Background: This proposal arises from doctoral research that was carried out over the last few years through analysing over 76 000 documents and interviewing highest level key stakeholders that work in the UN/Civil Society environment on an international level. Definition: Please note, civil society is defined as everything that sits outside of government and therefore does include private. How the Proposal Would Take Effect: The doctoral research included uncovering how the 2nd Charter would best be implemented and what would need to be considered in order to do so. This is all being published in the next few weeks and will contain all the details. Due to space limitations here and the inability to provide the robust research behind it, I will share some highlights that include: -how to prepare for UN General Assembly engagement -then how to engage the UN General Assembly and how to have a resolution pass for it -best practices to consider -who to get involved -obstacles to consider -solutions to those obstacles -financial structure -Member States involvement -and more... In Conclusion of the Brief Overview of Implementation Strategy: In the research, there was unanimous agreement that the process of how the SDGs were created was deemed highly successful. It is important to build on processes that already exist and therefore, especially with this process being deemed successful, the research suggests that we use this same process of the SDG creation in building the 2nd Charter.
The research brought forth names of Member States that are allies of Civil Society that may be very interested in supporting this proposal. A list of suggested Member States arose. In addition, a list of key stakeholders also arose and those key stakeholders potentially hold political will.
There will be political will that does not exist. However, the research showed that not all Member States need to be aligned with the idea of a 2nd Charter for a Civil Society United Nations in order for it to still be created.
The 2nd Charter of the Civil Society United Nations includes not only an International body but also National Civil Society UN bodies. The national platforms provide the opportunity for all of national Civil Society to come together to work strategically, proactively, and synergistically together and the international platforms with international civil society. Providing a platform for us all to work together from local to global is key in addressing all issues. In addition, the 2nd Charter provides not only the clear pathways of working together amongst Civil Society itself but also clear pathways of engagement and communication with both National Governments and the Intergovernmental.
Please see above.
Examples of best practices arose from the research where examples of this already exists, however only in certain issues. It was acknowledged that this needed to be used as a best practice in the wider multilateral system.
It is widely recognised that the answer lies with the people that are experiencing the poverty and inequality. This proposal includes the unheard voice and those that are experiencing inequality and poverty. Therefore, because of their inclusion, not only does it include potential alleviation of these issues but that it is also done sustainably.
Inclusivity: Inclusivity holds a myriad of aspects and goes beyond geographical representation, gender, age and so forth, it also includes members of civil society that governments would prefer not to acknowledge, fringe civil society members, children (not just youth), and more. The research demonstrated a number of ways to consider inclusivity in all its variations. Accountability in National and Global Governance: The PhD work demonstrated that accountability was an issue not just with Civil Society but also with Governments. The research showed an issue with involving Civil Society in the UN was the lack of accountability and Civil Society often made the same remarks of its governments. A 2nd Charter could provide the regulatory requirements and/or best practices of accountability for all involved. For Civil Society itself but also in terms of how National Civil Society UN bodies can keep their national governments accountable. An International Civil Society UN can also, due now it the provided structure, collate the voice of its national bodies to strengthen accountability in its varied requirements (addressing issues of accountability, bodies that need to be held accountable, systems of accountability, and so forth).
Two areas came out of the research on conflict. One on the prevention of conflict and two on conflict resolution. 1. The research demonstrated that there are often markers prior to conflict. A 2nd Charter would provide the structure to identify those markers AND put actions in place to potentially prevent conflict from arising. As an example, due to a National Civil Society UN where civil society now has a platform to work meaningfully together, those markers can be more easily identified due to communication pathways. One civil society member may report on human rights violations, another may mention an exchange of questionable funds, due to this collected voice, markers are identified. The National Civil Society UN, through the clear pathway in the structure, then reports this information up to the International Civil Society UN. The International Civil Society UN then takes this information to the Intergovernmental UN to address the issue to prevent potential conflict. 2. Conflict resolution has been shown to sit most effectively in the hands of those that have experienced it. With a National Civil Society UN body in place the collated civil society voice can then have more impact behind its voice to gain further support for what they have identified as needed to bring resolution. In addition, a National Civil Society UN body from another country that may have experienced a similar conflict issue, may be able to provide conflict resolution support to the other National Civil Society UN body with strength due to its collective merging. Therefore, one National Civil Society UN body could provide assistance to another.
