Regional Working Groups: Assessment of Major Problems and Formulating Strategies
Region 1: Europe/Russia
Moderated by: Jos Lemmers (Executive Director, North-South Center of the Council of Europe, Netherlands)
Presenters: Yuri Dzhibladze (President, Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russia), Inna Pidluska (President, Europe XXI Foundation, Ukraine), Marek Kapusta (Campaign Manager, Pontis Foundation, Slovakia)

Subjects of Discussion

• The role of the Council of Europe in enlarging the European space of democratic security since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
• Concerns about the disappearance of human rights and democracy from the political agenda in Russia and elsewhere around the world in the wake of the attacks of September 11th and the resulting primacy of security issues..
• Initiatives undertaken by NGOs to overcome the ‘democracy deficit’ in Ukraine.
• The role of local actors, including media and NGOs, in translating external pressure for democratic progress in the former communist nations.

Recommendations/Conclusions

• The strategy to overcome the problem of a ‘democracy deficit’ should focus on the design and function of a democratic institution that will make democracy work.
• Elections are not synonymous with democracy. Those elected democratically should keep working democratically.
• Good governance is imperative.
• Civil societies should make more demands for democratic reform.
• We should build a vibrant civil society, which should be actively involved in the process of monitoring and implementing democracy, and enhancing capacity.
• The international environment is critical in creating the necessary incentives to promote and implement democracy. EU accession criteria has played an important role in fostering democratic progress in the acceding countries. Imposing conditionality and adequately tracking its implementation process, could speed the adoption of democratic principles.
• NGOs have a pivotal role to play as indicators and guides in the implementation of international assistance programs to strengthen democratic rule.
• We should develop an implementation plan for recommendations generated during the conference.
• The beneficiaries of international assistance should plan how they will undertake required reforms.
• We should seek to avoid turning democracy into an ‘elitist’ cause in part by engaging a broader range of participants.
• It is also vital to build infrastructure for civil society that can help formulate and advocate public policy prescriptions. In terms of democratic assistance, it should be applied in a way that grasps the socio-political context of a country.
• International aid needs to be continued but must be geared to redressing economic and social decline.
• The exchange of ideas and lessons learned on a regional basis needs to be expanded. Countries should share experiences about democratization and reconstruction.
• It has become essential to create new forms of democratic governance at all levels that directly impact people’s lives.
• To establish, consolidate and perpetuate peace and democracy, it is necessary to eradicate poverty.
• Constant vigilance is necessary if democracy is to be safeguarded from abuse. In this regard, it is important to stress the restitution, reconciliation and restoration of justice, as well as the need to fight against impunity. This should be done both by creating new mechanisms such as regional courts, and supporting existing ones such as the International Penal Court.
• Participation is key to fostering democracy and good governance and should go beyond the conventional notion that participation is principally through elections. Participation is equally important in formulating development policy and in setting budgetary priorities.

Jos Lemmers (Executive Director of the European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity (Council of Europe))

The Council of Europe was founded 53 years ago and is the oldest post-war International Organization in Europe. Its 44 member states are committed to human rights, individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law. These principles form the basis of all genuine democracy.

The integration into the Council of Europe of all European States that embrace these principles has been a key element in enlarging the European space of democratic security since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Council has offered help and encouragement to its new member States on the European continent in managing their difficult transition to democracy.

The democratic rights and freedoms of the Council of Europe are enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 and its various protocols, as well as in a range of other human rights instruments. Furthermore, the Council has adopted more than 179 other conventions and numerous recommendations to Governments covering major issues facing European Society.

Strengthening local and regional democracy is another key aspect of the Council of Europe’s activities. Several Council of Europe instruments provide a legal framework for the promotion of local democracy, in particular the European Charter on Local self-government. The Council has also established a system of collective enforcement to uphold the principles of democracy and human rights through mutual cooperation and control, which is exercised through a set of political and legal monitoring procedures. The monitoring processes aim to identify problems with a view to helping member States overcome persistent violations of human rights or non-compliance with the monitoring procedures. Important decisions of the Council of Europe include the creation of the Office of a Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, playing a supportive and essentially preventive role, performing functions different from those of the European Court of Human Rights. They also include new initiatives in fighting corruption and organized crime through the monitoring mechanism of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). It also seeks to reinforce legal and political guarantees and to improve intergovernmental cooperation through all sectors of the Council’s work.

Yuri Dzhibladze (President, Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russia)

There are serious concerns about the disappearance of human rights and democracy from the political agenda, which has now become dominated by security concerns. In Egypt, thousands of fundamentalists have been incarcerated without a proper trial. The situation is best encapsulated by Mubarak’s words, which state that, “September 11 created a new concept of democracy, especially related to the concept of human rights.” What we see here is a serious erosion of democratic institutions throughout the world. Russia is no exception.

Throughout the 1990s, social programs needed during the transition to a market economy were the main concern of NGOs in Russia. Witnessing the growing corruption and inability of the Yeltsin government, most NGOs began to consolidate themselves and turned increasingly to advocacy. In the last two years, the Russian NGO community has encountered difficulties in dealing with a more militant government. Although under the Yeltsin administration NGOs grew stronger and more influential, meanwhile, the state itself also became more centralized. Now in the name of salvaging the Russian economy and fighting terrorism, the Russian government is putting more pressure on the media and local governments. The central government has become a corporate state. It sees diversity as a threat to the development of Russia.

