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Final
Report of the Community of Democracies Non-Governmental Forum
Seoul,
November 12, 2002
The Second
Community of Democracies Non-Governmental Forum met at a time
of growing challenges to democracy in the world. The
spread of international terrorism, and the disappointments
of many citizens with the economic and political performance
of their democratic governments, underscore both the imperative
for democracy to provide good and effective governance, and
the need for a broad range of institutional reforms and policy
initiatives in order to deepen and improve democracy.
Members
of the Non-Governmental Forum met in nine topical panels,
which presented the following perspectives and recommendations.
Strengthening
Political Party Systems
Political
parties form the cornerstone of a democracy, performing such
indispensable functions as representing and aggregating social
interests and facilitating political participation.
However, political parties are facing a crisis of public confidence
due to their organizational and political shortcomings, including
their lack of internal democracy and the widespread perception
of corruption in party and campaign finance. Therefore,
political party building and reform must become a central
issue among the worldwide network of pro-democracy activists
and elected leaders.
The topical
panel on political party systems recommends:
- The
Community of Democracies (and other global and regional
conferences) should regularly engage political parties through
political party international organizations.
- In
their development assistance programs, bilateral and multilateral
donors should provide increased support to strengthen political
parties and party systems, particularly through programs
that build professional capacity in political parties and
promote more effective interaction between parties and civil
society organizations.
- The
Community of Democracies, in both its governmental and nongovernmental
forms, and international donors and democracy networks should
promote awareness of successful efforts at political party
modernization and renewal.
- Democracies
should confront the crisis in political parties and campaign
finance and weigh alternative models for reform. The panel
recommends public financing for political parties to promote
fairness and transparency.
Local
Government and Democracy
Democratic
local governance provides an important means in bringing political
power closer to the citizenry, to stimulate local economic
development and alleviate poverty, to widen the participation
of women and other marginalized groups, and to recruit and
train new political leaders.
The topical
panel on local government and democracy recommends the following
initiatives for strengthening democratic local governance:
- Democracies
should grant local governments constitutionally enshrined
powers and the requisite financial and administrative resources
to respond to the needs of their communities.
- Democracies
should draw boundaries of local government authorities so
that they have sufficient scale to be financially and administratively
viable.
- Democracies
and international donors should provide adequate training
for local government officials, both elected and administrative,
to ensure their capacity to govern effectively.
Gender
and Democracy
Obstacles
to women’s full participation in political and economic life
present some of the greatest challenges to the achievement
and legitimation of full democracy. Gender issues
should be a concern for anyone committed to the improvement
and consolidation of democracy. Therefore, concerns
to enhance the effective participation of women should be
reflected in all dimensions of democratic development.
The topical
panel on gender and democracy recommends:
- Democratic
systems, and political parties, should adopt concrete measures
to encourage and increase the political participation of
women in all levels of government.
- Democratic
legislatures and executive agencies should adopt new policy
measures to eliminate discrimination against women in government
programs, increase women’s access to employment, and eliminate
violence against women.
- Democracies
should consider how new policies will affect women, and
periodically provide data to assess these policy impacts.
- Democratic
donors, governments, and NGOs should include gender issues
in civic education programs at all levels.
- Member
governments of the Community of Democracies should endeavor
to ensure women’s participation on official government delegations
to these meetings.
Corruption
and Democracy
No problem
more threatens the efficacy and legitimacy of democracy than
corruption. Survey data from a wide range of democracies,
new and old, shows growing public disaffection with democratic
institutions as a result of perceptions that corruption is
growing significantly and that governments are not taking
effective measures to control it. Institutional
reforms to reduce corruption represent one of the most important
challenges both for democratic governments and for international
democratic organizations and communities. Civil society—including
free and independent media—has a critical role to play in
combating corruption, and democratic governments should view
these actors as allies in the struggle for reform.
The topical
panel on Corruption and Democracy recommends:
- Member
states of the Community of Democracies should actively support
the monitoring and enforcement of international conventions
against corruption, such as the OECD Convention on Combating
Bribery of Public Officials, the proposed UN convention
against corruption, as well as regional conventions.
They should also provide adequate funding to enable OECD’s
Working Group on Bribery to review and monitor vigorously
enforcement of the Convention in signatory countries.
- Multilateral
and bilateral donors should, in allocating development assistance,
granting trade preferences, and providing debt relief, give
preference to countries that are democracies (or clearly
on that path) and that demonstrate a strong commitment
to fighting corruption and improving governance.
