After nearly 11,000 years of slow and hazardous development of civilization, since the emergence of Homo Sapiens from the rigors of the last ice age, with a 500-year climax of amazing scientific and cultural accomplishments, mixed together with stupendous political technological and environmental blunders, all is about to be lost either by wars or the poison of war, or by making the environment hostile to life and the consequent starvation of most people during the climatic upsets of possible descent into a new ice age.
Wise philosophers have for several generations proposed the necessity for a global government for Planet Earth, in order to achieve peaceful solutions to problems of inter-dependence, beneficial to all who find themselves living and struggling on this planet of such wonderful potentials.
At the end of World War II, many thinking people knew that Federal World Government was required as the political framework within which global and supra-national problems could be solved peacefully for the benefit of everybody -- including continuance of the life-friendly conditions of the present inter-glacial period.
Instead, the tragic mistake was made of establishing a weak association of sovereign nations, repeating the mistakes of the League of Nations, with neither a fairly representative World Parliament given authority to adopt world legislation to solve world problems, nor a World Executive with authority to directly administer world legislation; and each nation retains the right to equip itself with military forces.
As a result, many extreme global problems have accumulated without solutions during the past 50 years, dominated by squandering many trillions of dollars on nuclear and other arms races. To cope with these problems, the United Nations has been mostly helpless. Moreover, the United Nations Charter is drawn in terms of obsolete precepts of national sovereignty in every article and paragraph, with control given to the five permanent members of the Security Council, so that the Charter cannot be amended nor strengthened to serve as the constitution for a proper global government. The only practical procedure is to completely replace the U. N. Charter with a new constitution for Federal World Government.
For replacement, some people coming together from all continents, apart from the United Nations, have gone ahead to design the specific details of the kind of world constitution which is needed to establish the political framework and procedures for a representative federal world government, under which the residents of Earth can manage their common affairs peacefully to serve the welfare of all.
The work of preparing this world constitution -- the CONSTITUTION FOR THE FEDERATION OF EARTH -- has gone forward in four sessions of a World Constituent Assembly in 1968, 1977, 1980 and 1991. Also, work has proceeded in three sessions of a Provisional World Parliament in 1982, 1985 and 1987, under Article 19 of the Constitution for the Federation of Earth, to prepare world legislation to solve certain urgent world problems.
The Constitution for the Federation of Earth is ready now for immediate ratification by the nations and people of Earth, and for immediate practical implementation. Recognizing that World Government is already many decades overdue, and that enormous problems have grown and festered and become more complex and difficult each year in the absence of any way to work out good solutions, every effort must be made to expedite ratification.
The world problems requiring solutions have been described so often that this Call will shift attention ahead to a few of the urgently needed solutions, which can be rapidly put into effect as soon as the Constitution for the Federation of Earth is ratified, and in some important respects even as soon as the first 25 countries have ratified. Early benefits under the Constitution for the Federation of Earth may include:
All nuclear weapons are immediately defused and then dismantled, under supervision of the World Disarmament Agency, and further testing and production prohibited.
All weapons of mass destruction, both large and small, are put under the '' control of the World Disarmament Agency, for rapid dismantling or conversion to peaceful uses, and further production and sale prohibited.
Most dangers of war and military dictatorship are thereby eliminated.
Priority is given to a globally coordinated program of several hundred billion dollars per year to deal with the climate crisis. Comprehensive remedial action is based on an understanding of the extremes of both heat and cold and other climatic turbulences resulting from the "differential greenhouse effect," which is triggered primarily by excess carbon dioxide accumulations in the air and loss of Earth's fertility — thus threatening agriculture and world food supplies and civilization everywhere.
All former military personnel, and others, can be employed by a civilian Earth Rescue Corps to restore and conserve a life-sustaining environment on Earth; and to maintain the global commons of the oceans, atmosphere, rivers, forests, phytoplankton, fish, the ozone layer, biodiversity and other elements.
