from Bob Gauntt
A few years ago, Hank Stone and I drafted a list of proposed points of consensus, divided into two parts (Part I--The VISION of a WF and Part II--WHY is WF IMPORTANT?). We sent the list to about 32 prominent world federalists, asking them to serve as consultants. Twenty of them responded to the survey. All 20 responded to Part I; 19 responded to Part II. Overall, there was about 94% agreement about Part I. and 93% agreement about Part II.
This report includes:
(i) The list of the proposed points with the tally of responses
for each point: A (number agreed), D (number disagreed);
(ii) A list of the respondents.
(The report does not include the many comments and suggestions made by the
consultants.)
PROPOSED POINTS OF CONSENSUS
PART I: VISION OF A WORLD FEDERATION (20 responses)
- A world federation, whether a new world organization or a
restructured UN, would provide a system of world law enforcement to:
A (agree) 17 D (disagree) 0
a) Protect the Earth's environment.
A 18 D 1
b) Prevent/stop international military aggression. A 20 D 0
c) Uphold human rights.
A 18 D 1
d) Ban weapons of mass destruction.
A 19 D 1
e) Help to eliminate poverty and hunger worldwide.
A 19 D 1
- Individual Accountability: World law enforcement would apply to
individuals. We believe it is dangerous and unjust to hold entire nations
guilty for the crimes of its leaders.
A 19 D 0
- Peacekeeping: If international military aggression occurs, the world
government would act, in accordance with world law, to a) protect innocent
people on each side of the conflict, b) stop the violence and c) arrest
and prosecute persons responsible for the aggression.
A 19 D 0
- Universal Accountability: Everyone would be responsible for complying
with world law, including all national and world leaders.
A 18 D 1
- World Government: Systematic world law enforcement would require some
form of world government, whether a restructured United Nations or a new
world organization.
A 19 D 0
- A World Constitution: Before law enforcement powers are given to any
world organization, there must be safeguards against world tyranny. An
essential safeguard is a world constitution with a global bill of human
rights.
A 17 D 3
(I spoke to the three people who objected to Point 6 above about a world constitution. All three indicated that there would be a need for a world constitution or a modified U.N. Charter that would be the functional equivalent of a world constitution.)
- Global Structures: The world constitution would provide for a
democratic federal world government, under world law. The WG would include
a world legislature, world courts, and a world executive with a world peace
force. These institutions would protect the rights and security of the
people of all nations.
A 16 D 3
- The Federal Principle: The world constitution would grant certain powers to the world government and reserve other powers to national government and to the people.
A 15 D 3
PART II: WHY IS WORLD FEDERATION IMPORTANT? (19 responses)
- The first sentence of Chapter I of the U.N. Charter states that its
purposes are "To maintain international peace and security ... for the
suppression of acts of aggression ... and in conformity with justice and
international law ... the settlement of international disputes...."
A 14 D 2
- However, nations cannot rely on the UN for security, justice and law
enforcement. When aggression takes place, a nation under attack cannot count
on the UN to come to its rescue.
A 15 D 1
Therefore:
a) Nations must continue to rely on their own military forces for security.
A 13 D 3
b) Some nations will want nuclear weapons for security, not only to deter nuclear aggression, but also to deter conventional aggression from larger nations.
A 16 D 1
- Until we have a world organization that nations can count on for
security, we cannot have nuclear disarmament and the world will drift toward
unparalleled catastrophe.
A 16 D 2
- Global security requires nuclear disarmament and a system to
prevent/stop convential aggression, which in turn requires enforcement of
global laws for the security of citizens in every nation, which in turn
requires world government.
A 16 D 1
- The only form of government known to satisfy the diverse local
requirements, while preserving unity in areas of common interest, is federal
government.
A 17 D 1
- Areas of common interest to the world go beyond nuclear disarmament, and
preserving peace and justice. Human rights violations, pollution, climate
change, resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, famine, poverty, and
unemployment are all of global concern.
A 18 D 0
- These problems, all beyond the power of national governments to solve,
are likely to be made more serious in the next decades by unsustainable
population growth and unsustainable consumption.
A 18 D 0
- At stake is not just our ability to keep the peace, but protection of the life support systems of the earth for our children and their children.
A 18 D 0
- World federal government will give us a mechanism to solve the key global problems.
A 18 D 0
LIST OF RESPONDENTS
John Anderson, President of WFA
Joseph Baratta
Tad Daley, Founder of Campaign for a New U.N. Charter
John Ewbanks
Bob Gauntt, Coordinator of WF Consensus Project
Ronald Glossop, First Vice President of WFA
Lucille Green, Founder, United Peoples Assembly, and Past President of
WGOC
Errol Harris
Walter Hoffman, Former Executive Director of WFA
Tom Hudgens, President of the Association to Unite the Democracies
Richard Hudson, Executive Director of the Center for War/Peace Studies
Tom Liggett, Editor of the World Peace News-A World Government Report
Charles Price, Former President of WFA
Martin Resick, Chair of the WFA Executive Committee
Menko Rose, Chair of the WFA Working Group on the Federation of Democracies
Gary Shepherd, Editor, WGOC News and Views
Phil Simon, Author of The Genius of Federation
Hank Stone, Editor of The Peace Network
Ross Smyth, President of WGOC
Lucy Webster, Vice Chair of the Board of WFA
|