Promotion of Democracy at the 59th UN General Assembly

Kim has spoken about an added grouping for constructive change inside the UN, the establishment of a democracy caucus. I would like to talk about our work outside it, through the Community of Democracies. We have been pleased to see real, quantifiable results from this young network in the past several years. Like the democracy caucus at the UN, the Community is a vehicle for cooperation among nations that respect the rights of their citizens, and that are answerable to people. These nations share the most basic democratic values, principles, and institutions. Naturally, these nations share common interests. It only makes sense that venues exist for them to coordinate and leverage their activities. Last Wednesday, Secretary Powell joined Foreign Ministers and other officials from many Community of Democracies countries at the UN where he stated that "our common commitment to the principles of individual liberty and political freedom that both sustain and are sustained by democracy … has led us to join forces."

The Community of Democracies is noteworthy for what it is not. It is not a large bureaucracy; rather, it is a tool for democracies to share best practices and lessons learned about governance, elections, rule of law, civil society and other facets of a prosperous, free society. One of its many capabilities is to help emerging democracies. Recently, it has done so through dispatching what we refer to as "democracy practitioners" to East Timor -- these were officials with experience in elections, public defense, law and judiciary, and local governance, among others. The United States Government and the Government of Portugal joined together, in partnership with the UN Development Program, to organize this mission. The practitioners were sent to share with their East Timorese counterparts practical and actionable information and advice as they build their young democracy.

Also under the umbrella of the Community, numerous democracies of central Europe -- ones which have learned tremendously from their experience over the last 20 years -- have expressed their desire to reach out to and aid those who are building a representative government in Iraq. Under the leadership of our colleague, Czech Ambassador Martin Palous, 12 ambassadors representing countries from that region sent a letter to the Chileans to express their desire and readiness to help. Moreover, we sponsored a Dialogue on Democracy that brought together representatives of 14 free nations in Latin America and Africa. Regardless of geography, history, or economic power, new and emerging democracies have much in common, and discussing what has worked and what has not worked on the road toward democratic development can be highly useful for others facing similar situations.

In addition to buttressing emerging democracies, the Community can also facilitate cooperation among representative governments within a region. Chile chaired a meeting of Community nations at the UN, and laid out the argument that democracies should take responsibility for development in their regions. They made the case that the greater their ability to cooperate and leverage their efforts, the less likely they are to face regional problems with organized crime, trade disputes, terrorist activity, and other issues that go beyond governance.

Last year, Romania gathered central European countries that participated in the Community to discuss how they can strengthen democracy in their region as well as be a model for other regions. Just last week at the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Community, Sri Lanka announced its intention to do the same. These regional events allow elected governments to work together, and see that they have more in common with each other, as servants of their people, than they have with unelected governments.

The Community can also encourage regional organizations to pledge to work for democracy. Since the aforementioned Dialogue on Democracies, the OAS committed to reach out to the AU and its members to continue this transatlantic dialogue on democracy. The Community can work to urge other regional organizations to follow suit.

Last Wednesday’s meeting at the UN was historic, in that it saw the first meeting of every democratic foreign minister at the UN. There was expressed resounding support for the Community of Democracies. It was also encouraging to hear so many countries articulate their clear support for the President’s call for a UN Democracy Fund. We see this as an opportunity for democracies to take the lead in using all instruments possible to assist those longing for freedom.

At Wednesday’s Community of Democracies Ministerial meeting, the spirit of the "Democratic Community" was pervasive: newly-free nations seeking to enable others realize what they fought so hard for and eventually achieved. We should encourage and foster that spirit by redoubling our own efforts to help other new democracies. I thank those of you who have joined us in supporting the Community of Democracies and urge you to maintain your strong, active involvement.