Your humble servant, who has run this site since midnight on September 11, 2001, is bombarded with messages about the conduct of global politics and its drift away from the prospect of lasting peace. For two and a half years, I’ve read your messages, and a storm has been raging in my mind about this train speeding toward a nuclear wall with no driver. I’m boiling over, and today, after a Christmas 2003 without a truce, my head is about to explode. I’ve decided to share publicly a project aimed at reforming the UN’s structure by overhauling the Security Council, whose ineffectiveness was conclusively proven in March 2003 and whose authority was trampled. This institution is neither democratic nor representative of the world’s peoples.
I ask for half an hour of your time to read the text below. You might call me crazy, you might be captivated, or you might label me a utopian. I don’t care. The goal is to make you think, and if by chance you’re among those with influence over political decision-making, my aim will be achieved: to pass on the message that thousands have shouted to me over the past two and a half years.
Council of Elders for Peace (CEP)
Origin:
Given the growing instability on the planet, particularly since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and observing that this instability is increasing due to the inadequacy of UN-style international institutions to address the issue (conflict of interest: the same people hold power in the Security Council, with veto rights!), we propose the creation of a global organization, democratically elected by universal suffrage, to oversee the actions of all leaders in terms of humanitarian consequences. This impartial organization, composed of elders who have reached a venerable age and have no remaining ties to political or economic powers, will have the authority to remove a leader whose actions risk increasing insecurity and causing civilian and/or military loss of life.
Draft Charter of the Global CEP Organization
The CEP’s sole objective is to prioritize PEACE worldwide, minimizing loss of life and ensuring humanity focuses its energy on construction rather than destruction, by addressing the root of the problem: unchecked power of individuals driven by personal, corporate, or ideological interests, whatever their origin. Examples include religious convictions, feelings of exclusion, or perceptions of injustice.
The CEP works to address feelings of exclusion and injustice at their roots, particularly over the long term, as they are the primary sources of terrorism.
The CEP’s role is unrelated to any stance on religious ideologies; that is not its purpose. The CEP is a secular institution that respects all religions.
The CEP may issue preemptive assessments of an individual’s ethical capacity to lead a supranational institution, to prevent the need for a later removal of power from a newly elected or appointed leader.
The CEP may grant a CEP certification to individuals requesting it to run for significant national elections in their country.
Powers of the CEP
The CEP intervenes only when human lives are at stake in disputes leading to a removal request.
The CEP acts only when the risk is humanitarian, meaning a hegemonic or delusional leader’s actions could progressively lead to hundreds of deaths, directly or indirectly linked to the consequences of poorly exercised power.
The CEP does not intervene in financial conflicts of interest, such as shareholders seeking to remove a financial institution’s leader, or in disputes related to corporate competition.
The CEP may intervene to legitimize the removal of leaders of mafia or terrorist organizations in the eyes of the global population, particularly by demanding the removal of state leaders protecting such groups.
The CEP may rule on the harmful environmental consequences (ecology) that a political or corporate leader’s actions may impose on the planet.
To this end, a global organization, the CEP, is established,
The CEP is a group of elders democratically elected to prevent genocides (1).
The CEP consists of an odd number of members to ensure decisions are always made.
The CEP comprises a small number of members for efficiency, with one member per approximately 300 million inhabitants, calculated to keep the number odd. To ensure balanced representation, no more than one member may be elected per state. Countries with over 300 million inhabitants (e.g., India, China) elect their member. This prevents decisions favoring a single state. Thus, Europe will have one member, North America one member, and so on.
The CEP is tasked with deciding whether a leader (5) should face removal of power (2).
For the CEP, leaders include: heads of state (elected or not), prime ministers, senior military commanders, kings and queens, religious leaders, heads of organizations (NGOs, UN, etc.), heads of multinational corporations, leaders in sectors like armaments, energy, water and air quality management, agriculture, and tobacco (regardless of company size), leaders of financial institutions (banks, insurance, pension funds), heads of media outlets (especially radio and television), and press magnates.
The CEP’s decision, resulting from a vote, is final. No organization on the planet has greater authority over the removal of power (3).
The CEP consists of men or women democratically elected by all adult inhabitants of a continent. The CEP is not a state-based organization but a global one, proportionally representing the planet’s population.
Each elected CEP member must be at least 65 years old, representing wisdom.
A CEP member may not hold any other position, regardless of its nature or importance. Upon election, a member (full or alternate) immediately relinquishes all prior powers to make decisions with serenity and objectivity.
Each CEP member is assigned an alternate, also democratically elected.
At each vote, no CEP member may abstain from their public vote. In case of absence, the alternate casts the vote, with the same weight as the full member.
