According to President Barack Obama, all of our financial institutions, including global ones, need accountability, transparency and strong oversight. He states we must extend a hand to countries and people who face the greatest risk. But at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, who provides this oversight and who speaks for the disadvantaged?

Democratic countries have institutions that provide oversight and provide input from all those who are affected by its decisions. That institution is called parliament.

A Parliamentary Assembly could be created as a subsidiary body by the General Assembly under Article 22 of the United Nations Charter. This new chamber could act as a citizens' watchdog and monitor the impacts of international financial policies on sustainable development, food security, universal access to education, public health, human rights and the eradication of extreme poverty, and also suggest remedial actions.

The UN and the Bretton Woods institutions must be given the tools and resources to deal with the enormous challenges we face, and which no country can solve on its own. But while structural changes can be imposed, there will be great resistance unless those who will be most affected voice their approval. A Parliamentary Assembly, as part of an invigorated U.N. system, can foster the enlightened cooperation the world so desperately needs.

Larry Kazdan

Vancouver

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