The President of the Republic of Senegal, Mr. Abdoulaye WADE, has been the guest speaker of an international colloquium on “Federalism, Peace and International Democracy” which was co-organised by the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and the World Federalist Movement (WFM). This public conference took place at the European Parliament on Friday 4 November and gathered about 130 participants from all continents.
In his key-note speech on “a more democratic global governance by strengthening regional integration and world institutions”, President WADE, declared himself in favour of a kind of “United States of Africa” in order to overcome the micro-nationalism that plagues this continent. Such a pan-African union of states should be led by a government that would have certain continental competences such as -for instance- research, health, environment.
However, President WADE acknowledged that other African leaders were in favour of another model for uniting African states which would be based on regional groupings of states. Whatever the solution that comes into being, nation-states should keep some competences, of that he was convinced.
The colloquium allowed participants to exchange views on how regional unions like the European Union and the African Union can contribute to the strengthening and democratisation of the United Nations. The public showed particular concern for the need to involve civil society in the processes of regional integration and for the necessity of a common Euro-African strategy to reform the UN Security Council.
On the occasion of their colloquium the UEF and WFM approved a joint statement in which they call for:
1) the European Union to :
- strengthen its political union through a genuine Federal Constitution and its foreign, security and defence policy in order to speak with one voice and promote peace in the world,
- agree on a single seat in the UN Security Council which would pave the way for the entry of all regional groupings of states and transform it into a Council of the large regions of the world;
2) the states in other continents of the world to face the challenges of
democratisation and of globalisation by promoting further development of their regional integration and by promoting solidarity and cooperation between their regional groupings within the United Nations.