The new global financial system, using a global currency for accounting, will provide sufficient financial credit to employ everyone at peaceful work to supply human needs. Finances will be available for both public and private projects, simply on the basis of people available to work and viable plans for production, services, etc. -- no past savings are required.
Projects to supply the needs of people living in a country may receive priority over projects for international trade. The scramble for outside investors looking for quick profits or for loans tied to repayment from export earnings are both eliminated -- since past savings become irrelevant. Also ended as conditions for obtaining finances are forced privatization or forced communalization, austerity measures, high interest, and curtailment of social welfare. Instead, standards will be defined for serving human welfare, payment of living wages, and environmental protection.
Human rights are protected everywhere, according to the guarantees and directive principles in the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.
Very rapid worldwide elimination of fossil fuels and of nuclear power is expedited, both technologically and financially. Rapid transition is made to solar, hydrogen, magnetic and other safe energy sources and equipment. Millions of jobs are created for the work of conversion to the new safe and environmentally friendly energy technology.
The oceans of Earth are owned and managed truly as the common heritage of humanity, and likewise the air space above Earth.
The safe disposal of nuclear poisons and wastes, as well as other globally threatening toxic wastes, is put under strict control by the world government.
Technology transfers are assisted and expedited wherever helpful to serve peaceful human needs.
Planning guidelines are developed for the best uses of all natural resources of Earth, together with technological innovations, to serve the maximum human welfare of all inhabitants of Earth.
These are a few of the benefits to be derived from early ratification and implementation of the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.
All of the above is made possible by the careful design in the Constitution for the Federation of Earth for the World Parliament composed of a House of Peoples, a House of Nations and a House of Counsellors, the World Executive with a five-member rotating Presidium responsible to the Parliament, the World Judiciary, the non-military enforcement system, the World Ombudsmus, the integrative Complex, the agencies of the World Administration, and many other carefully designed provisions.
THEREFORE, THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL WORLD PARLIAMENT IS HEREBY CALLED, TO BE ORGANIZED UNDER ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONSTITUTION FOR THE FEDERATION OF EARTH, TO CONVENE FOR TWO WEEKS FROM 26th JUNE TO 5th JULY, 1996, AT THE CONGRESS CENTER OF INNSBRUCK. AUSTRIA.
WORKING COMMISSIONS — BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS
Five out of the ten days of the fourth session agenda were devoted entirely
to organizing and meetings related directly to the Working Commissions
- Section 1. OCEANS AND SEABEDS
(See World Legislation #3, Manifesto, and Constitution for Federation of Earth, Art. XVI)
Ownership: How to make claims of the Manifesto effective. Relation to the "Law of the Seas" negotiated as a treaty among the nations. Complete administrative design. 200 mile priority fishing rights for coastal states; administrative assistance and patrol by world government; regulation of fishing outside 100 mile zone. Control of seated mining: technology required; pollution problems; public licensing for private mining, public mining, combinations. Expertise required for all aspects of oceans and seabeds administration. Phytoplankton — the ultraviolet threat from ozone holes; how promote growth? Registration of ocean-going ships and transportation. Monitoring of prohibited uses and shipments, per the Manifesto. Oil pollution; phase-out of offshore oil wells and oil transport. Oceans and climate: heating of oceans and ocean currents; cooling of polar areas; increase of hurricanes and typhoons.
- Section 2. ATMOSPHERE, ANTARCTICA AND EARTH'S MOON
(See Manifesto, and Earth Constitution, Art. XVI)
Complete administrative design. Integration of existing agencies concerned with Earth's atmosphere, now to be under world government. Monitoring carbon dioxide and other climate changing factors. Monitoring ozone holes and LJ.V. radiation and dangers. Relations to climate crisis. The universal haze. Control of pollutants. How can build-up of ozone depleting gases be reversed? Monitoring military shipments and transport by air. Current status of Antarctica. Claims by various countries, and treaties. Transfer to global administration under world government. Integration of scientific work. Prohibition of drilling for oil. Potential moon resources. All exploration of the Moon now to be under world government.
