Garry Davis, Citizen of the World

Michel Herland
Economist, honorary professor at the Universities of Aix-en-Provence and at the University of the Antilles and Guiana, member of the UEF-South France (PACA) and member of the editorial board of Fédéchoses

Michel Auvray and Jean-Francis Billon

Historical proceedings of the Conference "Garry Davis and the 70 years of Global Citizenship”,

held in Paris in November 2018 [in French]

Federalist Press, Lyon, 2019

Who still remembers Garry Davis, an activist of the first hour of world federalism, who was, however, come out of the second world war, a kind of popular hero, a figure never equalled since then by all the activists who followed him? This former American soldier, after having begin “resigned” from his nationality, had “installed his tent”, September 12, 1948, on the forecourt of the Palais de Chaillot (then seat of the United Nations) and proclaimed itself "first citizen of the world". If he was expelled after a few days, this initiative had already made an impression. But it’s the incident (scheduled) from November 19, which is especially popular.

Associated with activists of the Human Front of World Citizens created in 1946 by some ex-resistant French Christians, it tried to read before the General Assembly of the United Nations a declaration (the writing of which is attributed to Albert Camus) in favour of a world government, the only one likely to bring lasting peace. He was quickly mastered but Robert Relieves, says Sarrazac, the leader of the Human Front, also an elder military managed to read the entire statement.

Contributions to the Garry Davis Symposium held at the Assembly national then at UNESCO in Paris in November 2018, gathered here, only voluntarily address the historical aspects of this demonstration; they don't just tell about this adventure through the menu. Pierre Chevalier, for example, relates the ins and outs the outcomes of the Congress of the Peoples of Europe, Asia and of Africa against imperialism (June 18-22, 1948), launched at the initiative of the supporters of the Third Force (anti-capitalist and anti-Stalinist). Other contributions are interested in Albert Camus (Alessandro Bresolin), to the (unsuccessful) project of Human Rights Court (Marion Larch.) or the Assembly of World Citizens (ASCOP, Daniel Durand).

J.-F. Billion - whose expertise we know (born of a long frequentation) concerning the history of movements European and global federalists - here also provides a substantial synthesis.

Translated by Vittorio Quartetti