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International Steering Committee of the CD
NGO process addresses meeting of CD Ministers of Foreign Affairs
in New York
On September 20th 2006, Executive Director of
the South African NGO IDASA and member of the International
Steering Committee (ISC) of the NGO Process of the Community
of Democracies, Mr. Paul Graham, read a statement
on behalf of the ISC at the meeting of CD Ministers of Foreign
Affairs. Mr. Graham informed CD countries gathered in New
York of the progress achieved at setting up an Executive Secretariat
of the CD NGO process in Bamako. He also described ISC efforts
to facilitate NGO participation at the next CD Ministerial,
to be held in the Malian capital in the Fall of 2007. In his
statement, Mr. Graham also urged CD members to replenish the
United Nations Democracy Fund and lead the functioning of
the newly established United Nations Human Rights Council,
making sure that the Council develops the right mechanisms
and tools to defend human rights, address specific human rights
violations, facilitate NGO participation, and condemn recent
assaults on democracy assistance.
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DCP hosts reception for the candidates of
the Human Rights Council in New York
The Democracy Coalition Project, a member of
the Campaign for a UN Democracy Caucus, hosted a reception
for candidates of the Human Rights Council on May 2, 2006,
in New York. The reception was also sponsored by the Open
Society Institute, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International,
the Carter Center, and the Wold Federalist Movement. Over
one hundred people attended the event including the media,
NGO representatives, and over thirty UN Delegations, who used
the opportunity to campaign for the elections. DCP also helped
organize a panel discussion sponsored by the Center for Justice
and International Law, the Centre for Law in International
Development, and the African Democracy Forum, entitled The
First Human Rights Council Elections: Some Perspectives from
the Developing World. Speakers on the panel were Ayesha
Imam, of the Africa Democracy Forum; Viviana Krsticevic, from
the Center for Justice and International Law; Clarence Dias,
from the Centre for Law in International Development; Francis
M. Ssekandi, from Columbia University; Juan E. Mendez, from
the International Center for Transitional Justice; and Nozima
Kamalova, from the Legal Aid Soceity of Uzbekistan. The panelists
provided regional civil society perspectives on the Council
elections.
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Campaign for a UN Democracy Caucus sponsors
workshop at World Movement for Democracy Assembly in Istanbul
On April 4th, 2006, the Democracy Coalition
Project, the Transnational Radical Party and Freedom House
sponsored a workshop entitled "Promoting Human Rights
and Democracy: Supporting the Role of the Democracy Caucus
in UN Reform", at the 4th World Movement for Democracy
Assembly. Participants discussed efforts to date to create
a UN Democracy Caucus to serve as a focal point on human rights
and democracy issues within the long-established regional
bloc system at the United Nations. Human rights defenders
from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Western
countries also shared advocacy strategies successfully used
to expose human rights violations and exclude abusive countries
from leadership positions.
For further information on the workshop, click
here
For a summary on the workshop in the WMD bulletin, click
here
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UN Secretary General's Chief of Staff, Mark
Malloch Brown, delivered a lecture at event co-sponsored by
the Campaign for a UN Democracy Caucus
On October 6th, 2005, Secretary General Annan's
Chief of Staff, Mark Malloch Brown, delivered a lecture in
New York on UN promotion of Democracy and Human Rights. Mr.
Malloch Brown, who held the position of Administrator of the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during the last
six years, analyzed how the reforms stated by the Outcome
Document of the UN World Summit will foster the work of the
United Nations in the fields of Human Rights and Democracy.
The event was co-sponsored by the Campaign for a UN Democracy
Caucus, together with the Foreign Policy Association and the
National Endowment for Democracy.
To read the full transcript of the lecture,
click
here
To view the lecture in video, click
here
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NGO Coalition urges CD Ministers of Foreign
Affairs to make the new UN Human Rights Council a credible
body
On September 19th2005, the Executive Director
of the Democracy Coalition Project, Ted Piccone, represented
the NGO Coalition at the Ministerial Meeting of the Community
of Democracies, held in New York. In his statement
on behalf of the Campaign for a UN Democracy Caucus, Mr. Piccone
urged democracies to ensure that the new UN Human Rights Council
is a more credible body than its predecessor, and encouraged
CD members to be at the forefront of its inception.
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NGO Coalition Members Urge Foreign Ministers
Assembled for the Third Community of Democracies to Strengthen
Democracy
In advance of the Third Ministerial Meeting
of the Community of Democracies, NGO Coalition members Democracy
Coalition Project, Transnational Radical Party and Freedom
House, issued a press
release to the all the Foreign Ministers assembled in
Santiago for the meeting. The three organizations uged the
members of the Community of Democracies to support UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan's reform package, in particular the idea
of a Human Rights Council. The group also urges the Community
of Democracies to uphold its own standards of membership as
outlined in the Warsaw
Declaration, the Seoul
Plan of Action and Convening Group's own participation
criteria.
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UN Human Rights Commission Further Undermined
by Re-Election of Zimbabwe
On April 28th, 2005NGO Coalition member, Freedom
House, issued a press
release on the re-election of Zimbabwe to the Human Rights
Commission. The election of Zimbabwe undescores the need for
sweeping reform of the Human Rights Commission, Freedom House
stated. Zimbabwe was not the lone human rights violator re-elected
to the Commission, China and Venezuela also preserved their
seats. Cameroon and Azerbijain were newly elected to the Commission
bringing the number of non-free countries on the Commission
to a total of 16, or 30 percent.
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NGO Coalition Presses Korean Government To
Maintain Italian NGO’s Consultative Status Within The
UN
A group of democracy and human rights organizations
appealed to the democratic government members of the UN Economic
and Social Council to vote against a motion by Viet Nam to
suspend the consultative status of Transnational Radical Party
(TRP). A special letter was sent to the Korean Government
asking them to join other democratic nations in this effort.
Human Rights Watch also sent a letter to the UN’s Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC) members urging them to vote in
support of TRP.
To read the Freedom House press release, click
here.
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NGO Coalition Issues Press Release Highlighting
The Need For More Democracies On The UN Human Rights Commission
On May 1st, 2004 a coalition of NGOs issued
a press release reaffirming the need for a UN Democracy Caucus.
A UNDC could, in part, lead to more democracies becoming members
of the various UN bodies. The UN Commission on Human Rights
will be voting on candidate states for the 14 open seats on
the commission; this year's nominees include many non-democracies
such as Sudan, Viet Nam, and Malaysia.
To read the press release, click
here.
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NGO Coalition Urges Creation Of Permanent
UN Democracy Group
On July 31st, 2003 a coalition of NGOs sent
an appeal to the Foreign Ministers of the CD Convening Group
countries urging them to take the lead in establishing a UN
Democracy Group (UNDG). On September 23, 2003 a follow up
letter was sent outlining more specific steps how the CD can
work with the relevant United Nations bodies and agencies
to ensure the United Nations becomes the global forum for
making respect for democratic principles the international
norm.
To read the September, 2003 Freedom House press
release, click
here.
To read the July, 2003 press release and letter, click
here.
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UN: “Who’s Who” Of Human
Rights Abuse
(Geneva, April 3, 2003) The United Nations Commission
on Human Rights risks being turned into a “who’s
who” of abusive governments if several candidates for
membership are elected later this month, Human Rights Watch
warned today.
Click
here.
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