THE HAGUE, October 29, 2025 — The International Cooperative Alliance [ICA] marked United Nations Day — the anniversary of the UN Charter coming into effect in 1945 — with an International Symposium that positioned the ICA Statement on the Cooperative Identity as a source of cooperative law. The event took place on 24 October at the Peace Palace in The Hague, home to the International Court of Justice [ICJ], the Hague Academy of International Law and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Opening the symposium recently, ICA President Dr Ariel Guarco emphasised the role of cooperatives in promoting peace and sustainable development as people-centred enterprises founded on solidarity, democracy and social responsibility.
“The increasing harmony between cooperative and international law gives hope for advancing towards societies where cooperation drives decent work, gender equality and environmental care,” he said.
In the opening session, Corinne Vargha, Head of the International Labour Standards Department at the ILO, reflected on the importance of the ILO Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation [No. 193], which states that laws on cooperatives must align with the cooperative principles set out in the ICA Statement on the Cooperative Identity.
“Respect for ILO standards is not just a legal obligation; it is a cornerstone of peace and shared prosperity,” she said, adding that cooperatives promote peace by fostering participation across all sectors of society.
Prof Anna Veneziano, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law [UNIDROIT], explained how cooperatives actively contribute to peacebuilding. She noted that UNIDROIT is developing a guide for collaborative legal structures in agriculture, including cooperatives, with the support of cooperative law experts Prof Hagen Henry, Prof Cynthia Giagnocavo and Prof Georg Miribung. She also acknowledged the institutional participation of the ICA, represented by its Legislation Director Santosh Kumar.
The symposium’s keynote lecture was delivered by Judge Mahmoud Hmoud, member of the International Court of Justice, who reflected on the Court’s contribution to peace through mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes and the promotion of universal values and human rights.
On behalf of ICA members, Abdel Fattah Al-Shalabi, Director-General of the Jordan Cooperative Council, thanked Judge Hmoud and underscored the link between international law and sustainable development, describing how cooperatives are key to achieving peace within communities.
“In the cooperative movement, we see ourselves as partners in achieving this,” he said, outlining the role of cooperatives in driving social justice and empowering communities in Jordan.
He was echoed by Prof Henry, Chair of the ICA Cooperative Law Committee, who noted that the Statement on the Cooperative Identity helps cooperatives contribute to sustainable development. He reminded participants that sustainable development was established as a legal principle by the ICJ in 1997, and, agreeing with Corinne Vargha, emphasised that national cooperative laws should align with cooperative principles while allowing for a variety of legal approaches.
Participants also heard reflections on how cooperative enterprises are treated in national law. Ian Adderley of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority shared his perspective on registering new cooperatives, while Osamu Nakano from the International Organisation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives explained how Japan’s new worker cooperative legislation has helped grow the sector. Hope Williams, Director of Legislative Advocacy at the Sustainable Economies Law Centre [USA], discussed her organisation’s advocacy, research and educational work, which aims to transform law from a barrier into a tool for liberation.
The symposium also saw the launch of the CHI–ICA International Legal Research and Analysis Initiative on Housing Cooperatives. Tomasz Marzec, lawyer and scholar at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, highlighted that when the law clearly recognises and aligns with the cooperative identity—across finance, oversight and data—housing cooperatives can become a vital pillar of the housing sector.
The research findings were discussed by a panel that stressed the need for cooperative tenure-based legislation, supportive policies and access to finance to enable housing cooperatives to compete effectively with private developers.
Several panel discussions explored further dimensions of cooperative law. A session on education highlighted the need to integrate cooperative law into law degree programmes and to establish mechanisms that uphold cooperative principles with legal guarantees for their application. Another session examined the harmonisation of cooperative laws, with experts noting that harmonisation can promote consistency across legal systems but should not be confused with uniformity.
Earlier, Dr Rose Karimi, Regional Director of ICA Africa, presented an overview of the new Model Cooperative Law for Africa.
Issues of capital, banking and taxation were also on the agenda. A panel emphasised the importance of a level playing field for cooperatives, proportionate regulation, consistent tax regimes and the avoidance of over-regulation.
In a presentation on the Global Digital Compact and the UN Pact for the Future, Dr Morshed Manan, Lecturer in Global Law and Digital Technology at Edinburgh Law School, explained how data and infrastructure cooperatives can provide practical solutions to many of the challenges highlighted in the Pact.
Earlier this month, Prof Henry and ICA Legislation Director Santosh Kumar participated in ICJ proceedings on the Right to Strike, sharing the cooperative movement’s perspective. This issue was also discussed at the symposium, with Monica Viviana Tepfer, Legal Officer and Project Legal Coordinator at the International Trade Union Confederation [ITUC], affirming that the ITUC considers the Right to Strike to be protected under ILO Convention No. 87, a position shared by the ICA.
A second ITUC campaign supported by the ICA calls for the regulation of the platform economy, which is now a step closer with a binding Convention and Recommendation set to be negotiated at the 2026 International Labour Conference.
The symposium also featured a presentation on cultural heritage and the role of communities. Ritika Khanna, Member of the UNESCO Global Network of Facilitators for Intangible Cultural Heritage, called for the recognition of cooperatives as legitimate partners in managing and safeguarding both tangible and intangible world heritage.
Throughout the day, speakers underlined the contribution of cooperatives to positive peace, stressing that cooperatives represent more than just an economic model.
“Peace must be built every single day, together,” said Giuseppe Guerini, President of Cooperatives Europe. “We must be the movement that persistently encourages people to engage in dialogue, seek social justice and call for peace.”
“Social justice is a vital component of peace — and that’s one of the most important elements of cooperatives’ work,” added Andrew Allimadi, Chair of COPAC. He noted that resolutions on cooperatives are among the most widely supported at the UN General Assembly and announced that the International Year of Cooperatives Resolutions will now be introduced every ten years to allow the movement sufficient time to plan activities.
Closing the event, ICA Director-General Jeroen Douglas reaffirmed the ICA’s role as a global authority on cooperative law and policy. He outlined new initiatives inspired by the symposium, including evidence-based sector reports, partnerships to build an expert network on law and public policy, and actions to strengthen the ICA’s collaboration with governments and advance cooperative law reform. He also announced that the ICA-led International Symposium on Cooperative Law will now be held annually.
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