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OEA/Ser.G
CP/doc.4669/11 rev. 3
14December 2011
Original: Spanish
Final Report
oN the Dialogue on the Effectiveness of the Implementation
of the Inter-American Democratic Charter
(Approved by the Permanent Council during its meeting held on December 14, 2011)
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Final Report
oN the Dialogue on the Effectiveness of the Implementation
of the Inter-American Democratic Charter
(Approved by the Permanent Council during its meeting held on December 14, 2011)
Introduction
This report was prepared pursuant to a mandate from the General Assembly of the Organization of American States issued in resolution AG/RES. 2555 (XL-O/10), instructing the Permanent Council to organize and carry out a dialogue on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IACD). The resolution specifically requested that the report reflect the results and/or progress made in the framework of the multilateral dialogue conducted within the OAS and that it be submitted to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Charter’s adoption. That mandate was reiterated in resolution AG/RES. 2694 (XLI-O/11).
Throughout 2011, and in keeping with the mandate handed down by the General Assembly, the Permanent Council discussed the Inter-American Democratic Charter at five different meetings. The conclusion of that series of dialogues took place on Monday, November 21, at a regular meeting of the Permanent Council. At that meeting, member states had the opportunity to make final comments on the interchange of ideas, positions, and proposals that took place during 2011.
The net outcome was a high level of commitment by the member states to the Inter-American Democratic Charter and to the promotion and defense of democracy in the region; a productive exchange of views was maintained, characterized by profound insight and enriching proposals; and a broad consensus was reached on not amending the text of the Inter-American Democratic Charter during this process of dialogue, given that the Charter itself reflects fundamental areas of consensus and balanced points of view regarding shared democratic ideals, values, principles, and practices. For that reason, this dialogue in 2011 was imbued with a constructive spirit aimed at making implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter more effective.
In response to the mandate issued in General Assembly resolution AG/RES. 2555 (XL-O/10), reiterated in resolution AG/RES. 2694 (XLI-O/11), and pursuant to CP/RES. 759 (1217/99), “Guidelines for the Participation of Civil Society Organizations in OAS Activities,” the Permanent Council held a special meeting with civil society organizations on November 30. The purpose of that meeting was to learn about the contributions of civil society organizations to the strengthening of a democratic culture and to incorporate their recommendations into OAS efforts in that field. A summary of the proposals put forward by the civil society organizations, and of the member states' reactions, is included in the appendices to this Report (Appendix II.3).
To facilitate the preparation of the Final Report, the Chairman of the Permanent Council was tasked with drafting the draft. The minutes of the five Permanent Council meetings on the Democratic Charter, held between May and September 2011, served as the basis for the Report. Copies of those minutes are attached hereto (Appendix II.1). Likewise, the matrix prepared by the Chair of the Permanent Council organizing and consolidating all statements and comments made by member states during the five aforementioned meetings, was also used in preparing the Report. A copy of that matrix has also been appended to this Report (Appendix II.2). In addition, the final statements made by member states at the regular meeting of the Permanent Council on November 21 were also taken into consideration in drafting this Report.
The purpose of the Report, pursuant to the General Assembly mandate, is to present the main outcomes of the debate, highlight progress made, and, in so doing, offer some guidelines as to the next steps to be taken.
The report is divided into three parts. The first part presents the specific mandates from the General Assembly that frame and guide the Permanent Council’s activities regarding the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The second part summarizes the principal topics discussed and debated at each of the five meetings, including the one on general considerations regarding the Inter-American Democratic Charter, organized by the Permanent Council. This is the part describing the positions taken by the member states and the proposals put forward. The third part compiles and consolidates the principal outcomes of the series of dialogues, based on areas of agreement and progress attained thanks to the member states' contributions. In this way, specific areas for future progress are identified, with a view to enhancing effective implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
It bears mentioning that, in parallel with the dialogue process carried out by the Permanent Council pursuant to the mandate set forth in the two General Assembly resolutions, various regional and subregional events were held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Charter. These events, which took place in Costa Rica (May 2011), Trinidad and Tobago (June 2011), Chile (September 2011), Peru (September 2011) and Mexico (December 2011), should be viewed as independent activities separate from the official dialogue entrusted to the Permanent Council by the General Assembly. Accordingly, this Report does not reflect the deliberations or the outcomes of the five above-mentioned events. However, given the importance and relevance of those events and the direct relationship between their subject matter and conclusions and the Permanent Council’s dialogue process, materials from those events have been included in the appendices to this Report.
