Themes
Nothing about us without us

Democracy for the people with the people
Just because some people don’t speak up doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen
Everyone empowered to be the change they want to see
..global responsibility needs to be reflected in adequately democratic and representative bodies at the global level
Giving strength to marginalized voices
In today’s world, decisions made in one place can affect people anywhere.
The interests of all people affected by public decisions need to be taken into account, not just people who have a vote or those who choose, or have the resources, to participate or make themselves heard. And decision-makers need to be accountable for those decisions.
Our story about decision-making in disaster-torn Christchurch, New Zealand, is a powerful illustration of citizen demand that nothing be decided about us without us. Whether disaster has struck or not, communities need to be able to shape their own futures, with proper regard for others and for the environment.
There are particular challenges – and room for innovation too – when it comes to ensuring that the practice of democracy takes account of the interests and needs of people who do not have a vote, including children or people living in other countries.
Finding ways to ensure that ‘nothing is decided about us without us’ is also a major issue in decision-making at the international level. There, decision-making too often fails to rise above the narrow self-interest of nation states.
Here’s what the Manifesto for Democracy and Sustainability has to say about the idea that nothing should be decided about us without us.
Manifesto for Democracy and Sustainability Principle 6: Nothing about us without us
In our global society, decisions made at any level can affect people anywhere and everywhere. The interests of all people affected by public decisions need to be taken into account. Decision-makers at all levels should also be accountable to all affected people.
Communities must have access to the decision-making spaces and resources they need to shape their own future, with proper regard for the wellbeing of others, future generations, and the earth’s natural boundaries.
The scale and effects of sustainability challenges often demand that democracy bursts out of its national borders. In decision-making at the international level democracy, not the self-interest of individual government or groups of governments should be the basis for engagement.
Commitments
We support initiatives to build public awareness of the interconnectedness of people and nature, and that enhance the importance of natural systems and boundaries in democratic decision-making.
We support initiatives at all levels to strengthen democratic decision-making and participation by, and representation of, all affected people, including those who have not been given the vote, for example children, refugees or people in other countries.
We support the creation of a Parliamentary Assembly of the United Nations as the first step towards a system of global democracy.