A WORLD GOVERNANCE ADAPTED TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Effective World Governance is one of the main concerns of the Alliance. The authors of the discussion paper reproduced below (who between them have many years of experience in various areas of international relations) are well aware of the enormous challenges facing any group writing a proposal on world governance; they are cognisant of the limitations of writing from a particular vantage point. They "know they are Europeans – French, in fact – and know that their point of view is therefore partial, marked by their continent's singular experience of the past years. Between the excessive pretension of universality and a complete lack of communication, they have chosen to take the chance of proposing a process of dialogue and mutual enrichment. This paper testifies to the preceding statement: it constitutes the second version of a first draft, enriched by sometimes vivid reactions from three continents: America, Africa, and Asia. A third draft enriched by the proceedings of the International meeting of Villarceaux [which took place in June 2000] will be issued in September [2000]." Because of space limitations Wajibu is not reproducing the complete proposal. Specifically we have omitted most of section III. The complete text may be found in Caravan, no. 6 (August 2000).

Introduction

The failure of the launching of the Millennium Round in Seattle was a perfect illustration of a lack of consistency and a major lack of legitimacy of the current world order. The lack of consistency is due to the gap between the institutions and the interdependence of the problems that they deal with, the institutions being marked, moreover, by a strong dissymmetry of power. The lack of legitimacy is due to the increasingly elitist and opaque nature of the organization of decision processes, an elitism that is in fact not any less avoided by the forums organized around the meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions, or within the very framework of the United Nations.

How else to approach this? The objective of governance cannot be separated from the method used to achieve it. It can only be interactive, made of successive... [stages of moving to and fro] between the institutional progress and the contribution of experiences from of all parts of the world. This is probably where the contribution of what is sometimes inaccurately called the "civil society" is unavoidable; indeed, it operates "in situ" the synthesis between the principles and the required applications.

Any initiative, however, requires a starting point. Our proposal is to focus successively:

I. on searching for the general principles of governance, because they will be the source of consistency;
II. on further elaborating the conditions of the legitimacy, both ethical and procedural, of the existing institutions and international rules.
III. to end with, on making practical proposals to undertake the reform of multilateral institutions.

I Three Founding Principles for the Consistency of Reforms
The three principles that follow did not come about by chance. They have been proved right by the experience of numerous development enterprises taken at various geographic scales and in several continents. What they all had in common was to induce a collective mobilization in view of complex objectives including numerous dimensions and acknowledging the fact of interdependence beyond the territorial limits of their application. These principles can therefore be seen as a contemporary form of wisdom. Nonetheless, their formulation is open to discussion.

A-1. The principle of subsidiarity
One of the functions of international rules is to assume as much as possible the cohesion and the unity of the whole, on two conditions: that they promote the common good or goods; that they preserve maximum autonomy of each of the component parts.
The principle of subsidiarity leads first to a distribution of competence among various levels of authority or responsibility. It gains to be enriched by the notion of active subsidiarity in the increasingly frequent situations of shared competence. According to this view, decisions are taken at the lowest possible level, but must also comply with the duty to achieve a set of given results. The definition of this duty to achieve given results is the fruit of collective elaboration.
Active subsidiarity also serves as the foundation for the necessary cooperation among the different levels of power. No major problem, whether it has to with security, the provision of essential needs, or the management of the biosphere, can be dealt with at a single level of power. Hence this supposes cooperation among these levels and leads to the exercise of shared responsibility.

A-2. The principle of responsibility
All forms of power imply the responsibility of whoever exercises it not only with regard to those who entrusted it and have the possibility of withdrawing it but, more broadly speaking, with regard to all those who, in the society and the biosphere, can be affected by the exercise of such power. From this two principles follow:
All forms of power can be tried by a higher authority and are held accountable. In particular, any public authority can be tried by a higher authority, any sovereignty is limited, and any state is held accountable not only to its own citizens but also to the competent international bodies.
The scope of responsibility does not only ensue from the mandates that are given for the exercise of power by voters or shareholders but more generally speaking from the impact of the exercise of power on third parties. The obligation of transparency and the obligation of accountability encompass a broader community.

A-3. The principle of plurality

It is not possible to fully enter into a collective action without the acknowledgement of a common objective. The identification of such an objective must not, however, conflict with the diversity of belonging and cultural identity. This is what the principle of plurality expresses.