- In
judging the extent to which states are honoring principles
of democracy, human rights, and good governance, donors
should consult regularly with competent civil society actors
in recipient or potential recipient countries.
- Member
states of the CD should reform international banking laws
to promote greater transparency, to identify funds derived
from corrupt practices, and to facilitate the recovery of
stolen state assets.
- Member
states of the CD should provide greater public access to
information on such matters as government budgeting, finance,
and procurement, party and campaign finance, and the assets
declarations of public officials.
Market
and Democratic Governance
It is
a great moral tragedy that over a billion people live on less
than two dollars a day. The disparities in incomes across
countries have increased tremendously. In the 19th
century the richest country was only about twenty times richer
than the poorest one. Today Luxembourg has a per capita
income of US$42,000 compared to US$440 in Sierra Leone, a
difference of a hundred times.
The comparative
experience with economic growth over the last few decades
has taught us some crucial lessons about the relationship
between democracy and economic growth. One of these is the
importance of private initiative and the institutional underpinnings
of market economies. These institutions include a system
of property rights, a market-oriented regulatory apparatus
curbing fraud and anti-competitive behavior, and the rule
of law and clean government.
The topical
panel on Market and Democratic Governance recommends:
- To
strengthen markets and improve democratic governance, the
Community of Democracies should add property rights to the
Warsaw Declaration list of democratic rights.
- To
build a middle class supportive of democratic development,
democratic governments should reduce the costs of entry
into the economy for entrepreneurs, the informal sector,
and especially the poor, by simplifying business registration,
licensing, and tax procedures.
- To
build public-private partnerships, the Community of Democracies
should increase business association and labor union participation
in democracy promotion programs.
- To
make the economic reform process more democratic, governments,
including donors, should widen public participation by increasing
disclosure of draft regulations and legislation and adopting
freedom of information laws.
- Democracies
should adopt and strengthen independent regulatory and economic
institutions. To develop the necessary public support
and local capacity for such institutions, donor countries
should support local policy institutions or think tanks.
Media
and Democracy
Press
freedom and the free flow of information are universal values
that should be vigorously respected by all governments.
A free and responsible press is a crucial bulwark against
corruption and the abuse of power, and therefore an important
element in restoring public confidence in democratic institutions.
- The
Community of Democracies should convene at the upcoming
UNESCO meeting to develop a common position to safeguard
media freedom.
- All
governments should enact freedom of information laws that
give citizens and media widespread access to government
information.
- Governments
should distribute broadcast frequencies by a transparent
process, governed by autonomous entities that reflect the
diversity of society.
- Any
government restriction on freedom of the media in the name
of national security concerns should be narrowly drawn and
interpreted and subject to public scrutiny and debate.
- Governments
should not restrict access to the Internet or seek to control
its content.
Education
for Democracy
A high
quality democracy, with broad participation and legitimacy,
depends on an informed citizenry that values and understands
democracy. Civic education programs of all kinds are
vital for developing in citizens the knowledge, skills, and
normative commitments to participate effectively in democratic
governance.
The topical
panel on Education for Democracy recommends the following,
and has established a Steering Committee of the Democracy
Education NGO Forum to assist with the process:
- In
line with the Warsaw Declaration’s endorsement of democracy
education, and its recognition of the necessity of collaboration
between governments and NGOs in this regard, the governments
of the Convening Group should, within six months,
convene a meeting of representatives of their governments,
other governments, together with an equal number of representatives
of national and international NGOs, and multilateral institutions
– such as UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, and regional
bodies – to develop a strategy for promoting democracy education
world wide.
- Democratic
governments should take steps to institutionalize democracy
education in primary and secondary schools in partnership
with NGOs.
- The
Community of Democracies should lobby fellow members of
the UN, and enlist the support of the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, to declare the years 2005 to 2014 the
Decade of Democracy Education.
- Democratic
governments should implement taxation regimes and funding
arrangements that encourage non-profit NGOs to provide democracy
education.
Freedom
of Association and the Protection of NGOs
Despite
some isolated local exceptions and higher visibility of labor
standards and NGOs, world conditions are generally growing
worse for labor unions and NGOs. Restrictive new laws are
being passed, the search for foreign investment is driving
labor standards down, significant setbacks of democratic institutions
are taking place, and many extremely authoritarian governments
show no signs of change.