The reports on the event in Costa Rica, “Subregional dialogue between members of the Central American Integration System and Mexico: Democracy for Peace, Security and Development” (May 2011),may be found in Appendix III.1 to this report. Regarding the “Seminar on the 10th Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” organized in Trinidad and Tobago (June 2011), a copy of the final report can be found in the appendices (Appendix III.2). From Chile’s event (September 2011), the statement by Minister Alfredo Moreno Charme at the closing of the “Hemispheric Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and Renewal of the Commitment of the Americas to Democracy” is attached as an appendix (Appendix III.3), as are the remarks by OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza (Appendix III.4). With respect to Peru’s “Dialogues on the Preservation and Promotion of Democracy in the Americas” (September 2011), commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, a note summarizing the meeting is appended to this Report (Annex III.5). Finally, the program for the II Latin American Democracy Forum: “Politics, Money and Power”, organized in Mexico (December 2011), can also be found in the appendices (Annex III.6).
Part One
Mandates of the OAS General Assembly
The dialogue on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter falls under the mandate issued in resolution AG/RES. 2555 (XL-O/10), “Promotion and Strengthening of Democracy:Follow-up to the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” adopted at the fourth plenary session on June 8, 2010. In operative paragraph 14 of that resolution, the General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to organize and carry out a dialogue on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and to submit the results and/or progress of the same during 2011, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its adoption. A copy of the resolution has been appended to this Report (Appendix I.1).
Likewise, in paragraph 13 of the same resolution, the Permanent Council is instructed to convene a special meeting with broad participation by all sectors of society, including civil society organizations. The purpose of that meeting was to examine the contribution of those organizations to strengthening a democratic culture in the Hemisphere, pursuant to Article 26 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. That meeting was held on November 30, 2011. A summary of the proposals put forward by the civil society organizations, and of the member states' reactions, is included in the appendices to this Report (Appendix II.3).
The following year, in resolution AG/RES. 2694 (XLI-O/11), “Promotion and Strengthening of Democracy:Follow-up to the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” adopted by at the fourth plenary session on June 7, 2011, the General Assembly referred to the dialogue process provided for in operative paragraph 14 of resolution AG/RES. 2555 (XL-O/10). It entrusted the Permanent Council with continuing the dialogue on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The General Assembly also entrusted the Council with preparing a final report on the results or progress of that process of dialogue. Consequently, this report fulfills that specific part of the mandate issued by the General Assembly. That resolution has been included in the appendices (Appendix I.2).
Part Two
Meetings of the Permanent Council on the
Inter-American Democratic Charter
The dialogue entrusted by the General Assembly to the Permanent Council on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter was carried out at five Permanent Council meetings, four of them regular meetings and one a special meeting. Finally, the conclusion of the series of dialogues mandated by the General Assembly took place on Monday, November 21, 2011 in a regular meeting of the Permanent Council, at which the member states made their final statements.
The five meetings of the Permanent Council were structured according to the chapters of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Thus, at the first regular meeting on May 4, 2011, the member states engaged in general considerations of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Then, at the special meeting of June 29, they focused on Chapter I on “Democracy and the Inter-American System.” At the regular meeting held on August 2, they addressed Chapter II: “Democracy and Human Rights” and Chapter III: “Democracy, Integral Development, and Combating Poverty.” At the end of that month, on August 31, the Permanent Council focused in its regular meeting on Chapter IV, “Strengthening and Preservation of Democratic Institutions.” The fifth regular meeting, held on September 21, addressed Chapter V, “Democracy and Electoral Observation Missions” and Chapter VI: “Promotion of a Democratic Culture.”
Some of these ideas and proposals presented by member states during the dialogue process reflect suggestions put forward by the Secretary General in his three reports referred to the Permanent Council in 2007, 2010 and 2011 on the Promotion and Strengthening of Democracy: Follow-up of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Copies of these three reports have been included in the appendices (Appendix II.3, Appendix II.4 and Appendix II.5, respectively).
1.Regular Meeting of the Permanent Council of May 4, 2011: General Considerations on the Inter-American Democratic Charter
The first part of the dialogue on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter took place at a regular meeting of the Permanent Council on May 4, 2011. During this first phase of the dialogue, carried out on instructions from the General Assembly, the member states made general comments on the evolution of democracy in the region, the process that had led to adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the principles and values set forth in the Charter, successes and failures in the Charter’s implementation, and pending challenges.
