Strengthen a Truly Democratic United Nations
Strengthen a Truly Democratic United Nations — Before It Is Too Late
Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, Venezuela — what will come next?
Founded in 1946, the World Federation of Scientific Workers (WFSW) was created to ensure that science and technology serve peace and the well-being of all. Today, that founding purpose is under direct threat.
Scientific and technological power has grown to unprecedented levels, while political wisdom and democratic control have not. Armed conflicts are spreading, ecological systems are collapsing, and humanity is approaching a point of no return. The problem is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of cooperation.
The human body shows us what cooperation means. Specialized cells survive only by working together. When a minority of cells seeks domination, cancer appears and the organism dies. The same logic applies to societies and to the world system: unchecked power and self-interest are not strength—they are pathology.
After the Second World War, humanity pledged “never again” and built the United Nations to prevent global catastrophe. That promise is now being betrayed. A small oligarchic minority, shielded from democratic control and skilled in manipulating public opinion, pursues domination at the expense of the common good. This strategy may yield short-term gains, but it is irrational and suicidal on a planetary scale.
The danger today is existential. Nuclear weapons, autonomous killing systems, cyberwarfare, AI-driven drones, and space militarization have turned war into a potential extinction event. Artificial intelligence may have learned from video games, but humanity will not get a second life after “game over.”
Recent events confirm a disturbing trend: oligarchic powers acting above the law, outside democratic accountability, and in open contempt of the United Nations. The U.S. military operation in Venezuela is one such act. It violates the UN Charter, tramples international law, and ignores the will of both the Venezuelan people and U.S. citizens. It is a rogue action, unworthy of any state claiming democratic legitimacy. The US President announces eventual attacks on Greenland and Cuba, reinforcing other military interventions such as those in Syria and Congo.
The WFSW categorically rejects all attempts at regime change by force or foreign interference. Venezuela’s future belongs to the Venezuelan people alone and must be decided through peaceful and democratic means, without imperial tutelage.
There are no local solutions in a globally interconnected world. Confrontation accelerates collapse; cooperation is the only rational path forward. For this reason, the WFSW calls on scientists, workers, unions, and civil society worldwide to mobilize for a bottom-up transformation of global governance.
A truly democratic United Nations is not a utopia. It is a necessity for survival.
The Executive Council of the WFSW.
Paris, February 11th, 2026.
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Graphic composition: OTC, Portugal
Portuguese version: https://otc.pt/wp/2026/03/03/por-uma-onu-verdadeiramente-democratica/
Pdf document (EN – FR – ES – PT) : 260223 ONU (EN_FR_ES_PT)
