"peace is too important to be 
entrusted to states alone"

"a more solid and structurally 
sound means must be 
developed for the 
enfranchisement of 'we the peoples' "

(Erskine Childers and Brian Urquhart, Renewing the UN System, 1994)

Recommendation for a UN Forum of Civil Society

(Report of Commission on Global Governance, 1995)

"popular representation 
must be taken much more 
seriously in the UN of the future"

"greater representation of 
people's interests in global 
decision-making through, 
for example, a United Nations 
People's Assembly"

"many times over the past 
three days we have heard 
the suggestion made that 
there be a peoples' assembly 
before or at the same 
time as the General Assembly"

"a two-chamber General 
Assembly, one with government 
representatives as at  
present and the other 
representing national NGOs 
and members of civil society"

if CAMDUN-5 has its way 
"the UN's second half-century 
will see its doors and 
governmental ears open 
to hear the voices of the people"

"a two-chamber General Assembly 
could be considered, one 
with government representatives 
as at present, and the other 
representing national civil society 
organizations... [This] is only a 
vision for the future at this stage... 
As a first step in this direction, 
the Commission recommends 
that representatives of 
non-governmental bodies 
accredited to the General 
Assembly as Civil Society 
organizations be grouped 
into a World Forum..."

"The participation of civil-society 
actors in the UN may mitigate 
power politics... Their 
involvement will not 
erode the intergovernmental 
process. On the contrary, it 
will strengthen it."