30 April 2003
U.S. Official Submits Plan to Strengthen Democracy in the Americas
(Peter DeShazo speaks to OAS special session on democracy) (1650)
Member countries of the Organization of the American States (OAS)
should consider making voluntary financial contributions to programs
of the inter-American system that strengthen democracy in the Western
Hemisphere, says Peter DeShazo, U.S. deputy permanent representative
to the OAS.
Speaking April 29 to a special session of the OAS Permanent Council on
the promotion and consolidation of representative democracy, DeShazo
said the United States has approved a "substantial increase" in its
funding of OAS democracy activities in 2003.
He added: "Frankly, we hope these additional funds will leverage
greater contributions from other donors" in support of the
hemisphere's democratization programs.
DeShazo praised the Inter-American Democratic Charter as the "spirit
of the OAS." The Democratic Charter, which was adopted September 11,
2001, "stipulates not only the democratic values that we hold in
common, but provides the essential tools" that the OAS has "to prevent
or address threats to democracy," he said.
He also offered several other proposals to strengthen OAS programs
that support democracy. One proposal DeShazo outlined called for the
Western Hemisphere's education ministers to incorporate civic
education, including the Democratic Charter, into the school
curriculum of each country in the region.
In addition, DeShazo proposed holding a special OAS Permanent Council
session in September 2003 on "Promoting a Democratic Culture Through
Civic Education."
DeShazo said the OAS is "recognizing the need to speak up when the
rights of the hemisphere's citizens are being violated," as
demonstrated by the OAS' April 28 discussion on Cuba shortly after the
regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro began a harsh crackdown on
dissidents. As the OAS Permanent Council considers and votes on a
resolution defending human rights in Cuba, "we will be projecting" the
fundamental values of democracy, DeShazo said.
Following is a transcript of DeShazo's remarks:
(begin transcript)
Statement by Ambassador Peter DeShazo
U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the OAS
Special Session of the Permanent Council on Democracy
Washington, D.C.
April 29, 2003
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
A little over a year ago, still in the aftermath of September 11, we
determined that we wanted to keep the issue of Follow-Up to the
Democratic Charter as a permanent item on the agenda of the Permanent
Council. We did so because we recognized the great significance of
this document for us, and for the citizens of this Hemisphere, in
promoting and defending their right to democracy. In doing so, we
reaffirmed our obligation, as representatives of the democracies of
this Hemisphere, to promote and defend that right. Gradually, we have
come to realize that the Charter stipulates, not only the democratic
values that we hold in common, but provides the essential tools that
the Organization has to prevent or address threats to democracy.
We meet today under General Assembly Resolution AG/RES. 1907 to
"review actions undertaken by the Organization in calendar year 2002
to promote and strengthen democracy, in order to determine such
additional actions as may be deemed appropriate." In fact, the
Democratic Charter is the spirit of the OAS, and virtually everything
that the Organization did in the year 2002 was done in the spirit of
the Democratic Charter.
We also should overcome the hesitation of using Article 17 of the
Democratic Charter. In fact, every time a member state makes a request
for technical assistance from the OAS, such as technical electoral
assistance, strengthening institutions, promoting dialogue and
conflict resolution, or leadership training, in essence it invokes the
Democratic Charter.
We have two questions before us today.
First, what did we do in the year 2002 to promote and strengthen
democracy? We can look at our efforts in two categories:
The first category is technical assistance or promotion of a
democratic culture by the organs and entities of the OAS. The
long-awaited inventory of democratic activities in the Organization
that we have before us today is an impressive list. There is indeed a
lot going on in the area of democracy, and not just in the work of the
UPD. I wonder if there was anyone in the Secretariat, let alone any of
the Permanent Representatives, who was aware of all that the
Organization is doing in this area. The level of technical activity is
very reassuring.
Our delegation commends the UPD for putting this chart together, and
all of the organs and entities that provided the information. We hope
this will prove to be a catalyst for even greater coordination
throughout the Organization in the future. To facilitate this, I
propose that we make this very informative report an annual part of
our review in preparation for the General Assembly each year. While we
in the Permanent Council and our ministers in the General Assembly
give the policy orientation for the Organization, it is in the daily
implementation of these activities that we will make progress in
promoting and defending democratic institutions, practice, and
culture.