A full member may, without justification, request that a vote be cast by their alternate (via a public statement).
If a CEP member is unreachable within the 15-day voting period, they are automatically replaced by their alternate.
A CEP member loses voting rights under the following circumstances:
 | Death: The alternate immediately replaces them, and a new election is called within two months to appoint a new alternate. |
| Loss of judgment due to illness (e.g., degenerative brain diseases): The alternate replaces the member, who retains their title honorarily, along with associated income and benefits, to live out their days comfortably. Incapacity is verified by two independent medical groups and approved by a CEP vote (with the member replaced by their alternate). |
| Failure to vote within 15 days: This triggers an immediate inquiry, and a CEP vote determines if the member is permanently replaced by their alternate. A new alternate election is then held within two months in the relevant region. |
To be elected to the CEP (full or alternate), candidates must permanently transfer all their assets to their descendants and have no personal or familial economic interests (no family member or descendant may be part of the leadership class under CEP jurisdiction).
An alternate must not have been convicted of intentional malfeasance in their country or any country where they held power.
Candidates must submit 100,000 handwritten support letters (with verifiable names and addresses) to the CEP.
To be eligible for the CEP, candidates must demonstrate:
| They exercised power during their career within the scope of the CEP’s authority. |
| They did not hold power in a religious entity, as the CEP is a secular institution. |
CEP elections are organized under UN auspices.
Except for the initial election, elections by major planetary regions occur only to replace alternates, avoiding short-term passionate stakes and ensuring peaceful processes.
A CEP candidate who takes an oath of eligibility may not campaign on promises to remove specific leaders; doing so renders them ineligible. An alternate may wait years before voting, making it futile to plan for specific outcomes.
Operation of the CEP
CEP members are supported by the planet, provided with housing, food, and all honors befitting their rank at global expense, shielding them from corruption.
A CEP member can only be judged by the CEP and is not subject to other judicial institutions after election.
Upon election (full or alternate), a CEP member permanently renounces receiving gifts or awards, even honorary ones.
Outside of voting sessions, CEP members live normally with their families to stay connected to the planet’s realities.
CEP members are not required to travel to vote; votes are public and can be cast via any convenient method (media, internet, phone, etc.) with appropriate security measures.
CEP members and their alternates are protected by 24/7 security teams.
The CEP’s sole function is to strip power from a leader of a state, organization, or company whose actions would result in mass deaths, regardless of the motivation.
The CEP does not manage humanitarian disaster responses, which remain the role of NGOs, though NGO leaders are subject to CEP power removal.
The CEP has unrestricted access to UN military resources, replacing the ineffective Security Council, hindered by vetoes and the self-interest of active leaders.
The CEP has its own security police to protect members and, when necessary, conduct covert operations to remove power (2) from individuals subject to a removal order, by force if needed.
The CEP has no single leader; direction is collegially managed by all full and alternate members. For confidentiality, institutional secretariat duties are handled by a member elected collegially for 12 months. The CEP has a logistical support team with no substantive role.
Power removal takes effect immediately after a public vote result, issued as a numbered removal request, which is final. The request specifies the title and functions of the removed power, listing organizations and individuals no longer authorized to follow the leader’s orders.
Execution of Power Removal
It is implemented with necessary gradations in a fixed order:
A - If the individual voluntarily relinquishes power via a public statement in all media in the relevant region, immediately transferring power to their alternate, scheduling a new election within three months, or calling an extraordinary assembly to elect a successor within one month, they retain dignity and may face prior actions with leniency, preserving their honor pending judgment.
B - If the individual does not relinquish power, two scenarios arise:
If the individual’s entourage (listed in the CEP’s removal request) publicly respects the CEP’s sovereign decision and cooperates, no judicial action is taken against those executing or transmitting the individual’s orders. The individual’s power is significantly reduced, and their organization replaces them. If the entourage does not publicly commit to respecting the CEP’s decision, all hierarchical leaders listed in the removal request automatically face CEP power removal (scaled to their authority). This continues down the chain to the last executor or order-giver. The CEP may arrest the entire chain, using its special forces and UN military resources. The CEP can seize all bank accounts of the organizations involved, including those of financial institutions failing to comply. The CEP may order the elimination of the primary individual (only) when all other means are exhausted, as genocide outweighs the loss of one life.
Submitting a Removal Request to the CEP:
| A public request by three CEP members. |
| A petition by 100,000 global inhabitants (with verifiable names, first names, and addresses). |
| A UN vote requesting CEP intervention. |
| A request by a head of state or prime minister. |
| A majority vote by the Security Council (vetoes do not apply). |
Removal requests must be justified, explaining how the leader’s actions have or could have humanitarian consequences (quantified in lives).