The “war
on terrorism” after September 11, 2001 is being used by governments
to crack down on trade unions and NGO activities in the name
of security; however often this repression is fueled less
by security concerns and is an attempt to use security as
an excuse to curtail and limit the power of trade unions and
NGOs. Governments throughout the world are using draconian
internal security regulations (often counter to protections
of rights in their own constitutions) to harass and detain
labor and NGO activists. Some of the effects of economic
globalization are being used by governments and corporations
to impact on issues raised by unions and NGOs, which have
the effect of trying to shrink the space and role of unions
and NGOs in civil society. This includes labor, environmental
and consumer issues among others.
The topical
panel on Freedom of Association and the Protection of NGOs
recommends:
- Democracies
should provide a positive “legal enabling environment” which
respects the fundamental rights of freedom of association,
the right to organize and collectively bargain, and freedom
of expression. This environment should be grounded
in these countries’ commitments to the UN Human Rights Charter
and the core labor conventions of the International Labor
Organization. Democracies should utilize more directly
and effectively those UN agencies that protect labor and
other human rights. Governments are also called upon to
acknowledge and support efforts such as the World Bank’s
survey to enable legal environments which better contribute
to development.
- Civil
society organizations should conduct a survey on the backlash
against labor unions and NGOs as a result of the post 9/11
“war against terrorism.” This report would draw on the ICFTU
annual report, ILO documents, and other sources of information
about the state of freedom of association and expression.
In addition, the NGO community should form initiative groups
and use a self-regulatory mechanism to make transparent,
proper assessments for itself.
- Countries
aspiring to the label of “democratic” must release trade
union and political activists who are detained and jailed
for exercising their legitimate rights of freedom of association
and expression. The panel appeals to President Kim
Dae Jung, as leader of the host country of this conference,
regarding the high level of trade union activists currently
being detained. Korea should set an example for other
democracies to follow.
- The
use of internal security acts (often dating from the colonial
period) by countries that call themselves democracies must
be reviewed. The practice of arresting and detaining labor
and human rights activists without due process or a fair
trial, simply for exercising their freedoms of association
and expression is not a democratic value and should come
to an end.
Promoting
Civil Society in Closed Societies
The governments
of closed societies are not meant to be represented at the
ministerial meeting of the Community of Democracies.
However, democracies have an obligation to support politically,
diplomatically, and financially efforts by civil society activists
in these countries struggling to promote political liberalization
and ultimately democratization.
The topical
panel on Promoting Civil Society in Closed Societies recommends:
- Democracies
should ensure that all bilateral and multilateral assistance
programs in closed societies should be provided through
independent NGO’s, and that aid be closely monitored to
ensure proper implementation.
- Democracies
should caucus at the U.N. and in other regional and international
forums to elect other democracies to membership in the U.N.
Human Rights Commission and other relevant bodies.
- Multilateral
regional organizations should maintain universal democratic
standards for membership, and those states that do not meet
these standards should be denied membership in these multilateral
institutions.
- Democratic
states should demand that authoritarian regimes respect
human rights and re-double their efforts to win the release
of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
- Members
of the CD should use the caucus framework provided for in
the Warsaw Declaration to create high-level teams to foster
dialogue between authoritarian regimes and their democratic
oppositions. CD members seek to promote human rights
and democracy in a variety of areas, such as encouraging
transparency, freemedia, etc.
Members
of the NGO Forum extend their solidarity to those courageous
democrats—Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, Oswaldo Paya of Cuba,
Saad Eddin Ibrahim of Egypt, and Morgan Tsvangari of Zimbabwe—who
were denied the rights to travel and were thus prevented by
their governments from being with us at this international
assembly to expand and strengthen democracy throughout the
world. We stand with them and their peaceful struggle
for democratic values and fundamental human rights.
And in their name we extend our solidarity as well to all
those who suffer under dictatorial regimes, particularly those
who live in the darkest and most isolated corners of the world.
They are not alone. Through our common efforts, their countries
will someday—soon we hope—join the Community of Democracies.
We also
wish to extend our support to those people of Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and other authoritarian countries
who have been detained, imprisoned or have disappeared because
of their opinions and beliefs.
Attachment
1: Appeal to Governments
Attachment
2: Appeal to the CD Convening Group for the Attendance
of the Taiwanese Minister to the CD Ministerial Conference
Attachment
3: Appeal to the President of Azerbaijan
Attachment
4: Appeal to the President of Belarus
Attachment
5: Appeal to the President of Kazakhstan
Attachment
6: Appeal to the President of Uzbekistan
Attachment
7: Appeal for the Release of Thich Quang Do, Detained
for Launching an Appeal For Democracy in Vietnam
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