This principle will be applicable through legal provisions designed to prevent or repress discrimination founded on ethnic belonging, gender, or religion.

It should in addition make positive use of geographical, cultural, and linguistic diversity. At the various territorial scales – local, regional, national and plurinational - where collective action is sought, the process of construction of a form of unity making positive use of plurality, can translate into partnership processes.

B. Ethical foundations and universal vocation
The above principles can serve as constituent foundations for the institutions in charge of drawing up and implementing international rules.

For these rules to be efficient and to meet with long-term support, it is also necessary that they correspond to the orientations of an ethical order according to which the citizens involved wish to guide their conduct. Thus, the principle of subsidiarity is in agreement with personal inspiration to freedom and creativeness, including the spirit of research and innovation. Thus, the principle of responsibility goes hand in hand with the personal obligation of solidarity and mutual aid; in the same way, the principle of plurality is truly able to flourish only in agreement with the individual exercise of tolerance and respect of others.

These correspondences totally escape the legal field and its ensuing policies. They refer to the responsibilities and duties of the citizens themselves, which leads us to underscore the importance of the role of education and teaching assumed by the various moral and religious traditions.

We wish in this respect to highlight the educational and symbolic importance of the work aiming to illustrate concretely the necessary correspondence between the general principles of collective action – the source of law – and ethical orientations – the sources of individual behavior.

An example of such work is provided by the current development of the Charter for a Responsible, Plural and United World on the initiative of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World (see Caravan N°4, p.12).

C. Toward a constituent charter for the International Community
Work on the development of the Charter for a Responsible, Plural and United World has resulted in the formulation of the functions that should be assumed by the "International Community". Those that stand out in particular:
a) Preservation of the common good, extended to the whole of the field of the living, and the integrity of the ecosystem.
b) Guarantee of the preservation of the diversity of society, of the preservation of people's dignity, of the access of all to the common good, of the implementation by all of the principle of caution.
c) Distribution and redistribution. In particular, the distribution of scarce goods and the management of the debt incurred by some nations vis-a-vis others and vis-a-vis the biosphere by the fact of having used these goods.
d) Observation, establishment, and means to monitor the evolution of humankind and the ecosystems, and compliance with codes of conduct and norms.
e) Learning: dissemination of all goods that are increased in their sharing, in particular experience; initiation to the resolution of conflicts through cooperation; education for tolerance; permanent thinking on the rights and responsibilities of humankind;
f) Arbitration, in particular of contradictions between norms and codes of conduct; construction and updating of priorities among norms and search for complementarity links among them.
g) Recourse on the way in which the private and public actors, in particular supranational, assume their responsibilities.

It is clear that these functions are not currently assumed. There is no "International Community", only an "international society" composed of actors having mutual codes of communication and forms of interaction. Moving from an international society to an International Community will have to include a constituent process, which will aim to complete the existing texts (United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights) with provisions relative to the relations among peoples as with humankind as a whole. The process opened by the elaboration of the Charter for a Responsible, Plural and United World goes in this direction.

II - Ensuring the Legitimacy of International Rules
Very often, in the Anglo-Saxon world in particular, the extension of the rules of international law is not trusted, in the absence of the transparency traditionally linked to democratic practices. In other regions of the world, where on the contrary a reinforcement of these rules is hoped for, lack of trust is fed by the influence attributed to the most powerful actors. These two attitudes lead to discrediting the institutions themselves to the point of obstructing their modernization, including in areas (such as the environment or finances) where disorder is evident.
It is therefore urgent to promote rules for the legitimization of existing institutions.

A. Transparency and justiceability
The first rules likely to restore the legitimacy of institutions aspiring to governance ensue from the principle of responsibility. Their application does not require, in principle, modifications of their constituent treaty. They very often just come straight out of rules of procedure.

The consultation that we conducted brought out in particular:
Transparency. It is thus suggested that all international rules that have been the object of a national transposition should be the object of an identification of source and recourse. The subjects and users of these rules should insofar as possible know the references of the international and national agencies that originated the statement of the rule as well as the methods of recourse in case of litigation on their application.
Publicizing the ways institutions in charge of enforcing international rules have achieved their mission.
Possibility of sanctions in cases of serious shortcomings with regard to the execution of mandates.

