DEMOCRACY BRIDGE

DEMOCRACY BRIDGE: MULTILATERAL REGIONAL EFFORTS FOR THE PROMOTION AND DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA AND AMERICA

OAS Headquarters, 17th and Constitution
Washington, D.C.

July 10, 11 and 12, 2007

JULY 10, 2007
Closed working session between the members of the
Organization of American States and the African Union
chaired by Chairperson Alpha Konare, African Union
Commission and Jose Miguel Insulza,OAS Secretary General.
OAS Headquarters, Main Building.
Office of the Secretary General – Conference Room
15:30 – 17:00
Public Signing Ceremony
Hall of the Heroes
OAS Headquarters, Main Building
Signing of a “Statement of Intent to Cooperate” between the African Union Commission and the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States.
17:30 – 18:00
Reception hosted by the OAS Secretary General in honor of President Alpha Oumar Konare and the delegation of the African Union
Aztec Patio
OAS Headquarters, Main Building
18:00 -20:00


JULY 11, 2007
Registration and distribution of materials
Hall of the Americas

9:15-9:45
WELCOME/INAUGURATION
Hall of the Americas

Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General, Organization of American States.

Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson, African Union Commission.

Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State.

Deborah Mae-Lovell, Chairperson, OAS Permanent Council and
OAS Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda.

Abdoulaye Diop, Ambassador to the United States, Embassy of the Republic of Mali, Chairman, Convening Group of the Community of Democracies.

10:00-10:30
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
Hall of the Americas

Promoting Democracy in Latin America and Africa: From
Rhetoric to Reality

Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General, Organization of American States.

Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson, African Union Commission.
10:30-11:30
PLENARY PANEL DISCUSSION
Hall of the Americas

The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the Inter-American
Democratic Charter: Origins, Application and Challenges Ahead

Julia Dolly Joiner, Commissioner for Political Affairs, African Union Commission.

Humberto de la Calle, former Permanent Representative of Colombia to the Organization of American States.

Moderator and Commentator: Jean-Louis Roy, President of Rights and Democracy, Canada.
11:30–12:45
DISCUSSION
Hall of the Americas
12:45–13:30
LUNCH
Aztec Patio 13:30– 14:30

THEMATIC BREAKOUT SESSIONS
(Open to public and CSO) 14:30 – 15:45
Breakout Session #1: Strengthening Democratic Institutions and Promoting Democratic Values.

German Quintana, Director, OAS Department of Modernization of the State and Governance. Jean Michel Arrighi, Director, OAS Department of International Legal Affairs.

Emile Ognimba, Director for Political Affairs, AU Commission.

Breakout Session #2: Electoral Observation

Elizabeth Spehar, Director, OAS Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation.

Ambassador J. K. Shinkaiye, AU Commission.

Breakout Session #3: Political Dialogue and Conflict Prevention.

Victor Rico, Director, OAS Department of Democratic Sustainability and Special Missions.

El Ghassim Wane, Conflict Management Division, AU Commission.

Breakout Session #4: Protection and Promotion of Human Rights.

Victor Madrigal, Senior Adviser, Commission of Human Rights (ICHR).

Nega Girmachew Lulessa, Legal Officer and Secretary to the African Commission Working Group on Indigenous Communities/Populations. African Commission on Human & Peoples' Rights (ACHPR).

Breakout Session #5: Civil Society and Multilateral Organizations

Mariclaire Acosta, OAS Office for Civil Society Affairs.

Andrea Sanhueza, Participa (Chile).

Mr Akere Muna, Coalition of African Chapters of Transparency International and President Federation of Pan African Lawyers Barrister-at-Law (Cameroun).

Coffee Break 15:45-16:00

THEMATIC BREAKOUT SESSIONS. Same panels and structure.
(Au Commission and OAS General Secretariat Officials only)

16:00-17:30

JULY 12, 2007

KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
Hall of the Americas

Building a Democracy of Citizenship

Eduardo Stein, Vice President of Guatemala.

Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, former president of Cape Verde.

Dante Caputo, Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs,
Organization of American States.

Said Djinnit, Commissioner for Peace and Security,
African Union Commission.
9:00 – 10:00
DISCUSSION
Hall of the Americas
10:00 – 10:30
From Santiago to Bamako: Democracy Promotion within the
Community of Democracies Process

Introduction, Dante Caputo, OAS Under Secretary for Political Affairs.

Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary, Democracy and Global
Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
10:30 – 11:00

PLENARY PANEL DISCUSSION
Defending and Promoting Democracy: Regional Organizations and Universal Norms

Hannah Forster, Chair, Africa Democracy Forum.

Colin Granderson, Assistant Secretary General,
CARICOM Secretariat.

Abdoulaye Diop, Ambassador to the United States, Embassy of the Republic of Mali, Chairman, Convening Group of the Community of Democracies.

Moderator: Edward R. McMahon, Research Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Vermont.
11:00 – 12:00
DISCUSSION
Hall of the Americas 12:00:12:30
CLOSING REMARKS
Amb. Albert Ramdin, Assistant Secretary General, OAS.
12:30-13:00