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AG/RES. 1475 (XXVII-O/97)

PROMOTION OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

(Resolution adopted at the seventh plenary session, held on June 5, 1997)

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 that one of its purposes is "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 within the General Secretariat 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 for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD);

The report of the Permanent Council on the promotion of democracy, which includes the annual report on the activities of the UPD; and

The documents "Representative Democracy in the Americas: Proposed Framework for Action for the Inter-American System" (CP/doc.2899/97) and "Program on Center for Studies on Democracy (PCED)" (CP/doc.2900/97), prepared by the General Secretariat;

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 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 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 requesting such assistance increase their own ability to improve their political organization models—are fundamental to this new hemispheric commitment; and, in that regard, they underscored the contribution made by the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy and the Permanent Council toward preparing proposed incentives for 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

That the Plan of Action of the Summit of the Americas states, inter alia, that "the OAS needs to direct more effort to the promotion of democratic values and practices and to the social and economic strengthening of already-established democratic regimes"; and

CONSIDERING:

That, in resolution AG/RES. 1402 (XXVI-O/96), "Promotion of Democracy," the General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to continue to study the preparation of a set of proposed incentives to preserve and strengthen democratic systems and to report to the General Assembly at its twenty-seventh regular session; and

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 democracy, which includes the annual report on the activities of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD).

2. To request the Permanent Council to take into account, when it prepares the study on the organization of the work performed by the subsidiary organs of the councils, mandated by resolution AG/RES. 1446 (XXVII-O/97), the active and full work program and the fundamental purpose of the Working Group on Representative Democracy.

3. To instruct the Permanent Council, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, to give continuing guidance, as necessary, to the General Secretariat regarding activities in the area of democracy—particularly to the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy in the pursuit of its objectives and the implementation of its work plans.

4. 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 OAS, in order to strengthen the promotion and defense of representative democracy in the region in keeping with the principle of nonintervention.

5. To instruct the Permanent Council, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, to study the 1998 annual work plan of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy and to approve it, with any necessary changes, by the end of 1997; and to monitor implementation of the criteria for selecting programs or projects to be supported by the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, as adopted in its work plan.

6. To instruct the General Secretariat to continue to provide the Permanent Council with quarterly progress reports on the activities of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, including information on the level of budgetary execution, for review by the Working Group on Representative Democracy.

7. To request the Permanent Council, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, 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.

8. 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.

9. To note the initiation of the study to establish within the General Secretariat a permanent voluntary fund to finance electoral observer missions requested by the member states; and to instruct the Permanent Council, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, to continue the study and to establish, if appropriate, the rules and criteria for use of this voluntary fund.

10. To urge the Permanent Council to continue to develop, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, an agenda to promote democratic practices and principles in the youth of the Hemisphere and to continue the analysis and design of programs aimed at providing contact and exchanges among youth leaders of the member states.

11. To instruct the Permanent Council, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, to continue the study on incentives to preserve and strengthen democratic systems.

12. To instruct the Permanent Council to examine, through the Working Group on Representative Democracy, the document prepared by the General Secretariat entitled "Representative Democracy in the Americas: Proposed Framework for Action for the Inter-American System" (CP/doc.2899/97).

13. To note the document prepared by the General Secretariat entitled "Program on Center for Studies on Democracy (PCED)" (CP/doc.2900/97), stressing, in particular, the importance of the OAS contribution to developing, strengthening, and consolidating the institutions of representative democracy through increased support for research, the exchange of experiences, and training. It therefore instructs the Permanent Council to continue to study the proposal, taking particular account of the role played by the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy in this regard and the need to review the structure and operation of the proposed program in greater detail.

14. To instruct the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its twenty-eighth regular session on the implementation of this resolution.

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