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IN INAUGURAL LECTURE FOR THE AMERICAS, JIMMY CARTER URGES NATIONS TO ADDRESS FRAGILITY OF DEMOCRACIES IN THE HEMISPHERE

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter inaugurated the Lecture Series of the Americas this afternoon, calling on governments and the privileged in the Americas to demonstrate the will to ensure all citizens share in the benefits of society. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate bemoaned the widening gap between the rich and poor as “the greatest challenge of our time” because poverty and inequality continue unabated.

President Carter used his address to the inaugural Organization of American States (OAS) Lecture—beamed around the hemisphere—to also urge the hemisphere’s governments to make the Inter-American Democratic Charter “a living document” rather than merely “empty pieces of paper.”

In the presentation, entitled “The Promise and Peril of Democracy,” he cited statistics that continue to show the Americas as having “the most unequal income distribution in the world.” Carter further warned: “When people live in grinding poverty, see no hope for improvement for their children, and are not receiving the rights and benefits of citizenship, they will eventually make their grievances known, and it may be in radical and destructive ways.”

He observed that the region’s governments, which include some privileged societies, need to do more “to shore up our fragile democracies, protect and defend our human rights system and tackle the problems of desperation and destitution.”

Elaborating on his concern that “the lofty ideals espoused in the Democratic Charter are not all being honored,” President Carter, argued that while the Democratic Charter—adopted on September 11, 2001—can be a punitive instrument, “it is also an instrument for providing technical assistance and moral encouragement, or persuasion, to prevent democratic erosion early in the game, before a crisis erupts.”

The Democratic Charter must be strengthened through resolute action, according to Carter, who stressed that such moves call for a clear definition of what constitutes “unconstitutional alteration or interruption” of the democratic order that would trigger invocation of the Democratic Charter. He suggested such conditions should include: violation of the integrity of central institutions, including constitutional checks and balances providing for the separation of powers; holding of elections that do not meet minimal international standards; failure to hold periodic elections or to respect electoral outcomes; systematic violation of basic freedoms, including freedom of expression, freedom of association, or respect for minority rights; and unconstitutional termination of the tenure in office of any legally elected official.

The former US president, who has been engaged in humanitarian work since leaving office in 1981, pointed to laudable democratic gains in the hemisphere, but underscored the need for new and far-reaching thinking on development challenges such as crime, illegal drugs and protection of the most vulnerable in society. He lauded the OAS saying that, as a promoter of freedom, democracy, and human rights, it is one of the foremost regional organizations in the world.

Other participating in this inaugural Lecture included OAS Acting Secretary General Ambassador Luigi R. Einaudi, who presided over a follow-up discussion after President Carter’s lecture; Permanent Council Chairman Ambassador Manuel María Cáceres of Paraguay, who opened the Lecture; Peru’s Ambassador to the OAS, Alberto Borea, who gave an overview and introduced President Carter; President of Peru’s San Martín de Porres University, José Antonio Chang.

Carter’s lecture was followed by a panel moderated by Irene Klinger, Coordinator of the Lecture Series program and Director of the OAS Department of Communications and External Relations, that included Ambassadors Rodolfo Gil, of Argentina; Denis Antoine, of Grenada; Salvador Rodezno, of Honduras; John Maisto, of the United States; and President Chang of San Martín de Porres University.

The monthly Lecture Series of the Americas continues with other internationally-renowned personalities slated to share their perspectives on priorities issues on the inter-American agenda: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Enrique Iglesias; International Criminal Court President Phillipe Kirsch; and 1992 Nobel Laureate for Literature Derek Walcott of Saint Lucia.

Reference: E-014/05