Democracy in Russia became a decorative ornament. Putin sees the NGO community as an important resource to mobilize public support. Through the Civic Forum, the central government hoped to establish a quasi-governmental body that would represent civil society. Although this has sparked a more active dialogue between the state and the people, these exchanges soon became mere political theater. NGOs felt they were being exploited.

Yeltsin simply ignored the NGOs, but under Putin, civil society groups are subject to forced closures in some parts of the country. The Putin government needed to establish control over the NGOs and to marginalize those groups that did not comply with the government line. The Kremlin invoked the constitution, which it argued mandated the central government assume responsibility for protection of human rights.

The last two years also saw the adoption of repressive legislation. These new laws impede any civic movements. The interpretation of the new Law Combating Extremist Activities, for example, is so vague that it gives the government room to maneuver as it sees fit when there is a threat to security. Recent changes to the electoral law forbid the media to make comments about candidates, and prevent the media from publishing any material that may undermine operations aimed at fighting terrorism.

There is a direct connection between the policies of Western countries and the disappearance of human rights and democracy former communist countries. Progress in adopting democracy in Russia suffered severe setbacks during the last two years.

Inna Pidluska (President, Europe XXI Foundation, Ukraine)

European nations share a common vision in building a community of democracies, which should be wide, inclusive and free. Countries in Europe also share a common history of oppression, and violation of human rights, as well as the understanding that something had to be done about them. Most of the countries in Europe do strive for integration. This is something that unites them.

Yet, division lines exist. These division lines, including religious and cultural differences are made all but inevitable because of the additional stigma assigned by society, especially by governments. They run between countries that have succeeded in the post-totalitarian transition and those that have not. Another divide is between countries governed by the rule of law and those that are not. . The line divides countries that have succeeded in incorporating a democratic decision-making process and those that prefer an authoritarian way. The lack of understanding about the role of democratic decision-making spoils effective governance. As a result, democracy is plagued by shadow politics and administration, which leads to shadow redistribution. Mature democracy becomes decorative democracy. Such is the case in the Ukraine, where there are democratic institutions that fit the constitutional mandate, but which are still a long way from performing their proper functions.

In Ukraine, NGOs have taken the initiative to overcome the democracy deficit. Civil institutions and NGOs have tried to encourage the development of civil society, and engage the government in a dialogue to find a solution to these deficits. We have succeeded in identifying the specific elements of the deficit, but a bigger problem remains -- formulating a concrete strategy. The following factors must be considered in formulating the strategy.

1. The strategy should focus on the design and function of democratic institutions that will make democracy work.
2. Elections themselves do not make a democracy. Those elected democratically should keep working democratically.
3. Good governance is imperative.
4. Civil societies should step their demand for democracy.
5. We should build a vibrant civil society, which should be actively involved in the process of monitoring and implementing democracy, and building capacity.
6. The international environment is critical in creating the incentives to promote and implement democracy. EU accession criteria played an important role in fostering democratic progress in the acceding countries. Imposing conditionality and adequately tracking its implementation process, could speed the adoption of democratic principles.

Marek Kapusta (Campaign Manager, Pontis Foundation, Slovakia)

The Balkans suffered the following problems in the important period of reconstruction, especially during the period of economic depression.

1. Social and economic collapse.
2. A growing disenchantment among the citizens with the democratic process, which had been unable to address their concerns.
3. A government that was unresponsive to the pressing needs of the citizens.

In the last election in Slovakia, the following issues emerged.

1. External pressure was the strongest factor that shaped results of the election in a good direction. However, it needs to be translated by local actors, such as the local media, local NGOs. Otherwise there is high risk of backlash due to growing nationalism.
2. Public distrust of public institutions due to the existence of widespread corruption. Misunderstanding about the reform process due to the lack of information, also aggravated the problem.

Recommendations

• Macedonia’s case illustrates the importance of international intervention and the role of the civil society and the local media in operationalizing it. . In this conference, it is important that we emphasize the role of the NGOs as indicators and guides in the implementation of international assistance for the development of democracies.
• We should develop ways to follow-up on the recommendations that were made during the conference, and find ways to implement them.
• The beneficiaries of international assistance should plan how they will undertake the required reforms.
• We should try to avoid turning democracy into an ‘elitist’ cause. We should try to engage a broader range of participants.
• It is also vital to build infrastructure for civil society that can help formulate and advocate public policy positions. In terms of democratic assistance, it should be applied in a way that grasps the socio-political context of a country.
• International aid needs to be continued but must be geared to overcoming economic and social decline.
• Regional exchange needs to grow and expand. Countries should share their experience about democratization and reconstruction.
• It has become essential to create new forms of democratic governance at all levels that affect people’s lives.
• To establish, consolidate and perpetuate peace and democracy, it is necessary to eradicate poverty.
• Constant vigilance is necessary if democracy is to be safeguarded from abuse. In this regard, it is important to stress the restitution, reconciliation and the restoration of justice, as well as the need to fight against impunity, both by creating new mechanisms such as regional courts, and supporting existing ones such as the International Penal Court.
• Participation is key to fostering democracy and good governance and should go beyond the conventional notion that participation relates only to the electoral process. Participation is equally important in formulating development policy and in setting budgetary priorities.