Building on knowledge is paramount. Together First has identified that and is doing so by building on the document, "How to Save the World". This proposal, the 2nd Charter of the United Nations for a Civil Society UN, will now address those ten observations. Much more could be discussed, however, due to the limited word count each observation will only be briefly addressed. Observation 1: The research identified the blockages that are currently present and addresses them in this proposal. In addition, the research also identified the strengths and builds on that. The proposal suggests a resilient institution in that it addresses the blockages, considers multiple layers, and more. It is not limited in the risk factors it can consider. It enhances not only fairness but is also inclusive. It considers the financial requirements and through its communication pathways increases efficiency in engagement of all stakeholders. Observation 2: "there is currently no corresponding unitary global governance ‘system’ that can be simply reformed" and "legitimacy arising from universal membership remains key to progress" The requirement of a 'system', 'process', 'structure', are all words that continuously repeated themselves in the research, as did the concept of inclusivity. This proposal addresses both of those elements. Observation 3: There is extremely great urgency in addressing our global issues. Time is not on our side and hence it is paramount to work synergistically together as soon as possible. Not ideally but out of necessity, the September 2020 UN General Assembly could pass a resolution for a 2nd Charter. This time frame aligns neatly with UN75 and the Together First campaign, meaning that infrastructure is already there for exploring its implementation. Observation 4: The research identifies the need for a structure that allows for knowledge transfer: institutional knowledge transfer, personal knowledge transfer, data sharing, and so forth. That addressing this need is crucial to learn from each other and that this need would increase. A 2nd Charter would provide us with the opportunity to do so. Observation 5: This has already been addressed in the previous questions of this form. Observation 6: "The value of keeping credible (e.g. both effective and legitimate) existing forums governed by agreed rules of procedure for solving global problems." A 2nd Charter would add to that and bring in Civil Society, which includes the private sector. "The convening power of the UN owes much to the universality of its membership, and the fact that all member states, large and small, agreed to abide by the principles of the UN Charter." Again a 2nd Charter would add to that and bring in other stakeholders. "One of the challenges for global governance will be developing new forms of agile multi-stakeholder forum that go beyond State members." A 2nd Charter addresses this challenge. Observation 7: Part of the PhD results includes working in the SDG themes due to their highly regarded success as seen in their implementation but also in terms of the global language it has brought forth. In addition, the 2nd Charter doctoral research heavily emphasises the need for National Civil Society UN bodies for numerous reasons that arise from the evidence. Observation 7 discusses nomenclature and stays on an international level. With national bodies that would break down this concern. Observation 8: This has already been addressed in the previous questions of this form. Observation 9: Having varied responses to the global catastrophic risk and risk multiplier is not necessarily negative. What is required though is the coming together for exploring the solutions. Also, recognition is needed that some solutions may be nation specific in particular areas and can be. Therefore, not only is international coming together of key actors important but also nationally. "The ‘gap’ lies in the insufficient ambition of key actors (including us as individuals) to take the necessary steps" is it insufficient ambition or the lack of a platform for us to come together? The research identifies it is the later. That individuals strongly have the ambition, as do organisations, however there is no system or structure that brings together our collated efforts in a strategic way. Observation 10: "‘Political will’ is not a fixed constant" this is precisely why it is paramount that we look at providing further stability in our national and global context by including civil society. Stability is brought on in part by strong institutions. In addition, where political will is democratic, civil society can provide the long-term views that are needed to compensate for the short-term views caused by the electoral process. "smart coalitions of NGOs, member states, business leaders, and international civil servants can ‘move the dial’ to create the political and institutional incentives for implementing solutions and increasing ambition" and a 2nd Charter has the potential to provide that. In addressing the ten observations, it is clear that further dialogue to this proposal could bear much fruit to our collective concerns. Therefore, I invite us to consider this proposal for the next action steps of this Together First campaign to provide a global platform of consultations to further develop the 2nd Charter model. Bringing in more voices from around the world will further strengthen the proposed results of the doctoral research and take it from the academic setting further into the practical. Professional Website Link: https://dorchris.wixsite.com/dorotheachristiana 2nd Charter Website Link: https://dorchris.wixsite.com/dorotheachristiana/un-2nd-charter
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