Generally speaking, the speakers referred to the opportunity afforded by the 10th anniversary of the IADC to reflect on the experience of the OAS with implementing that instrument, with a view to rendering that implementation more effective. Several member states highlighted the need to maintain the areas of consensus reached and expressed in the Inter-American Democratic Charter with respect to shared values, principles, and aspirations. It was therefore decided not to revise the contents or amend the text of the Charter. Instead, the member states would seek ways or strengthen existing mechanisms to improve its implementation and the effectiveness of collective responses within the framework of the principle of non-intervention and respect for the national sovereignty of each state.
Furthermore, it was considered that dialogue and reflection on implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter over the past 10 years were the best way to commemorate its adoption and afforded the best framework for taking stock of its implementation and identifying both what has been achieved and what remains to be done to perfect it. The dialogue process provided an opportunity for member states to reaffirm the validity of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and their commitment to that instrument and to the promotion and defense of democracy at the national and regional levels. Moreover, it had been undertaken in the expectation that it would lead to shared understanding and joint identification of areas of action in which it would be possible to move toward more effective implementation of the Democratic Charter.
It transpired from the member states' comments, that there was broad recognition that the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter had been a milestone for the region and for the OAS in their collective efforts to sustain and defend the values and principles of representative democracy. That occurrence had been particularly important at a time when the incipient democracies suffered from structural weaknesses and faced threats that rendered them vulnerable. The adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter was described as the culmination and synthesis of a long process in which democracy evolved in the region, shaped by several key earlier experiences that lent form and substance to the collective commitment to promote and protect democracy. The member states recalled the long road leading up to the Charter's adoption. Time and again they highlighted the fact that the Inter-American Democratic Charter had originated as a resolution adopted by consensus.
The Inter-American Democratic Charter has become a core part of the Organization's identity and purpose and a fundamental pillar of the inter-American system and its efforts to engage in multilateral promotion and defense of democracy. It was recognized as the most complete legal and political instrument at the disposal of the Organization today for promoting democratic principles and practices, as well as for guiding the Organization's decisions and actions in the face of crises and disruptions of the democratic order. The role of the OAS in connection with the Inter-American Democratic Charter is particularly important when it comes to consolidating progress made and avoiding reversals, which could still occur along with a series of factors undermining stability, the development of democracy, and its chances of becoming consolidated.
Referring to the contents of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the member states underscored its broad vision of democracy, which goes beyond democratic elections to include the exercise of democracy. The Charter provides a (non-exhaustive) list of the essential elements of representative democracy. Thus, it identifies a set of characteristics common to all democracies, but without thereby establishing a single model of democracy.
Another feature of the Inter-American Democratic Charter emphasized by the member states was its integrating approach, in the sense that it establishes virtuous, mutually reinforcing links between democracy, integral (economic and social) development, and human rights. To the extent that these three pillars work together, they give rise to more solid, equitable, fair, inclusive, and cohesive democracies.
The member states called for more attention to the linkage between democracy and economic and social development, because that is one of the facets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter in which less progress appears to have been made, particularly when one considers that the region still exhibits high levels of poverty, extreme poverty, inequality, exclusion, and low levels of human development. That is one of the deficits pending, and to reduce it through multilateral action the member states pointed to the need to adopt the Social Charter of the Americas, which is regarded as complementing the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
Areas in which the member states identified major progress in implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter included: the organization of periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal and secret suffrage as the only legitimate route to government; greater transparency in public administration, through the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) and the formulation of a model law on access to public information; the defense of human rights; and consistent, ongoing execution of programs to promote a democratic culture.
At the same time, the member states underscored the areas in which much remains to be done, including integral development and the fight against poverty and inequality. They also detected shortcomings in the Inter-American Democratic Charter's preventive and defensive provisions for foreseeing, anticipating, and preventing disruptions of the democratic order. To address those shortcomings, various proposals were put forward, some of which reflect ideas brought up by the Secretary General in his reports to the Permanent Council on the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Although member states pointed out some of the limitations of Chapter IV, it was generally recognized that, except in a few cases, it had been applied effectively to safeguard democracies.