Sponsored by Communications Coordination Committee for the UN, Citizens for a UN People's Assembly, Association of World Citizens, Pathways to Peace, Young General Assembly, and Unity Foundation

Moderator: Douglas Mattern, President, Association of World Citizens; author of recently-published book "Looking For Square Two: Moving from War and Violence to Global Community"

Speakers: Lady Rhyl Jansen, President, World Federation of United Nations Association (WFUNA); Founding President, Global People's Assembly, New Zealand (regretfully, at the last moment she was unable to attend the conference; the moderator read her written statement)

Dr. Harry H. Lerner, President, Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations; UN Representative, Medical Action for Global Security (MEDACT)

Susan J. Zipp, Chair, Global People's Assembly; Advisor, Women for Cultural Wisdom; Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations

Benjamin Quinto, Executive Director, Global Youth Action Network

Ramu Damodaran, Chief, Outreach Division, United Nations Department of Public Information

Participants: Approximately 125

Douglas Mattern introduced the program by noting that the People's Assembly has been in development since 1982. Boutros Boutros-Ghali spoke out for a People's Assembly, as did UN Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar. A UN People's Assembly would evoke the idealism on which the UN was founded.

Our discussion of a People's Parliament or Assembly within the UN system, under UN Charter Articles 22 or 7.2, as a companion to the General Assembly, would facilitate the creation of effective partnerships to work for human security and sustainable development and add an effective moral voice to deliberations at the United Nations on the critical global issues.

One of our most critical global issues is the stockpiling of over 27,000 nuclear weapons, with over 4,000 nuclear warheads on hair trigger alert. A study by the Rand Corporation concluded these weapons would destroy both Russia and USA in an hour. Why do we allow this to happen?

The people need to put pressure on the countries to eliminate nuclear weapons. A People's Parliament or Assembly could help educate and bring pressure on the governments.

Mr. Mattern introduced Dr. Harry Lerner, who shared a brief history of the Global People's Assembly movement. Dr. Lerner remarked with encouragement the progress made over the many years of hard work and concentrated efforts.

Dr. Jeffrey Segall of Great Britain originated the idea in 1982 when he was the editor of Medicine and War. Together with Harry Lerner they founded the Campaign for a More Democratic UN, launched in large part under the guidance of the British branch of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, that earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.

Support was developed within the NGO community for a UN Second (People's) Assembly and the first annual conference was held in 1990. The book "Building a More Democratic UN", ed. by Frank Barnaby, details the first People's Assembly meeting. UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson was the keynote speaker during the third CAMDUN meeting in 1993, and now hundreds of NGOs are participating in the Global People's Assembly movement.

Dr. Lerner closed by sharing a letter from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan written to Doug Mattern in congratulations for his new book, "Looking For Square Two: Moving from War and Violence to Global Community".

The youth perspective was addressed by Benjamin Quinto, who began working for the UN at 17 years of age, saying this was the first time in his life he felt hopeful. In 1996 the youth mission was to create a Young General Assembly, since the UN hadn't yet accomplished its primary mission, to end war, and that his peers were the ones to fight those wars.

Mr. Quinto noted that the UN had created a youth unit, but there was no one under the age of 30 working there, so he found his purpose: to help young people feel valued by the UN, and to create a better world. Young people needed a way to involve a critical mass, not a select body, and in 1999 they created a network that circles the globe, the Global Youth Action Network, connecting many thousands of young people in 189 countries.

The UN takes decisions further and further away from the communities' represented, so peoples need representation. The way we have damaged the environment is still irreparable, and we haven't stopped war. Until these are accomplished the UN's other work will be shadowed. The timing of a People's Assembly could never be better!

Mr. Mattern invoked the former UN Assistant Secretary-General Robert Muller as a great supporter for inspiring youth toward the people's assembly movement.

Susan Zipp began with thanks and appreciation to all attending today's program, and to icastnews.com for providing the live broadcast feed via the internet. She then reflected on an indigenous people's saying that "It is better to raise capable people than to repair broken adults."

Our work as activists involves an obligation to recognize our power and responsibility. The strategy of fear has allowed poor global decisions to be made by not holding our government leaders accountable. To strengthen the UN and realize the MDGs we need to sharply monitor those in power and hold our decision-makers responsible.

The Global People's Assembly was officially launched in Samoa in 2000, bringing over 200 world citizens together to bring the voices of the people to global decision-making. Our program included how best to educate capable people to help them actively engage in their communities, and to use the principles of the Earth Charter for a well-integrated focus on ecology, social and economic justice, and peace as we work together in building a sustainable future.

Progress toward the People's Assembly movement has recently reached California, where the state lawmakers formed a bi-partisan committee toward promoting and establishing a State Citizens' Assembly, based on a working program in British Columbia.

Our planet's welfare cannot be left in the hands of only a few. Individuals taking leadership to establishing a representative People's Assembly in communities throughout the world will strengthen the United Nations and provide a positive and sustainable foundation for our future.

Ramu Damodaran reflected on the role of civil society in creating a more democratic UN, saying NGOs have contributed to innovative solutions that once seemed impossible. NGO's have found ways to create international frameworks for Land Mines, the International Criminal Court, etc., where there had not been the political will before.

The possibility of a People's Assembly isn't a goal that will preclude other UN actions. Every nation will spend on military as long as it feels threatened (Einstein). Why don't we feel the same kind of threat about poverty, or the environment? Why does it require a tsunami to gather support and action? These are key questions we should be asking.

The People's Assembly needs to be much more than a model voice, it must be sustainable in political matters of the UN. It could take many forms, including an electronic exchange. Let us not worry about the structure and mechanics, let's look at the goal and see what structures follow.

The floor was opened to questions and dialogue with the audience:

Lucy Webster mentioned the connection of the People's Assembly concept with the Centre for World Peace Studies as a serious relationship to empower the General Assembly, and recommends the Security Council be more representative of the world.

Joe Eger, Conductor of the Symphony for the United Nations, would like to see a People's Assembly work against poverty and to support children who are dying. He concluded that the natural goal of music and physics is social change, and everything in the universe is connected, as based on his book "Einstein's Violin".

Rose Walker, a pioneer in the NGO movement, sees tremendous progress in the NGO's relationships with people and the United Nations.

Elizabeth Carll asked Mr. Damodaran to make recommendations toward establishing a Global People's Assembly. Ramu Damodaran replied that NGOs and civil society must recognize that the UN is a process for ideas, with many of the ideas the UN Secretary-General puts forth coming from the vision of NGO's. Encouraging us to not be afraid of contributing new ideas, he recommended that we proactively work toward putting forth focused, specific plans and projects that the UN can work upon. We keep talking about globalization, he said; it's time we begin talking about "people-ization". It is all about the value of people. The UN constantly works with broken adults. Now we must give energy to forming healthy clusters, regional or thematic, because sometimes a coordinated symphony has its advantages.

Bill Gellerman, VP CCC/UN, stated concerns that in 2000 the people and civil society put forth a vision for the world, which most NGO's aligned with, but the UN practically ignored. The MDGs are aligned with the vision of a world that works for everyone, and the Global People's Assembly is one of the steps toward bringing that vision into being.

In concluding the conference, Doug Mattern recognized the many pioneering leaders of the People's Assembly movement and thanked them for years of tireless dedication: Dr. Harry Lerner, New York; Dr. Jeffrey Segall, London; Dr. Lucile Green, San Francisco; Dr. Rashmi Mayur, India; Guy Marchand, Paris; and Dr. Robert Muller, Costa Rica. The meeting was adjourned and participants enjoyed a delicious assortment of complimentary sandwiches and beverages.