About us
Every inhabitant of the earth has the right to well-being and prosperity. The WFBN, founded in 1948, strives for a sustainable and democratic world order, with respect for human rights. By raising awareness of global problems, it emphasizes the need for international cooperation and strengthening of the United Nations on a federal basis.
Global democracy
A number of global problems are so comprehensive and cross-border that they cannot be solved from the perspective of the state. The state often proceeds from its own interests. World federalists believe that the major cross-border problems should be addressed at the global level by a federal world government that is democratically composed and controlled.
Unity in diversity
The starting point is that different peoples, each with their own culture, exist side by side in friendship and work closely together for mutual benefit, without giving up their own identity. Unity in diversity is the main idea of world federalism.
Basic principles
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Earth Charter are important foundational documents. Global guarantee of human rights and respect for planet Earth are essential for the proper functioning of a world federation.
World federalism is not centralism
What world federalists definitely do not strive for is centralism. World federalists emphasize the importance of democratization on a global level and respect for human rights. The terms world federalism and centralism should not be confused. The establishment of a centralist, let alone dictatorial, world government is undesirable.
Different levels of government and the principle of subsidiarity
World federalism is characterized by different levels of government – from local to global – each level with its own responsibilities, powers and democratic control. The subsidiarity principle is used in the demarcation of these powers. This means that powers lie at that level of government where the problem can be effectively addressed: municipalities, provinces, states, regional governments such as the European Union and ultimately global government.
Areas of work
The federal world government to be established will therefore have to concern itself with a limited number of matters, namely only those matters that can only (or better) be resolved at a global level. The areas of attention are mainly:
- maintenance of peace and security and the creation of conditions therefor; ending the arms race and eliminating all weapons of mass destruction,
- coordination of international economic relations and monetary systems; equal participation of all in the world economy and in global decisions that affect our lives and the promotion and realization of global prosperity,
- promoting the development of the international legal order,
- the protection of our environment and the preservation of the ecosystem for future generations; setting standards for pollution of the atmosphere and the oceans and the management of the ocean floor, Antarctica and space.
In these areas of work, measures will have to be taken in which the interests of the Earth and of humanity as a whole in the long term are decisive and prevail over national and regional interests.
From United Nations to democratic world governance
Despite its noble goals, the United Nations is currently far from being a world federation capable of solving world problems. The current UN has no executive power, no directly elected representatives and only limited decision-making powers. The veto right and the lack of representativeness in the Security Council often paralyze the effectiveness of the people's organization.
However, the most direct path to a world federation is a reform and democratization of the United Nations; the UN Charter provides the means for this.
