Part 2: GOVERNANCE, CHANGE AND VALUES

Global governance, once viewed primarily as concerned with intergovernmental relationships, now involves not only governments and intergovernmental institutions but also non-governmental organizations (NGOs), citizens' movements, transnational corporations, academia, and the mass media. The emergence of a global civil society, with many movements reinforcing a sense of human solidarity, reflects a large increase in the capacity and will of people to take control of their own lives.

States remain primary actors but have to work with others. The United Nations must play a vital role, but it cannot do all the work. Global Governance does not imply world government or world federalism. Effective global governance calls for a new vision, challenging people as well as governments to realize that there is no alternative to working together to create the kind of world they want for themselves and their children. It requires a strong commitment to democracy grounded in civil society.

The changes of the last half-century have brought the global neighborhood nearer to reality-a world in which citizens are increasingly dependent on one another and need to co-operate. Matters calling for global neighborhood actions keep multiplying. What happens far away matters much more now.

We believe that a global civic ethic to guide action within the global neighborhood and leaderships infused with that ethnic are vital to the quality of global governance. We call for a common commitment to core values that all humanity could uphold: respect for life, liberty, justice and equity, mutual respect, caring, and integrity. We further believe humanity as a whole will be best served by recognition of a set of common rights and responsibilities.

It should encompass the right of all people to:

- a secure life,
- equitable treatment,
- an opportunity to earn a fair living and provide for their own welfare,
- the definition and preservation of their differences through peaceful means,
- participation in governance at all levels,
- free and fair petition for redress of gross injustices,
- equal access to information, and
- equal access to the global commons.

At the same time, all people share a responsibility to:

• contribute to the common good;
• consider the impact of their actions on the security and welfare of others;
• promote equity, including gender equity
• protect the interests of future generations by pursuing sustainable development and safeguarding the global commons;
• preserve humanity's cultural and intellectual heritage;
• be active participants in governance; and
• work to eliminate corruption.
• contribute to the common good;
• consider the impact of their actions on the security and welfare of others;
• promote equity, including gender equity
• protect the interests of future generations by pursuing sustainable development and safeguarding the global commons;
• preserve humanity's cultural and intellectual heritage;
• be active participants in governance; and
• work to eliminate corruption.

Democracy provides the environment within which the fundamental rights of citizens are best safeguarded, and the most favourable foundation for peace and stability. The world needs, however, to ensure the rights of the minorities, and to guard against the ascendance of the military, and of corruption. Democracy is more than the right to vote in regular elections. And as within nations, so globally, the democratic principle must be respected.

Sovereignty has been the cornerstone of the inter-stated system. In an increasingly interdependent world, however, the notions of territoriality, independence, and non-intervention have lost some of their meaning. In certain areas, sovereignty must be exercised collectively, particularly in relation to the global commons. Moreover, the most serious threats to national sovereignty and territorial integrity now often have internal roots.

The principal of sovereignty and non-intervention must be adapted in ways that recognize the need to balance the right of states with the rights of people, and the interests of the global neighbourhood. It is time also to think about self-determination in the context of a global neighborhood rather than a world of separate states.

Against the backdrop of an emerging global neighborhood and the values that should guide its governance, we explored four specific areas: security, economic interdependence, the United Nations, and the rules of law. In each area we have sought to focus on governance aspects, but these are often inseparable from substantive issues.

QUOTED FROM: A Call To Action, Summary of Our Global Neighbourhood, the report of the Comiision on Global Governance