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 OASto strengthen
democratic institutions through programs that help the states requesting such assistance
increase their own ability to improve their political organization modelsare
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:
- 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).
- 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.
- 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 democracyparticularly to the Unit for the Promotion of
Democracy in the pursuit of its objectives and the implementation of its work plans.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- To instruct the Permanent Council, through the Working Group on Representative
Democracy, to continue the study on incentives to preserve and strengthen democratic
systems.
- 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).
- 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.
- To instruct the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its
twenty-eighth regular session on the implementation of this resolution.
Documents of the OAS