Year XXX, 1988, Number 3, Page 227
A JOINT WAWF-UEF APPEAL TO GORBACHEV AND REAGAN
Relationships between the UEF, WAWF and the AUD have increasingly led to meetings and common initiatives, demonstrating the need for greater cultural exchanges and strong links between the actions of European Federalists and World Federalists.
A Convention promoted by the Department of Political Studies of the University of Turin on the thinking and works of Altiero Spinelli (Turin, July 1st and 2nd 1988) gave the members of the three organizations the opportunity for a full debate on federalism and ended in a common initiative. A letter was drawn up and signed by the Presidents of the UEF (John Pinder) and the WAWF (Francis Leddy) and sent to Gorbachev and Reagan , which we publish below. On the same occasion, the text of a joint declaration by the WAWF, UEF and AUD, initially proposed by Mario Albertini, was drawn up and submitted to the approval of the respective decision-making bodies. The UEF ratified the text in a meeting on October 22nd 1988.
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LETTER TO GORBACHEV AND REAGAN
Your Excellencies:
The beginning of a new era in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States has raised a large wave of hope among people all over the world. On behalf of the World Association for World Federation and the Union of European Federalists, which have completed two days of productive meetings in Turin, Italy, we wish to extend to both of you our sincere gratitude.
We have much admiration for your tenacious efforts to create a new international climate based on cooperation and mutual trust. And we share with millions worldwide the hope that your efforts will be sustained. For humanity is now confronted with an array of global threats, such as uncontrolled population growth, growing economic inequalities, overexploitation of natural resources, degradation of our ecological heritage and national tensions in many areas.
Clearly, if the forces of reason and justice are to prevail, we must face squarely our precarious international situation. Today the pursuit of narrow national interest often impedes common efforts to bring about solutions which can serve all of humanity.
We are convinced that your efforts toward a durable peace can be strengthened by a commitment to work toward a new world order, one in which war is made impossible.
Therefore we urge you to galvanize public support for this new era in international relations by stating your intention to work toward the unification of all the world’s citizens under world federation.
We are, of course, aware that world federation must be framed as a long-range ideal. It is a goal which could be approached in stages. One avenue of progress toward this goal involves gradual strengthening of the United Nations, particularly in the sphere of disarmament and, international security. Regional federal unions are also intermediate steps which serve this overall goal.
We recognize that the part of the world where political relations have most fruitfully matured beyond national sovereignties is the European Community. Europe also can be the locus of great progress in the future through a transnational democracy in which the people of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union might eventually participate.
Only political cooperation and integration can eventually eliminate the possibility of war and enable us to solve our other global problems. It is for this reason we appeal to you to continue to provide constructive, responsible leadership to help unite the world’s peoples and nations in meeting the challenges and opportunities ahead.
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PROPOSITION OF WAWF-UEF-AUD COMMON DECLARATION
The WAWF, the UEF and the AUD, with the intent of ensuring the democratic unity of the efforts of all federalists who are active in different regions of the world and within different organisations,
declare
their support for the following principles:
— peace in the world is the primary political problem of our time. The survival of humankind depends on its achievement;
— peace requires the establishment of a world federation based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law with institutions having limited yet effective powers;
— such institutions are also necessary to promote economic and social justice, human rights and the preservation of the environment.
They declare
their intent to pursue with other federalists the acceptance by the maximum number of nations of a democratic federal world government through:
1. The development of federal integration in the regions of the world and among other groupings of states;
2. Restructuring and strengthening the United Nations according to federal principles.
