Atlas, the global party counting more than 22,000 members across 130 countries, is launching a multi-year project to democratize global governance. After successful campaigns on topics such as climate, democracy, and vaccine access, the organization has set its eyes on giving the people of this planet a voice on global issues.
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For Immediate Release
PRESS RELEASE - London, September 15th, 2022
On the international day of democracy, Atlas announces it will field a people-backed candidate for the 2026 U.N. Secretary-General selection process.
London (UK) - Atlas, the global party counting more than 22,000 members across 130 countries, is launching a multi-year project to democratize global governance. After successful campaigns on topics such as climate, democracy, and vaccine access, the organization has set its eyes on giving the people of this planet a voice on global issues.
Indeed, Atlas believes that to curb the effects of climate change, strengthen democracy worldwide, or simply tax multinational digital companies appropriately, a higher level of cooperation compared to today’s faltering international order is needed. The world needs a true democratic global governance. While some supranational institutions and multilateral treaties do exist, they are handicapped by their lack of enforcement mechanisms and their lack of far-reaching solutions, leaving the world no closer to implementing solutions to transnational topics. Because of these flaws, in recent years, people's trust in the United Nations dropped by 15 percentage points, underscoring its lack of legitimacy due to undemocratic and unrepresentative processes.
To achieve its aim, in 2023, Atlas will first conduct a transnational consultation on the future of global governance. Then, starting in 2024 and leveraging the crowdsourced ideas, it will field a people-backed candidate at the 2026 U.N. Secretary-General (UNSG) selection process to give the United Nations a last chance for reform. If this effort is unsuccessful because of vetoes or similar undemocratic practices, Atlas and the citizen coalition built during the consultation will then design, build, and launch a democratic, people-led transnational governance system to unite humankind beyond national borders and truly be one.
Atlas takes on this challenge having already filed a candidate at the last UNSG selection process through its Forward campaign. Back in 2021, in less than a month of work, an Atlas team managed to run democratic primaries with a high degree of participation to select Rosalia Arteaga, a former President of Ecuador, as the first people-backed UNSG candidate in history. Ms. Arteaga's candidacy was discussed in the U.N. General Assembly before ending in the black hole of the Security Council. Galvanized by this result, Atlas is confident the upcoming campaign will make history.
Commenting on this, Atlas co-founder Colombe Cahen-Salvador stated: “Atlas will strive to bring the voice of the many in the undemocratic and obscure selection process of the Secretary-General: it’s high time for the United Nations to put those they are supposed to serve at the center, the People. In addition, I hope we will be able to present a female candidate for this process as not one woman has been appointed to the position of Secretary General in 77 years: that’s 77 years too long”. Andrea Venzon, the co-founder of Atlas, added: “A global election is the perfect stage to present our vision for true Democracy to the people of the world. In a time when war is raging, the planet conditions are deteriorating, and the international order is faltering, it’s time to leap forward and rethink the way humans cooperate: it’s time to radically change the course of global governance – and the world with it”.
Atlas will soon share additional media material on the campaign ahead of the start of the consultations. For any further queries or to be kept updated regularly on the operations of the party, please reach out to Atlas’ Media Team.
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About Atlas – Atlas is the global, Equitist political party. Despite global challenges existing - from the threat of climate change to the erosion of democracy worldwide - there is no coherent political force working to solve them within elected bodies. This must change. Let's build global politics. Together.
Atlas Media Team: [email protected]
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