- DISARMAMENT
(See World Legislation ffl, and Earth Constitution, Art. XVII
Complete administrative design. Inventory of nuclear weapons. Current dangers of existing weapons, spread to other countries, testing. Notices to national governments to turn arms over to the World Disarmament Agency — World Government stages 1, 2 and 3. Disarmament and dismantling procedure: Nuclear weapons — immobilization, dismantling, disposal of warheads and fissionable materials and nuclear wastes. Necessity for total nuclear disarmament. Disarmament of other weapons of mass destruction: obtaining compliance of nations; collection points; dismantling and conversion. Small arms, mines and other military weapons: ban on production, preventing spread, collection for disposal. Monitoring of prohibited shipments. Monitoring of all production, sales, shipments and military budgets. Personnel required; training. Help from existing agencies. Economic opportunities for people employed in armaments and military: environmental conservation, restoring climatic balance, reforestation, remineralization, conversion to alternative energy, civilian patrol of oceans. Imposition of fines for violations of Manifesto, for failure to turn weapons over for dismantling, etc.; application to debt reduction per Manifesto.
- NEW GLOBAL FINANCE AND CREDIT SYSTEM
(See World Legislation #11 and Article VIII, Sec. G)
Complete administrative design. Basic procedure: unlimited credit and financing on the basis of people available to work; additional guarantee of monetary value based on total wealth of oceans and seabeds. Procedure for extending lines of credit to each country especially start-up strategy. Beginning with minimum one billion dollars for each million of population? What credit limits? Global accounting system for credit extensions and repayments. Finances for both public and private enterprise and projects, and for maintaining the global commons. Service charges to cover accounting costs instead of interest. Earth dollar currency and accounting to replace wide variety of currencies now in use. No more speculation in currency exchange rates. Use of Earth Dollar credit cards. Expansion of credit card system and instantaneous accounting for all finance and credit purposes on global basis. Conversion of existing banks. Criteria for determining credit for specific purposes, including usefulness, employment, wages to enable people to purchase what they produce, environmental protection. No credit for military purposes, guns, and harmful products. Pricing to include costs for maintaining the global commons and environmental conservation.
- HUMAN RIGHTS AND WORLD OMBUDSMUS
(See Articles XI, XII, and XIII, Earth Constitution)
The importance of establishing the World Ombudsmus under the Earth Constitution as soon as possible, as first priority to protect human rights. How to begin the World Ombudsmus. Human rights which need priority attention and enforcement. Will insistence on human rights cause some national governments to delay joining World Federation? Human rights which take a period of time to accomplish. (See Article Xffl.) How to expedite and prevent endless delay. Relation of rights to responsibilities. List of human responsibilities. How can responsibilities be enforced without becoming an authoritarian society? Obtaining collaboration of existing human rights organizations? Impossibility of protecting human rights without a World Constitution.
- RATIFICATION AND ELECTIONS
(See Articles XVII and VIII, Sec. C, Earth Constitution)
Review of ratification procedure. Organization of GREN for continuing campaign. How to get ratification by national governments and parliaments: by developing countries; by those now enjoying greater advantages; democracies, and others. Model ratification legislation which provides for referendum vote by people. Can ratification by people become effective without government cooperation? Using Manifesto to expedite ratification. Preparations for elections after ratification. World Electoral and Administrative Districts -- to show on world map. Grouping of districts to form the 20 World Electoral and Administrative Regions -- show on map. Candidates for election to House of Peoples. Supervision of first elections. World political parties? The first House of Nations. The first House of Counsellors. Convening first session of the World Parliament after ratification by 25 countries.
- CLIMATE CRISIS
(See World Legislation #6, and books: Survival of Civilization,
Climate Crime, Solar Age or Ice Age, ice core reports, etc.)
