A Different Kind Of United Nations
Paramendra Bhagat
November 9, 2002

Reorganize The United Nations For Globalization Abolish the veto. Every member country pays 1% of its federal budget to the UN as a precondition for membership. The General Assembly is reorganized along a House/Senate arrangement where, in the upper house, all member countries has a vote each, whereas in the lower house, a country's weight is directly proportional to its population. The Secretary General is elected directly by the two chambers. Any member country may nominate a person, but such a nomination is seconded by enough member countries so as to garner at least 20% of the votes in both the chambers. An election is held if there be more than one nominee. Only the top two remain for the third round, and a run-off is held until the top contender gets at least 50% of the votes in both the houses. The World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO are brought under the U.N. Their heads are part of the Secretary General's cabinet.

The United States is a tireless preacher of the concept of rule of law. If only every country would respect human rights, adopt democracy, free markets, property rights and rule of law, human civilization would attain new heights, or so the mantra goes. Yet if the U.S. mode of behavior in international affairs were to be introduced in a neighborhood in small town or big city America, we would have a rule of guns, and might would be right.

When the mood becomes one of ruling the world instead of trying to lead it, this country falls prey to its darkest instincts from the European segment of its heritage, one that reeks of colonial excesses. And when the U.S. presents itself as a European country rather than a human concept to which the entire humanity can lay claim, it submits itself to the basest segments of its political spectrum.

The United Nations is our best hope - not the way it is, but in what it can become - for the introduction of rule of law also in international affairs. The greatest impediment might be that not every country is a democracy. Governmental and non-governmental help, which in rare circumstances might translate into military actions, ought be provided by the democracies to the domestic movements in countries that have non-democratic regimes. But we don't have to wait until then to transfrom the U.N. The very attempt to transform it will give wind to those domestic movements that ought to play central roles in their respective countries in the first place.

Every member country needs to pay one percent of its federal budget to the United Nations, not as a charity contribution, but as a "tax," a precondition for membership.

The General Assembly has to be reorganized along a House/Senate arrangement where, in the upper house, all member countries has a vote each, whereas, in the lower house, a country's weight is directly proportional to its population. Democracy: one person, one vote, all the way to the top, from the hamlet or village or town, to the county, to the state, to the country, all the way to the U.N. General Assembly.

The Secretary General would be elected directly by the two chambers. Any member country may nominate a person, but such a nomination would have to be seconded by enough member countries so as to garner at least 20% of the votes in both the chambers. An election would be held should there be more than one nominee. Only the top two would remain for the third round, and a run-off would be held until the top contender gets at least 50% of the votes in both the houses.

The World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO would be brought under the U.N. Their heads would be part of the Secretary General's cabinet, to be nominated by him or her, their terms ending with that of the Secretary General.

The veto has to be abolished. The General Assembly has to hold the ultimate authority.

Economic globalization has been on its way for a while now: let poltical globalization catch up.