Romania's proposal to organize a Regional Conference of the Community of Democracies
(Bucharest, November 2003)

1. Background

On the occasion of the Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies (CD), held in Seoul from 10 to 12 November 2002, Romania announced its willingness to organize a Regional Conference of the CD, on November 14 5, 2003. Romania's proposal was included in the Chairman's Statement of the Seoul Conference.

This initiative relies on the experience Romania acquired in the process of internal democratic reforms, as well as internationally in the promotion of democratic principles and values (e.g. Chairmanship of the Third International Conference on New or Restored Democracies, in 1997; OSCE Chairmanship in Office, in 2001; promotion of UN resolutions on democracy).

2. Format and level of participation

The participation in the Conference will be at the level of Senior officials (mainly from Ministries of Foreign Affairs or other relevant public institutions), based on the following considerations:

• to avoid parallelisms with the global ministerial conferences of the CD (held every
  two years) or with other ministerial events (OSCE Council of Ministers in 2003) ;
• to take a pragmatic approach focusing on the follow up to the Seoul Action Plan,
  at regional level.

In parallel with the inter governmental conference, a Forum of the civil society will also be held.

Note: The Forum of the civil society will be organized mainly by one/several Romanian NGOs, with the support of relevant international NGOs.

The Conference will comprise plenary sessions (opening/closing) and three thematic round tables: two with governmental participation only and the third with joint governmental and non govern mental participation.

3. Participants

a. The list of the participating countries will be established in cooperation with the members of the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies. Romania takes into consideration as a possible option the membership of regional Eastern European Group at the United Nations (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, the FYR of Macedonia, Ukraine) as well as Estonia which is not member of any UN regional group.

b. Romania would also like to invite representatives of the Convening Group, as key note speakers or facilitators of the round tables.

c. Likewise, Romania wishes to invite representatives of relevant international organizations, such as UN/UNDP, OSCE/ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights), Council of Europe and European Commission.

4. Objectives and draft agenda

The Bucharest Conference will focus on assessing democratic progress and the follow up to the Seoul Plan of Action, at sub regional level. It will formulate proposals of national and regional policies and measures to strengthen the democratic processes in Central and Eastern Europe.

Taking into consideration the priorities of action as defined in the Seoul Action Plan, as well as other international democracy related debates, the Regional Conference will have the following general theme: "Partnerships between governments, civil society and international organizations for strengthening democracy".

The Agenda could include the following sub themes to be debated in three round tables:

Roundtable 1: Exercise of public control over democratic institutions (e.g. building and strengthening responsible and transparent democratic institutions; fighting corruption; ensuring division of powers in the State and independence of the judiciary; democratic decentralization);

In this long and complex process, among the fundamental instruments used to build a strong democratic society, the discussions should focus on good governance. The issue of good governance is related to the fight against corruption. The governments have the duty to evaluate the dimension of corruption, to design and implement policies for the prevention and combating of this phenomenon.

It is also important to underline the significance, for a young democracy in particular, of a well established professional civil service.

Accountability and transparency at all levels and the development of a cooperative culture, both vertically and horizontally, between the various branches of the government are vital in that respect.

The discussions should focus on building mechanism to protect the democratic society.

Roundtable III: Developing mechanisms of regional cooperation to promote and consolidate democratic principles, values and institutions in Central and Eastern Europe (increasing the role of regional organizations in promoting and strengthening democracy; sharing the best practices; international assistance for democratic development and capacity building).

Democracy is a global process. There has been a strong movement of the democracies around the world. State from different regions of the world gathered in Manila (1988), in Managua (11994), in Bucharest (1997) and in Cotonou (2000), within the process of the International Conference of the new and restored democracies to consolidate democracy throughout the world at the dawn of the new millennium. In Warsaw (2000) and in Seoul (2002), a group of countries met in a ministerial conference on democracy, with the view to strengthen and support the existing democracies, reinforce their capability of cooperation, and initiate a dialogue among them on the fundamental concepts and prerequisites of democratic governance. NGOs and the representatives of the civil society have settled many other fora with the aim at sharing experiences and best practices in governance and sustainable development.

Therefore, democracies around the world should keep working together in order to reach the common goal: to see that democracy successfully endures the test of time and becomes a real architectonic power in our common world; a power humanizing relations among peoples, cultures and civilizations in our post modern time; a power giving us hope that humankind will make a peaceful transition into a new millennium and that our posterity will live in freedom, having chance for a better future.

Only by engaging international partners to assist democratic development and institution building and identifying regional mechanism of cooperation we can protect against threats the democratic governments. The discussions may outline a series of measures that could be used to promote, defend, strengthen or restore the democratic institutions.

Roundtable III: Promoting a culture of democracy, through partnerships between governments, civil society and international organizations.

Building democracy is not a single act but an ongoing process demanding continuous efforts This enormous task requires common efforts and cooperation. This is particularly true in the case of Central and Eastern Europe, where the establishment of genuine democratic environment at national and regional level is of paramount importance.

Having a strong cooperation between the governments, civil society and international organizations is a condition in building a democratic society. No one can ignore that the safeguard and promotion of human rights, the respect of right of the people belonging to national minority, the integration of international instruments in the internal legislation and in the daily practice of authority, represent the essential guarantees of democracy and the best way towards its reinforcement.

The discussions should underline the fact that only by creating partnerships between governments, civil society and international organizations we can build mechanisms to review the state of democracy, share experiences and identify the best practices in the region.

5. Outcome

The results of the Meeting will be included in a Final Document (whose form will be decided upon, in cooperation with the Convening Group). It will comprise the conclusions of the Roundtables, proposals for national and regional policies and measures for strengthening democracy. The document will be presented at the next global Ministerial Conference of the CD (Santiago de Chile, 2005) and at other international democracy related events (e.g. UN, OSCE, and Council of Europe).