The CEP cannot refuse to vote on a request within its prerogatives, with a decision due within 15 days.
The CEP must publicly explain rejections if a request is deemed outside its scope.
Once conditions for a removal request are met, the CEP secretly informs the individual within 24 hours that a valid request has been received and will be publicized within seven days. The individual has seven days to submit a defense of their leadership conduct by any means.
The CEP may question the individual, and questions may be publicized if the individual does not cooperate diligently, to rally public opinion.
The CEP may seize documents from any organization or state to support its decision. All CEP members (full or alternate) have equal access to these documents.
The CEP may keep seized documents confidential if a confidential vote deems it necessary to de-escalate.
CEP members are sovereign in their vote and need not justify it, as their wisdom is sufficient. The CEP’s decision is final.
If the CEP rejects a removal request, the case is closed, and the leader’s humanitarian honor is fully restored. Requesters are named in the rejection to inform global citizens.
Only the CEP can restore power to an individual previously removed by the CEP.
The CEP may, via a new vote, restore an individual’s eligibility to lead, following the same procedure. The CEP is not responsible for the individual’s efforts to regain power, which follow the organization’s procedures.
The CEP is not liable for financial or legal consequences of power removal.
Restoration of eligibility does not entitle the individual to compensation or reinstatement.
If an individual immediately and unconditionally accepts a removal request, and the CEP later discovers the vote was based on manipulation, the CEP compensates the individual based on their age and years to legal retirement, at twice their average income from the organization they led, multiplied by the years to retirement. This is non-negotiable, representing fair compensation for a CEP error. The CEP will recover this amount (plus interest) from organizations that deliberately misled it.
Funding the CEP:
Funding comes from the current Security Council budget, whose role is reduced to submitting removal requests for individuals harmful to peace. The Security Council implements the CEP’s decisions without delay when military intervention is requested after all diplomatic, financial, and security police options are exhausted.
Desired Frequency of CEP Interventions
Over the past eight years, if the CEP had existed, it could have been tasked with reviewing:
| The removal of Kim Jong Il. |
| The removal of Osama bin Laden. |
| The removal of Taliban tribal leaders (protecting bin Laden).
|
| The removal of Saddam Hussein, avoiding the need to address George W. Bush’s actions, as he would not have launched the disastrous “Second Iraq War.”
|
| The removal of Yasser Arafat, Hamas leaders, and Ariel Sharon.
|
| A dozen other dictators and terrorist organization leaders (ETA, etc.).
|
| Leaders in the bovine industry (mad cow disease trafficking), tobacco industry (adding addictive substances, lobbying to downplay harm, smuggling), asbestos lobby, oil lobby (discrediting alternatives, blocking Kyoto agreements), drug and arms trafficking networks, decision-makers prioritizing short-term gains over reinforcing levees, those building nuclear weapons instead of earthquake-resistant housing, and more.
|
This involves dozens, not thousands, of cases poisoning the planet, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths caused by a handful of bad actors—food for thought, isn’t it?
Key Definitions for Understanding this Charter:
(1) – Genocide: Causing the death of a population group (ethnic, regional, national, or organizational) to expand one’s influence.
(2) – Power: The legitimate or illegitimate authority an individual holds over an organization to execute actions serving the organization’s cause, their own cause, or that of their superior, often through discretionary power (frequently the root of the problem).
(3) – Removal of Power: Removal ordered by a majority CEP vote in a public process, executed by all means available to the CEP. Implementation is graduated based on the individual’s compliance, up to their elimination if all other means fail, to maintain the CEP’s credibility.
(4) – Individual Concerned: A person subject to a removal request, removal, or listed as continuing to follow the primary individual’s orders after a removal request.
(5) – Leader: For the CEP, leaders include heads of state (elected or not), prime ministers, senior military commanders, kings and queens, religious leaders, heads of organizations (NGOs, UN, etc.), heads of multinational corporations, leaders in armaments, energy, water and air quality, agriculture, and tobacco (regardless of company size), financial institution leaders (banks, insurance, pension funds), media outlet leaders (especially radio and television), and press magnates.
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This text is a creation by Jean-Marc Dubié, synthesizing thousands of opinions received.
It is an individual citizen’s initiative for peace.
This draft is intended to fuel debate on the necessary reform of UN institutions to restore their credibility with the world’s population.
You can send suggestions to the author to amend this project, which will be regularly updated based on feedback at www.la-paix.org.
Jean-Marc Dubié is seeking volunteer translators to translate this project into all the world’s languages. Your translation will be published online with your contact details if desired.
Send your constructive feedback to the editor at jmdca@wanadoo.fr.
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