For a Parliament of the Peoples of the World

One of the main proposals resulting form the World Citizens Assembly held in Lille (France) in December 2001 was to launch the idea of preparing a Parliament of the Peoples of the World. This claim for a new representative body of citizens on a world scale had already emerged at the end of World War II. The perspective of preparing a Parliament of the Peoples of the World was sketched out throughout the eighties and in the early nineties. In this new and difficult context, however, the world's civil society beat a different path. The continuation of World Social Forums or other international gatherings, however, needs to be polarized by the preparation of a Parliament of the Peoples of the World. This being said, preparing a Parliament of the Peoples of the World constitutes an unprecedented challenge. The invention of new bodies for citizens' participation and action—in addition to alliances, forums, parties, and social movements—is a crucial challenge for this era.