What is actually happening? History of climate change explanations: Switch from mid-1970's consensus on advent of new glacial period to consensus about global warming — why? Global warming versus differential greenhouse effect. How excess carbon dioxide in atmosphere causes climate change. Evidence of extremes. Why averages mislead. Complete monitoring of all factors involved in climate change, and interrelationships. The threat to agriculture and world food supplies. Climate change migrations coming and nowhere to go. How to reverse climate changes and achieve continuation of lifefriendly interglacial climate: Reforestation, stop cutting rainforests, economic alternatives, necessity for remineralization, immediate transition away from fossil fuels, etc. Technology for remineralization. Ozone holes and phytoplankton destruction. Possibilities for manmade lakes to capture carbon dioxide by algae growth, spirolena. 50-year global budget (of trillion dollars per year) to carry out all aspects of comprehensive program to reverse climate changes. Complete administrative set-up under world government to do what is necessary. Employment opportunities. All military personnel switched to saving the Earth. What can be done immediately: beginning a civilian Earth Rescue Corps under an Emergency Earth Rescue Administration.
- GLOBAL ENERGY SUPPLIES
(See World Legislation #10, New legislation required)
Potential for life-friendly energy to replace oil, coal, nuclear, including: solar, hydrogen, magnetic and space energy, wind, etc. How quickly can these alternatives by developed? Opposition by oil, coal and nuclear power interests, and their influence in government. Hazards of current decisions in many parts of Earth to go ahead with nuclear, coal and oil. How world government will change this; why world government is necessary to accomplish the change. Conversion of autos, airplanes, trains, trucks, farm equipment, etc., to hydrogen and electric. Employment opportunities. Proposal for global super power grid; radiation safety. The place of decentralized energy options vs. central power sources. Energy efficiency and conservation. Bicycles vs. autos. City design for electric autos and bicycles. The design and implementation of a comprehensive global energy administration.
- DEVELOPMENT TO SERVE HUMAN NEEDS
(See World Legislation #2)
The difference between development to serve human needs, and industry which is oriented primarily to making money. How developing countries are held captive to produce for export in order to earn foreign exchange to pay debts, and to earn profits for outside investors. How the new global finance system will change this. Lists of goods and services which can be produced in each country to supply human needs. Problem of competing with more efficient production in developed countries. Problem of technological transfers to less developed countries. Design of a world trade system which will improve living conditions and conserve the environment, rather than keep wages down and destroy the environment. Replacement of the World Trade Organization. Opposition to overcome. Is a good life possible for all? Continuous world inventory of resources, human needs, and development plans; collaboration of existing agencies. Elimination of wastes and poisons, military systems, unnecessary things, etc., and concentration on what is truly useful and life-serving; make lists. How to decide priorities? Registration and regulation of multi-national corporations. Comprehensive global administration for development purposes.
- WORLD FOOD AND WATER SUPPLIES
(New World Legislation)
What is the carrying capacity of Earth for good living in relation to food supplies? Fresh water supplies? Meat eating diets compared with grains, nuts, seeds, fish, vegetables in relation to carrying capacity. What if China and India switch heavily to eating meat? Reducing production of tobacco, alcohol, sugar, etc., in order to grow more food. Soil remineralization for more and better food. Mining of water acquifers. Urban sprawl over good agricultural land. Dangers of big agri-business and mono cultures. Conflicts over water supplies across national boundaries. Desertification, and agricultural failures and migrations. Do people have a right to migrate? Is a global "ever-normal" grainery possible? The necessity for global planning and guidance to feed everybody. Soil fertility and methods of fertilization, especially remineralization. Comprehensive global food and water administrations.
- WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO IF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS ARE SLOW TO COOPERATE?
The history of the world government movement since 1946 shows that national governments have failed to respond and participate. Why? How can they be persuaded now to ratify the Constitution for the Federation of Earth, and to conduct referendums so that people can vote on this issue? If national governments continue to disregard ratification appeals, what can people do? Can people organize direct referendums for ratification in some countries without help by national governments? How can popular ratification prevail if national governments are slow to recognize? Several possible scenarios depending on the extent to which national governments cooperate. What can a Provisional World Government actually accomplish, beginning with the procedures to implement the Manifesto?
|