B. Position of the civil society
It will be lastingly difficult to establish a parliamentary-type representation on a world or plurinational scale, even though this perspective remains a long-term objective. Nonetheless, there is already a worldwide public forum where many forms of civilian influence are exercised and heard, independently of national and international public authorities, for the promotion of individual or general interests.

This "world civil society" is not limited to NGOs. Its emergence, increasingly organized at the international level, is facilitated by the new information and communication technology. This is one of the major changes of these past fifty years. It is often through the more-or-less organized forms of the civil society that new issues appear on the political arena, and that the actions of the public authorities and the implementation of international conventions are monitored and checked. Similarly, the large companies and large pension funds have become major actors and sometimes regulators of international choices.

Associating this international civil society to the preparation and the implementation of international rules can constitute a legitimization factor for the institutions themselves, provided that there is compliance with rules of procedure.

The following are given as examples:
a) The companies and NGOs acting at an international scale should necessarily subscribe to a code of conduct, the implementation of which must also be controlled at the international scale (symmetry of levels of action and control).
b) Methods for the representation of the civil society and an obligation of transparency of this representation must be defined by all international agencies as a guarantee for public control over their action.
c) Appeal mechanisms for the civil society should be able to produce audits of the action of the public authorities at different levels or of the implementation of codes of conduct and rules of the international community. At present, this power of referral to higher authorities is reserved for all practical purposes to the holders of financial power: shareholders in the case of companies, and the World Bank and the IMF in the case of countries. This capacity of referral needs to be extended to all those who undergo the impact of the action of private or public actors.
d) Grassroots initiatives should be able to lead to the organization of world consensus conferences, on the model first initiated by the Danish government. These consensus conferences would apply to the complex problems engendered among others by the impact of science and technology.
e) Civil society must be associated to the setting up and the management of monitoring systems at the international scale.
f) The consequences of scientific and technological development play a decisive role in the evolution of humankind. They should be part of the public good par excellence. Their forms of production and exploitation are leading today to their increasing privatization. The International Community must plan that a part of the investment devoted to the development of new technology should go to a citizens' use of technology, to strengthen the civil society.
g) In order to increase the awareness of a single human community and the consideration of the diversity of contexts and interests, it is necessary to work toward the emergence of an international representation of the different social sectors with organization and appraisal means allowing them to take into account the complexity of the problems and to move beyond corporatistic attitudes.

C. The involvement of parliaments
In the absence of a world parliament, the legitimacy of international rules depends on that of the national governments themselves, which can also, in the framework of constitutional rules, be suited to the exercise of shared sovereignty. Ultimately, however, in the democratic states, national parliaments have the responsibility of ensuring the proper application of any international action conducted by governments, directly or indirectly.

International comparisons show that the provisions by which the competent parliamentary commissions or delegations are informed or are set up to assume their responsibilities are extremely variable. All too often, the international field escapes parliamentary discussion and assessment. It is necessary to encourage the dissemination of good practices, interparliamentary cooperation in the framework of treaties, and the constitution of independent assessment bodies at the service of parliaments.

III - Some Concrete Leads to Governance
The principle of realism is very often opposed to the practical implementation of the founding principles and to the effort of legitimizing governance at the source. This is why we propose here a set of experiences or tools recommended on the basis of their success.

Extending monitoring, warning, and assessment systems;
Accelerating the setting up of regional entities;
Diversifying the bases for the financing of international collective action;
Reconciling national sovereignty and international efficiency;
Formulating a chart for the International Community.

World governance will be the fruit of a multifaceted process, not of an instant global performance. Initiatives will come from all the institutions that make up the present multilateral system, and from governments, parliaments, and the civil society.

Such a process could get bogged down for lack of the political will of a determined group of states. It might also be indecipherable in the eyes of citizens. This is why we remain attached to the development of a constituent charter for the unfolding International Community. The main benefit of this construction is to make the purposes of the overall process visible, as they are expressed in terms of both rights and of responsibilities, for the nations, the peoples, and the persons who compose them. It also makes it possible to ensure an ongoing confrontation between those who detain the power to act in the name of public authority and those who detain the experience of action on the field.

It is in this spirit that we propose to open the elaboration of a Charter for a Responsible, Plural and United World and are disposed to take part in any broader enterprise pursuing the same ambitions.

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