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 The
Community of Democracies is a coalition of democratic countries, initiated
in 1999 with the common goal of strengthening democratic institutions
and values at the national, regional, and global levels.
This initiative
was convened by the governments of Chile, India, Poland, the Czech Republic,
the United States of America, Mali, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, and
South Korea; now known as the convening group.
The first ministerial
meeting was held in Warsaw, Poland in 2000, and included the participation
of more than 100 countries, mostly at the level of Foreign Ministries.
As a result of the event, governments signed a Declaration that articulated
their common principles on democracy. At the second meeting, held in November
2002 in Seoul, South Korea, the 95 participating governments agreed on
a Plan of Action.
The
last meeting of the governments was held in Santiago, Chile in April,
2005, and many political actors saw this as an opportunity to strengthen
the role of the Community at the international level.
| III
Ministerial Meeting |
III MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF THE COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES
Santiago, Chile
April 28th-30th, 2005
Agenda,
Speeches, Reports,
Photos
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Newspaper insert in Diario 7,
Inserto en Diario 7, Chile
part
1 / part
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In the last meeting, governments agreed to the Santiago Ministerial
Commitment, a series of recommendations that highlight the
importance of democracy both regionally and globally. The
agreement builds on the tenets outlined in the Warsaw Declaration
and the Seoul Plan of Action and urges the continual expansion
of democratic institutions. It is designed to:
Highlight the importance of the United Nations in the global
promotion of democracy and the democratization of that international
institution as an important step in fostering a worldwide
consensus
Foster the attitudes of tolerance with respect
to religious, racial and linguistic differences and respect
for human rights -- civil, political, economic, social and
cultural.
Renew the commitment to assist countries
in the midst of democratic transitions, helping to strengthen
fledgling institutions at the national, regional and international
levels.
Outline commitments in several areas relating to:
- Democratic Governance and Civil Society
- Poverty, Development and Democratic Governance
- Regional and Interregional Cooperation for Democratic Governance
- Democracy Caucus within the United Nations and other Multilateral
Fora to Support Democracy
- Regional Organizations, Promoting Democracy, and Responding
to Threats to Democracy
- Evaluative Follow-ups
- Specific Regions
Santiago Ministerial Commitment
The Community of Democracies 2005 Santiago Ministerial Commitment
(english)
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*Final
meeting of the Non-Governmental Process*
(March
3-4, 2005, Santiago, Chile)
The
Final Meeting for the Non-Governmental Process was held on
March 3rd and 4th, 2005, in Santiago, Chile. Around 80 people
from 34 countries attended the meeting to discuss the proposals
to prepare the Non-Governmental contribution to the third
Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies, which
will be held on April 28th-30th, 2005.
Governmental
Process
Historic Non-Governmental Participation
in Ministerial Conference Santiago 2005
May 16 ,2005
On April
28th-30th, the III Ministerial Conference of the Community
of Democracies was held in Santiago, Chile. Inaugurated on
the evening of the 28th with speeches by the Chilean President
Ricardo Lagos, Chilean Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker, US
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, President of the Executive
Secretariat of the Non-Governmental Process of the Community
of Democracies Genaro Arriagada, and Former President of Mexico
and representative of the Secretary General of the United
Nations Ernesto Zedillo, the III Ministerial Meeting was marked
by the historic participation of the non-governmental actors
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 In
their first meeting, the governments agreed on a document, known
as the Warsaw Declaration that contains a set of principles and
commitments that this Secretariat fully supports and that are
the basis for our action.
The Declaration
reaffirms the governments’ commitment to the Universal Human
Rights Declaration, and encourages respect for all civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights.
The Declaration
also affirms that those rights should be enforced by a competent,
independent, and impartial judiciary open to the public; that elected
leaders should function strictly in accordance with the constitution
and the laws; that those duly elected have the right to form a government,
assume office, and fulfil their legally established terms in office;
that elected governments have the obligation to refrain from extra-constitutional
actions; the need of transparency, participation and accountability
of governmental institutions; that the legislature be duly elected,
transparent, and accountable to the people; that civilian democratic
control over the military should be established and preserved.
In Warsaw,
the Community of Democracies committed both to work together for
the strengthening of democracy, respecting the principle of sovereignty
and of not interfering in internal affairs and also to promote discussions
or appropriate forums. They resolved to cooperate to confront and
resist threats to democracy posed by the overthrowing of elected
governments; any form of terrorism, organized crime, corruption,
drug trafficking, and the trafficking in human beings.
The Community
of Democracies is inspired by the values of tolerance, respect of
pluralism, and rejects any form of ethnic and religious hatred and
extremism. They commit to promote civil society in order to assure
informed participation, and to work in coordination with international
organizations, civil society, and governments to coordinate support
for new and emerging democratic societies.
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In the second ministerial meeting in Seoul, governments agreed on
a Plan of Action, which, reaffirming the principles  of
the Warsaw Declaration, commits to the continuous development of
democracy domestically and the promotion of democracy regionally
and globally. Specifically, it aims to:
- Promote
regional democratic progress, individually, through regional institutions,
and through various other measures including: monitoring mechanisms,
improving diplomatic engagement, and convening regional meetings
with civil society representation.
- Prevent
or respond to scenarios of violence against a democratic government,
the disruption of constitutional rule, persistent unconstitutional
alteration of the democratic order, or support for terrorism.
- Promote
education for democracy, through the strengthening of public education,
organizing public information campaigns regarding democracy, civil
rights and civic responsibilities, and encouraging the media to
play a role in public education and in spreading democratic values.
- Build stronger
democracies through promoting of rule of law, alleviating poverty
and promoting economic growth and building and sustaining a strong
political party system and a healthy civil society.
- Promote
volunteerism for achieving a stronger civil society.
- Coordinate
democracy assistance, identifying
Seoul
Plan of Action
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