(E-040/01) February 21, 2001 PHOTO COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES MEETING CONCLUDES On February 20th and 21st the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies in conjunction with the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States hosted the international conference, "The Role of Regional and Multilateral Organizations in the Defense and Promotion of Democracy." Representatives from 16 international organizations and more than 120 participants from civil society and government participated in the two-day conference. Speakers at the event included former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Foreign Minister of Thailand, Surin Pitsuwan, Peruvian Minister of Justice Diego Garcia Sayan, Korean Deputy Foreign Minister and Director of Policy Planning Young-Jin Choi, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Martin Palous and Chilean Ambassador to the United Nations Juan Gabriel Valdes. The meeting was presided over by the Secretary General of the OAS, Cesar Gaviria, and the Assistant Secretary General, Luigi Einaudi. Principal conclusions reached at the meeting included the importance of continuing the process of exchange among regional and multilateral organizations on the promotion and defense of democracy and the need for further exploring the instruments and means by which regional organizations could better respond to threats to democracy. Participants also embraced a UPD proposal to create an electronic information and exchange network that would link regional organizations interested in democracy promotion. The Government of Romania, on behalf of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced that it will host, in cooperation with the Community of Democracies Convening Group, the next conference of regional and multilateral organizations on democracy in the fall of 2001.   **********