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OAS
Meeting of Regional and Multilateral Organizations on Promoting
and Defending Democracy
February 20-21, 2001
FINAL COMMUNIQUE
OF THE COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES CONVENING GROUP
The
Convening Group of the Community of Democracies issues the
following Communique on the conclusion of the meeting of regional
and multilateral organizations to discuss their role in promoting
and defending democracy:
- High-level
representatives from 16 regional and multi1ateral organizations
from around the world, government officials, and experts
from academia and civi1 society met at the Organization
of American States for two days of meetings to discuss the
role of regional organizations in promoting and defending
democracy. The
meeting was sponsored by the Convening Group of the Community
of Democracies, a coalition of 110 governments committed
to democracy and the democratic path and to working together
to strengthen democratic institutions.
The Members of the Convening Group are Chile, the
Czech Republic, India, Mali, Poland, Portugal, the Republic
of Korea., South Africa, and the United States. On behalf of the Convening Group, Chile and the United
States requested the Secretary General of the OAS to host
this meeting, which was organized in cooperation with the
OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy.
- The
idea for the meeting was proposed at the first Ministerial
Conference of the Community of Democracies held in Warsaw,
Poland in June, 2000.
In Warsaw, governments endorsed the Warsaw Declaration,
committing themselves to a core set of democratic principles
and practices and to support one another in meeting these
objectives. They all need to seek to assist each other in
economic and social development, including eradication of
poverty, as an essential contributing factor to the promotion
and preservation of democratic development.
They also agreed to an agenda for enhanced international
cooperation in four areas: to strengthen support for democracy
within existing international organizations, share best
practices, respond to threats to democracy, and improve
coordination of democracy assistance. The purpose of the seminar at the OAS was to discuss the
challenges of consolidating democracy, to exchange lessons
learned on the role of regional and multilatera1 organizations
in promoting and defending democracy, and to consider ideas
for further study and collaboration.
- At
the conference, participants recognized the valuable role
a number of-regional and multilateral organizations have
played during certain episodes of political crisis when
the democratic order was threatened or overturned.
Participants also highlighted the importance of activities
by such organizations to promote democracy, such as election
monitoring, civic education, strengthening of parliaments,
ensuring civilian control of the military, promotion and
protection of human rights and judicial reform.
Several speakers made special note of the important
role civil society and an independent media can play in
strengthening democratic institutions and processes.
- Participants agreed on the utility of
continuing a process of exchange among regional and multinational
organizations as a means of sharing their respective experiences,
including best practices. and advancing their ability to
respond to member states’ request for assistance in strengthening
democracy. Participants
proposed to make their technical expertise available to
each other through formal liaison relationships, electronic
linkages and databases, and agreed to share lessons learned
in designing and implementing democracy assistance programs. Participants noted that the creation of a democratic political
culture, for example through broad-based civic education,
is essential to an enduring democratic political system.
- Participants also discussed ways to develop
and apply legal and political instruments for responding
to threats to democracy, both as a means of deterring interruptions
to democracy and of helping states restore democratic legitimacy
in case democratic rule is interrupted.
In particular, participants recommended greater collaboration
within and among regional and international organizations
in supporting one another when there is a democratic crisis
in an affected state.
Participants agreed that crises include not only
coups but also fraudulent elections and the erosion of rights
that contribute to a democratic crisis
The linking of so-called “democracy clauses” to membership
in political fora and economic and trade arrangements was
also discussed. Participants
suggested the need for greater discourse on this subject,
including among experts who could examine in more detail
the main threats to democratic institutions and how best
to address them.
- Discussion
about the role regional organizations could play in preventing
democracy crisis situations generated ideas for adequate
“early warning” mechanisms: to help affected states avoid
a painful and potentially violent disruption to the democratic
order. Participants
suggested that international capacities should be developed
to evaluate and synthesize indicators of democratic strain
across a number of fronts.
The point was made that credible evaluation requires
professionalism and impartiality, separating assessment
from prescription.
Participants mentioned a number of factors that might
indicate the need for preventive action, such as fraudulent
elections, civil unrest, pervasive human rights violations,
attacks on the media, corruption, or severe financial or
economic distress.
A distinction was drawn between the deterioration
of democracy and the interruption of democracy with the
recognition that a deterioration would require a more nuanced
international response.
- Several speakers addressed the fundamental
links between economic and social development and democratization.
They expressed concern that democracy will not survive
without minimum levels of economic and social development.
and called for greater attention by the international community
to the challenges democracies face when poverty and inequality
are entrenched.
- The
Convening Group welcomed the announcement made by the Government
of Romania. on behalf of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), that it will host, in cooperation
with the Community of Democracies Convening Group, the next
conference of regional and multilateral organizations on
democracy in the fall of 2001.
- The Convening Group expresses its deep
appreciation to the Organization of American States, particularly
Secretary General Gaviria, Assistant Secretary General Einaudi,
and the staff of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy
for their hard work in organizing the conference,
Washington,
DC February 21, 2001
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