SPEECHES : JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
OPENING SESSION OF THE SEMINAR DEMOCRACY BRIDGE: MULTILATERAL REGIONAL EFFORTS FOR THE PROMOTION AND DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA AND AMERICA
July 11, 2007 - Washington, DC



Convergence between Africa and the Americas is as necessary as it is inevitable. Uniting us is the presence in the Americas of millions of persons of African descent who are fully integrated – politically, socially, and economically – into our societies. We are proud of the fact that these persons of African descent constitute a majority of the population of the Caribbean, well over one third of the population of Latin America, and an active and prominent minority in North America. Their presence enhances our diversity and enriches our culture.

We are also bound together by common challenges and issues.

It is these issues and challenges that we wish to examine at the meeting we are inaugurating today, in the hope that we can build a bridge of democracy between our two continents. I take this opportunity to thank the Governments of the United States and Portugal who have contributed decisively to its accomplishment.

This is not our first bridge-building effort. Back in 2001, under the auspices of the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies, the Organization of American States organized a meeting with representatives of the African Union in this same city to analyze “The Role of Regional and Multilateral Organizations in the Promotion and Defense of Democracy.”

At that meeting, we were able to establish an agenda of actions for regional and multilateral organizations that included concrete instruments for strengthening democracy. Participants also explored new areas of inter-institutional assistance and cooperation and underscored the need to work hand in hand with civil society.

In the time that has elapsed between that meeting and this, our regional organizations have made significant efforts to endow our States with clear and definitive concepts and guidelines regarding democracy and its institutions. As of today, we will have the opportunity to discover, examine, and share the outcomes of those efforts, especially those expressed in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, signed by the governments of the Americas in 2001, and in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, signed in January 2007.

The concept of democracy agreed upon by the American States and which they decided to build into the Inter American Democratic Charter is clear, extensive and demanding. It includes requirements rooted in the very formation of a democratic government, but also a set of values proclaimed as “essential” or “fundamental” to any exercise of democracy.

For a government to be democratic, according to the Inter-American Democratic Charter, it is not enough for it to be a majority government elected in totally valid elections. In addition to the pre-conditions (periodical, free, and fair elections and secret balloting), the Charter posits “essential” conditions related to two further political categories: the form of organization of the State – i.e., a constitutional regime comprising representative democracy, the rule of law, independence of the branches of government, a pluralist system of political parties, transparent and responsible government, and subordination to legitimate authority – and respect for citizens’ fundamental rights, that is to say, human and social rights, freedom of expression and of the press, and citizen participation.

After establishing that democracy and economic and social development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, the same Charter makes clear that poverty and illiteracy, among other social issues, detract from the development of democracy. In that framework, it commits governments to promoting and observing economic and social rights and to respecting the rights of workers. It also resolutely condemns any form of discrimination, pointing out that its total elimination strengthens democracy and citizen participation. The last article of the Inter-American Democratic Charter commits signatory states to promoting the full and equal participation of women in the political structures of society.

Mention of our achievements in the field of democracy and freedom would not be complete without mentioning our system for the protection and promotion of human rights. We are proud of our Interamerican Commission, Court and Institute of Human Rights. These three institutions are the centerpiece of a vigorous and independent system, that has made essential contributions to the protection of lives, freedoms and fundamental values in more troubled periods of our history. Our aim is to make this system fully universal in our region and to achieve full compliance for its decisions.

Despite these statements of values and commitments, we are not yet fully satisfied because we consider that without progress on the economic and social fronts it is not possible to preserve and broaden a democracy that truly lives up to the expectations of citizens. We believe that unless we make an effort to move beyond just “political citizenship” to attain what we call “social citizenship,” we run the risk of all our definitions and democratic declarations ending up as vacuous platitudes repeated in meaningless speeches.

Dear friends: These are some of the themes we want to revise with you. For that reason is so satisfactory for me to welcome, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States, the distinguished authorities, experts, and governmental representatives of the African Union, as well as the representatives of nongovernmental organizations in both Africa and the Americas, participating in this meeting.

Together with you, we hope not only to explore the opportunities opened up for us by the regional legal instruments we have developed in recent years, but also to examine specific aspects of our activities, such as the strengthening of democratic institutions, the protection of human rights, electoral observation, and other activities.

We are sure that, thanks to your efforts, this meeting will help pinpoint concrete ways to stimulate and reinforce regional mechanisms for the support and defense of democracy, both in Africa and in America.

Thank you very much and, once again, welcome.