Fernando Alcoforado*
The Charter of the United Nations or Charter of Saint Francis is the agreement that formed the United Nations (UN) shortly after World War II that came into force on October 24, 1948. As a Charter, it is a constitutive agreement , and all UN members are subject to their articles, The UN Charter postulates that the obligations of the countries to the United Nations prevail over any others established in various treaties. Most countries have ratified it. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations (resolution 217 A III) on December 10, 1948, is presented in full on the website <http://www.dhnet.org.br/direitos/deconu /texts/integra.htm>.
It can be said that in the 70 years of the UN, its promises expressed in the Declaration of Human Rights are not being fulfilled. The reading of the Preamble to the Declaration shows that the purpose of ensuring the recognition of the inherent dignity of all members of the human family and of their equal and inalienable rights as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world are not being fulfilled in several countries of the world. There is still contempt and disrespect for human rights in many countries that are resulting in barbarous acts that outrage the conscience of humanity in which women and men do not enjoy freedom of speech, belief and freedom to live safe from fear and need.
In many countries, human rights are not protected by the rule of law, so that the human being is not compelled, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression. There is a clear failure to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, the fulfillment of fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person and the equal rights of men and women, and the commitment of Member Countries to promote , in cooperation with the United Nations, universal respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the human being and respect for those rights and freedoms.
In spite of the repeated intentions of all the countries of the world to maintain world peace, the UN is failing to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The failure of the League of Nations to build world peace after World War I is repeated with the UN after World War II. After World War II, history was repeated: the United Nations was founded and hopes for peace were renewed. Hopes, however, gave way to the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union and to an endless series of localized wars, so numerous that they became part of our day-to-day lives. Since the end of World War II the world has experienced 160 wars, where about 7 million soldiers and 30 million civilians have died.
How to ensure that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is fulfilled and build a world of peace between nations and of human progress? Reality shows that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not enough to achieve these goals. There must be a world government to enforce what is expressed in the Charter of the United Nations. The objectives expressed in the Charter of the United Nations will only be achieved when humanity equips itself as urgently as possible with the instruments necessary to control its destiny. In order to control its destiny, mankind must implement a world government that has the capacity to regulate the world economy, rationalize the use of the planet’s natural resources in the process of exhaustion, and contribute to the construction of world peace and human progress.
The aim of the world government was to defend the general interests of the planet. It would work in the sense that each nation state respects the rights of every citizen of the world seeking to prevent the spread of global systemic risks of an economic and environmental nature. He would avoid the empire of one country and the anarchy of all countries. The economic, financial, ecological, social, political crisis and the development of illegal and criminal activities today show the urgency of a world government. It must be understood that the world market cannot function properly without the rule of international law that cannot be applied and respected without the presence of a world government that is accepted by all countries. A world government will only have legitimacy if it is truly democratic.
Humanity has to understand that it has everything to gain by uniting around a democratic world government above the interests of every nation, including the most powerful, controlling the world in its totality, in time and space. The new world order to be built must organize not only relations between men on the face of the Earth, but also their relations with nature. It is therefore necessary to stablish a planetary social contract that enables economic and social development and the rational use of natural resources for the benefit of all humanity. The construction of a new world order based on these principles is urgent. It is urgent to think about it, before it is too late.
* Fernando Alcoforado, 78, holder of the CONFEA / CREA System Medal of Merit, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development by the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is the author of 14 books addressing issues such as Globalization and Development, Brazilian Economy, Global Warming and Climate Change, The Factors that Condition Economic and Social Development, Energy in the world and The Great Scientific, Economic, and Social Revolutions that Changed the World.
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