| The Campaign for
a United Nations Democracy Caucus is dedicated to the promotion
and fulfillment of the principles of democracy and human rights
embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the Warsaw Declaration of the Community of Democracies. Towards
that end, the Campaign seeks the permanent establishment of
a UN Democracy Caucus as a group of democratic nations committed
to strengthening the UN’s ability to promote democracy
and human rights. The Campaign is particularly focused on
the composition and activities of the UN Commission on Human
Rights and the Economic and Social Council, as well as decisions
made by the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
In June 2000, over 100 governments gathered
at the first Community of Democracies meeting in Warsaw
and pledged to form caucuses at international and regional
institutions to support resolutions and other international
activities aimed at the promotion of democratic governance.
In October 2000, the first effort was made at
the UN to convene a gathering of states participating in the
Community of Democracies (CD) process. Some sixty states sent
representatives to the meeting. Later that year, with the
active support of those states, the UN General Assembly approved
a landmark Resolution
on Promoting and Consolidating Democracy (Res A/55/96).
Building on this momentum, a coalition of NGOs
convened by the Democracy Coalition Project, Freedom House
and Transnational Radical Party began to urge the formal creation
of a Democracy Caucus at the United Nations. Through direct
appeals to the Community of Democracies Convening Group and
other official bodies, as well as outreach to other interested
civil society groups, parliamentarians and the media, the
Campaign for a UN Democracy Caucus has made significant progress
toward its goals. Notably, in September 2004, the first formal
meeting of the Democracy Caucus’s foreign ministers,
chaired by Chile, was held at the UN General Assembly, followed
by first-ever meetings at the permanent representative and
expert staff levels.
We invite you to join us
in this endeavor, in your individual or organizational capacity,
as we encourage the UN’s democracies to take the lead
in revitalizing the world body to fufill the vision of becoming
a universal community of democracies.
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Principles and Activities
Participation in the Democracy Caucus is open
only to countries that are invited to be full participants
in the Community of Democracies process. The Community of
Democracies maintains rigorous standards of membership and
only includes states elected on the basis of competitive multiparty
democratic elections and respectful of fundamental human rights.
We
believe: |
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1. |
The broad purpose
of the UN Democracy Caucus is to promote the values
of democracy and human rights through the UN system. |
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2. |
A related purpose
of the UN Democracy Caucus is to strengthen the governance
and accountability of the UN on issues of democracy
and human rights promoting a democratic consciousness
in decision-making on candidacies for key UN bodies. |
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3. |
The UN Democracy
Caucus should seek status akin to the Organization of
the Islamic Conference, la Francophonie, and other like
bodies. |
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4. |
The UNDC should
convene to coordinate actions to strengthen international
support for member states in deepening democratic governance
and reinforcing the protection of human rights and democratic
values through the UN system and the UN’s related
agencies. |
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5. |
The UNDC should
focus on building international consensus on issues
related to democracy and human rights at the UN and
on building consensus among the UN’s democracies
in effectively utilizing the machinery of the UN system
to assist in promoting democratic governance in states
where the UN finds that egregious, systemic violations
of human rights have frustrated democratization. |
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| 6. |
The UNDC should
promote increased resources for human rights and democracy
building initiatives within the UN and within the UN
system. |
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Organization of the UN Democracy Caucus
The Campaign for a UN Democracy Caucus believes
that participation in the Democracy Caucus should be open
only to countries that are invited to be full participants
in the Community of Democracies process. The Community of
Democracies membership includes states which are elected on
the basis of competitive multiparty democratic elections and
respectful of fundamental human rights. It excludes, according
to its
own criteria adopted in the Seoul
Plan of Action, those states “where there is currently
a disruption of constitutional rule or severe persistent erosion
of or lack of essential elements of democracy.”
The UN Democracy Caucus is convened by the current
Chair of the Community of Democracies Convening Group - Chile
- in cooperation with other members of the current Convening
Group - Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Mali, South
Africa, United States, Portugal, India, and Poland. The Campaign is in favor of official recognized UN status
for the Democracy Caucus, on the same basis as the G-77, the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, la Francophonie or
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The Democracy Caucus should convene to discuss
common approaches on issues directly related to democracy
and human rights. It should meet at the UN General Assembly
as necessary, but no less than once a year during the annual
meeting of the UNGA, including at the Foreign Ministers level.
The members of the UNDC should also convene at:
A. ECOSOC and its relevant subcommittees
and subsidiary bodies;
B. Relevant meetings/seminars organized by the UN High
Commissioner
for Refugees;
C. Meetings/seminars of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights;
D. The UN Development Program;
E. UNESCO.
Members of the UNDC have begun and should continue
coordination at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on
Human Rights in Geneva. The Permanent Representatives of Convening
Group governments (or their designated representatives) should
meet as necessary to prepare materials and discuss agenda
items related to the above functions. |
