AG/RES. 1401 (XXVI-O/96)

PROMOTION OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

(Resolution adopted at the eighth plenary session, held on June 7, 1996)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

BEARING IN MIND that the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) establishes, in its preamble, that "representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability, peace and development of the region," and establishes as one of its purposes "to promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention";

HAVING SEEN resolution AG/RES. 1063 (XX-O/90), in which the General Assembly requested the Secretary General to establish a unit for the promotion of democracy, as well as resolutions CP/RES. 572 (882/91) and CP/RES. 583 (904/92), in which the Permanent Council adopted the Program of Support for the Promotion of Democracy and the Work Plan of the Unit;

RECALLING:

That, in the Santiago Commitment to Democracy and the Renewal of the Inter-American System, the ministers of foreign affairs and heads of delegation of the OAS member states declared their inescapable commitment to the defense and promotion of representative democracy and human rights in the region, within the framework of respect for the principle of nonintervention;

That, in the Declaration of Managua for the Promotion of Democracy and Development, the ministers of foreign affairs and heads of delegation of the OAS member states also expressed their opinion that the support and cooperation provided by the OAS to strengthen democratic institutions through programs that help the states that so request to enhance their own ability to improve their political organization models are fundamental to this new hemispheric commitment and, in that regard, they underscored the contribution of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy and of the Permanent Council toward preparing proposals to encourage the preservation and strengthening of democratic systems in the Hemisphere; and

That, in the Declaration of Principles of the Summit of the Americas, the heads of state and government asserted that democracy is the sole political system which guarantees respect for human rights and the rule of law while it safeguards cultural diversity, pluralism, respect for the rights of minorities, and peace within and among nations, and that democracy and development reinforce one another; and

CONSIDERING that, pursuant to resolution CP/RES. 572 (882/91), the Unit "will be available to perform such tasks as the competent authorities may entrust to it in support of democracy in the Hemisphere,"

RESOLVES:

1. To take note of the Report of the Permanent Council on the Promotion of Representative Democracy (AG/doc.3342/96 corr. 1).

2. To instruct the Permanent Council to give ongoing guidance, as necessary, to the General Secretariat regarding the activities of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy in the pursuit of its objectives and the implementation of its work plans.

3. To request the Permanent Council, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, to promote cooperation, in related activities and when appropriate, between the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy and the various organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization of American States, in order to strengthen the promotion and defense of representative democracy in the region in keeping with the principle of nonintervention.

4. Also to instruct the Permanent Council to study, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, the Work Plan of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy and, if appropriate, to adopt it.

5. To invite the General Secretariat to provide the Permanent Council with quarterly written progress reports on the activities of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, including information on the level of budget execution.

6. To request the Permanent Council to present to the General Assembly annual reports on the work carried out by the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy in support of the promotion and consolidation of democracy in the Hemisphere.

7. To entrust the General Secretariat, through the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, with conducting and promoting, inter alia, studies, seminars, and research to strengthen democracy in the region, with full respect for the principle of nonintervention.

8. To instruct the Permanent Council to study and, as appropriate, set up within the General Secretariat a permanent voluntary fund to finance all electoral observer missions requested by the member states, and to submit a report on the implementation of this mandate to the General Assembly at its twenty-seventh regular session.