in the online magazine www.thenewfederalist.eu.
What is going on in JEF?
JEF-Europe recently did some reshuffling in its European Secretariat with
Peter Matjašič, Secretary-General of JEF-Europe, shares here an introduction to
JEF and their current projects.
The Ventotene Seminar
The 25th International Seminar on “Federalism in Europe and the World”
took place 31 August – 5 September 2008 on the island of Ventotene, Italy.
Federalists of all generations gather annually on this small island where Altiero Spinelli authored the Ventotene Manifesto while imprisoned by Mussolini. The seminar, held in conjunction with an Italian Seminar on Federalism,
brought together participants from across Europe and around the world for
six days of panels, working groups and debates on Federalism and its relevance to issues ranging from climate change to security strategy.
In addition to very strong presentations from several JEF members, WFM
Executive Director, Bill Pace, was invited to address the Seminar on the
historical relevance of both the European and World Federalist Movements
and The Need for a New Global, Political and Economic Order. WFM Councilors
Jean-Francis Billion (UEF-France) and Fernando Iglesias (Democracia Global) joined him in an engaging panel discussion on Regional Unification Processes: Africa, Middle East and South America, moderated by Elisabeth Garrett, WFM Membership and Communications Officer. Guido Montani, WFM
Councilor and UEF-Italy President, spoke on the benefits of Federalism to
Peace and Ecology, and WFM Executive Committee Member and Councilor,
Lucio Levi (also of UEF-Italy), participated in many of the debates.
minding participants
the issues must also
be viewed from a nonEuropean perspective. The Seminar is
a unique opportunity
to engage with other
young
federalists
on the fundamental
values of Federalism
as well as debating
its relevance towards Joan-Marc Simon (center), UEF Secretary-General addresses
emerging issues in the Ventotene Seminar with Peter Matjašič, JEF Secretaryour world. WFM en- General (left) and Claudia De Martino, JEF Italy (right). Courtesy: Elisabeth Garrett
courages its Member
and Associated Organizations to promote participation in the Ventotene Seminar among their
young members in the future. For more information about attending the
2009 Ventotene Seminar, please visit www.istitutospinelli.org or contact
Elisabeth Garrett at [email protected].
In addition to these WFM participants, Mercedes Carluccio of Argentina repBy Elisabeth Garrett, WFM Membership and Communications Officer
resented Democracia Global, bringing a distinctive voice to the debates, re-
3 • WF News 54 • Fall 2008
icc / ASP
News from the Young European Federalists
World Federalist News
World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy
708 Third Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017 USA
Phone: 1-212-599-1320 Fax: 1-212-599-1332
Email: [email protected] http://www.wfm-igp.org
From Fuzzy to Formidable—My Comments as WFM President
I was elected Vice President of WFM in India in
1998, although I was not present at that meeting. I continued in that post until the death of Sir
Peter Ustinov, and have been Acting President
since that time until November 2008, when my
resignation takes effect. I have enjoyed these ten
years immensely and wish to make a few comments and observations on the decade.
When I was elected, I was not at all sure what the
objectives of WFM internationally were, nor the
programs we espoused. I therefore decided to
attend Executive Committee meetings so I could
get some grasp of what was happening, and have
done so for the ten year period. That was a fast
way of finding out!
I had been associated with WFM-Canada, so I
knew about the principles of federalism, but so
much of the talk was clouded for me by those who
urged me to be a world citizen, or who wanted
me to learn Esperanto. Initially, the aims and objectives seemed highly philosophical and people
talked about “the WFM perspective” without articulating exactly what that was, except for goals
that seemed to me highly unrealistic and somewhat fuzzy. The programs were not focused.
The advent of Bill Pace in New York brought a sea
change. Gradually we articulated focused goals
and cut down on the myriad programs that were
really “wish lists.” We put the budget in better
order, and having realized that core funding was
always a struggle, asked the Executive Committee
members to pay their own way to attend meetings if possible. A splendid professional staff was
assembled and WFM work began in a variety of
countries around the world. The Executive Committee met staff when our meetings were held in
New York and we were always impressed by the
enormous amount and quality of work the staff
accomplished for WFM-IGP, which brought focus
to our work.
It became obvious that Bill was highly respected
by people at the United Nations and by others
working on the same issues. He was able to pull
some of these people into our meetings to inform
and engage us at a higher level than heretofore.
Stability and continuity of Executive Committee
members led by Keith Best and Council members
led by Jim Christie contributed to further development of the organization and a strategic plan.
Becoming the Secretariat of the Coalition for the
International Criminal Court has enabled WFM to
gain higher profile and respect from the global
community, as well as stay afloat financially and
programmatically through a myriad of grants
and donations from foundations and partners.
Revised websites and publications keep members informed and current.
A lot of work went into revising the statutes and
bylaws to reflect current decisions and practices.
Tighter and more accountable governance struc-
HOW TO SUPPORT WFM
I wish to learn more about the World Federalist MovementInstitute for Global Policy. Please send me more information.
I wish to become a supporter.
I wish to make a donation to WFM-IGP. US$
My organization would like to find out more
about becoming an affiliate of WFM-IGP.
tures have been put in place. Decisions were taken
about the viability and therefore the credentials
of Member organizations, and procedures were
made more transparent and responsible. This
was somewhat tied to our financial situation, as
we realized we could not continue to fund whoever wanted to show up to a meeting. Core funding remains a concern, and it is hoped the newly
elected Co-Presidents may be able to help us in
that area.
In my view, WFM has moved from a group having
fuzzy goals to being a formidable organization,
punching far beyond its weight in the international arena. I wish it well as its important work
continues.
By Lois M. Wilson, Acting President
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