Media Advisory February 16, 2001 Backgrounder CONFERENCE ON STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY The Organization of American States (OAS) will host a meeting next Tuesday and Wednesday on "The Role of Regional and Multilateral Organizations in the Defense and Promotion of Democracy." The meeting is sponsored by the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies, a coalition of 110 countries commited to democratic governance. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was instrumental in organizing the first ministerial conference of the Community of Democracies last June in Warsaw, Poland, will be one of the featured speakers. Others include the Foreign Minister of Thailand, Surin Pitsuwan; Peruvian Justice Minister Diego García-Sayán; Young-jin Choi, Deputy Foreign Minister and Director of Policy Planning of the Republic of Korea; Martin Palous, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic; and Chile's Ambassador to the United Nations and former Foreign Minister, Juan Gabriel Valdés. OAS Secretary General César Gaviria will open the conference highlighting the Organization of American States' efforts in promoting and defending democracy. High-level representatives of regional organizations from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, as well as from the United Nations and the World Bank, will participate in the proceedings, to be held in the Hall of the Americas at OAS headquarters. The conference will be Webcast live   http://www.oas.org Tuesday, Feb. 20 Opening session: 9 a.m.* OAS Secretary General César Gaviria Chilean UN Ambassador and former Foreign Minister Juan Gabriel Valdés 1 p.m. Lunch speaker (at World Bank): Foreign Minister Surin of Thailand Wednesday, Feb. 21 8:30 a.m.* OAS Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic, Martin Palous Peruvian Justice Minister Diego García-Sayan 3 p.m. Deputy Foreign Minister, Republic of Korea, Young-jin Choi For a complete schedule, please contact Lucrecia Baracat at (202) 458-6824. *Note: Television crews are requested to arrive by 8 a.m. for set-up.