The second category of what we did in 2002 is more political in
nature. Clearly, the Permanent Council has become more proactive in
lending solidarity to member states, as we did in the case of
Venezuela, Haiti, and Bolivia. Clearly, we are recognizing the need to
speak up when the rights of the Hemisphere's citizens are being
violated, as we did yesterday in the discussion on Cuba. Clearly, when
representatives of OAS member states traveled to Seoul, Korea, in
November 2002 to meet with member states of the Community of Democracy
from other parts of the world we were promoting our values of
democracy and the instrument we drafted to promote it. The meeting
June 5-6 in Miami between OAS members of the Community of Democracies
and members of the African Union-NEPAD is another such proactive
initiative to share our values.
Clearly, when the Secretary General offers assistance to the
Government of Bolivia to help resolve conflicts in that country or
speaks out in support of the Government of Nicaragua's anti-corruption
efforts, he is representing our democratic values. As the Permanent
Council considers and votes on a resolution defending human rights in
Cuba, we will be projecting those fundamental values.
The second question we have before us today is: What more can we do or
should we be doing?
I am sure that all of us could come up with a long list of projects
and activities we would like to see developed by the Organization were
there only sufficient money and time to do it all. But I have a few
concrete proposals to make:
1. One of the strongest ways we have of supporting those organs and
entities of the Organization that are actively promoting democracy is
to fund them adequately. We talk about providing increased financial
support for the inter-American human rights system. We need to ensure
that we are also providing adequate financial support for the
democracy programs of the UPD and other organs and entities of the
Organization. Without an increase next year to the regular program
budget, it will be difficult to maintain at current levels, let alone
enhance support, for these essential democracy programs. Each member
and observer state should consider making voluntary contributions to
these collective programs. My government has approved a substantial
increase in what we will contribute to democracy activities this year.
Frankly, we hope these additional funds will leverage greater
contributions from other donors.
2. We should actively seek ways to promote a democratic culture in the
Americas based on our shared values. There are many ways we can do
this:
-- Long-distance learning programs for teachers is one venue: The UPD
and the Unit for Social Development and Education are developing a
proposal to inform elementary and secondary teachers about the
Inter-American Democratic Charter. We should support this.
-- We should urge our Education Ministers to make a commitment at
their August meeting to incorporate civic education, including the
Inter-American Democratic Charter, into the curriculum of each of our
countries.
-- Last year's special session on Women in the Political Process was
highly successful and attracted outstanding speakers. I propose that
the Permanent Council, following on the Education Ministerial and with
the help of the UPD and the Unit for Social Development and Education,
consider holding a Special Session in September on "Promoting a
Democratic Culture Through Civic Education."
3. Inter-parliamentary exchanges are useful: Representatives of the
U.S. and Venezuelan legislatures have been meeting for the last year
to learn more about each other's methods and understand more their
differences. We should encourage more such practical exchanges.
4. Horizontal cooperation is productive: Brazil and Paraguay have
shown us the way with their pilot program to share Brazil's electronic
voting machines and software for the Paraguayan elections held this
past Sunday. Peru is inviting members of the Rio Group to share best
practices and experiences in the area of political party reform. The
Inter-American Forum on Political Parties is encouraging greater
sharing of experiences among the current and future leaders of our
countries, and we should encourage these efforts. We should make
horizontal cooperation a strong element of political party reform.
5. An annual evaluation of democracy activities is essential: We have
discussed follow-up activities to the Democratic Charter at least 6
times since we adopted it on September 11, 2001. I propose that we
hold an annual session of the Permanent Council as we are doing today
to evaluate the level of activity in the previous year. To prepare for
this session, we should ask the UPD to provide us with an updated
inventory of activities each year. The results of this session should
be included in our report to the General Session on the promotion of
democracy and follow-up to the Democratic Charter.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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