Community of Democraties

Warsaw Declaration

Toward a Community of Democracies
Ministerial Conference
Final Warsaw Declaration

Warsaw, Poland, June 27, 2000

We the participants from✳

Republic of Albania, People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Argentine Republic, Republic ofArmenia, Australia, Republic of Austria, Azerbaijani Republic, People's Republic of Bangladesh,Kingdom of Belgium, Belize, Republic of Benin, Republic of Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,Republic of Botswana, Federative Republic of Brazil, Republic of Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,Canada, Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Chile, Republic of Colombia, Republic of CostaRica, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Kingdom of Denmark,Commonwealth of Dominica, Dominican Republic, Republic of Ecuador, Arab Republic ofEgypt, Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Estonia, Republic of Finland, Georgia, FederalRepublic of Germany, Republic of Guatemala, Republic of Haiti, Hellenic Republic, Republic ofHungary, Republic of Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Ireland, State of Israel,Italian Republic, Japan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Korea,State of Kuwait, Republic of Latvia, Kingdom of Lesotho, Principality of Liechtenstein,Republic of Lithuania, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic ofMauritius, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Mongolia, Kingdom ofMorocco, Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Namibia, Kingdom of Nepal, Kingdom of theNetherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Nicaragua, Republic of the Niger, Federal Republic ofNigeria, Kingdom of Norway, Republic of Panama, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Paraguay,Republic of Peru, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Poland, Portuguese Republic, State ofQatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Democratic Republic of Sao Tome andPrincipe, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Seychelles, Slovak Republic, Republic of Slovenia,Republic of South Africa, Kingdom of Spain, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,Kingdom of Sweden, Swiss Confederation, United Republic of Tanzania, Kingdom of Thailand,Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain andNorthern Ireland, United States of America, Eastern Republic of Uruguay, Bolivarian Republicof Venezuela, Republic of Yemen,

in the Community of Democracies Ministerial Meeting convened in Warsaw, 26 - 27 June 2000:

Expressing our common adherence to the purposes and principles set forth in the Charter of theUnited Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Reaffirming our commitment to respect relevant instruments of international law,

Emphasizing the interdependence between peace, development, human rights and democracyRecognizing the universality of democratic values,

✳ Following the Warsaw Meeting, the governments of Honduras, Suriname, Guyana, and Yugoslavia signed the Declaration.

Hereby agree to respect and uphold the following core democratic principles and practices:

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government, as expressed byexercise of the right and civic duties of citizens to choose their representatives throughregular, free and fair elections with universal and equal suffrage, open to multiple parties,conducted by secret ballot, monitored by independent electoral authorities, and free offraud and intimidation.

The right of every person to equal access to public service and to take part in the conductof public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

The right of every person to equal protection of the law, without any discrimination as torace, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,property, birth or other status.

The right of every person to freedom of opinion and of expression, including to exchangeand receive ideas and information through any media, regardless of frontiers.

The right of every person to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

The right of every person to equal access to education.

The right of the press to collect, report and disseminate information, news and opinions,subject only to restrictions necessary in a democratic society and prescribed by law, whilebearing in mind evolving international practices in this field.

The right of every person to respect for private family life, home, correspondence,including electronic communications, free of arbitrary or unlawful interference.

The right of every person to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including toestablish or join their own political parties, civic groups, trade unions or otherorganizations with the necessary legal guarantees to allow them to operate freely on abasis of equal treatment before the law.

The right of persons belonging to minorities or disadvantaged groups to equal protectionof the law, and the freedom to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their ownreligion, and use their own language.

The right of every person to be free from arbitrary arrest or detention; to be free fromtorture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment; and to receivedue process of law, including to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court oflaw.

That the aforementioned rights, which are essential to full and effective participation in ademocratic society, be enforced by a competent, independent and impartial judiciaryopen to the public, established and protected by law.

That elected leaders uphold the law and function strictly in accordance with theconstitution of the country concerned and procedures established by law.

The right of those duly elected to form a government, assume office and fulfill the termof office as legally established.

The obligation of an elected government to refrain from extra-constitutional actions, toallow the holding of periodic elections and to respect their results, and to relinquishpower when its legal mandate ends.

That government institutions be transparent, participatory and fully accountable to thecitizenry of the country and take steps to combat corruption, which corrodes democracy.

That the legislature be duly elected and transparent and accountable to the people.

That civilian, democratic control over the military be established and preserved.

That all human rights -- civil, cultural, economic, political and social - be promoted andprotected as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevanthuman rights instruments.

The Community of Democracies affirms our determination to work together to promote andstrengthen democracy, recognizing that we are at differing stages in our democraticdevelopment. We will cooperate to consolidate and strengthen democratic institutions, with duerespect for sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in internal affairs. Our goal is tosupport adherence to common democratic values and standards, as outlined above. To that end,our governments hereby agree to abide by these principles in practice, and to support one anotherin meeting these objectives which we set for ourselves today.

We will seek to strengthen institutions and processes of democracy. We appreciate the value ofexchanging experiences in the consolidation of democracy and identifying best practices. Wewill promote discussions and, where appropriate, create forums on subjects relevant todemocratic governance for the purpose of continuing and deepening our dialogue ondemocratization. We would focus our deliberations on our common principles and values ratherthan extraneous bilateral issues between members. We resolve jointly to cooperate to discourageand resist the threat to democracy posed by the overthrow of constitutionally electedgovernments. We resolve to strengthen cooperation to face the transnational challenges todemocracy, such as state-sponsored, cross-border and other forms of terrorism; organized crime;corruption; drug trafficking; illegal arms trafficking; trafficking in human beings and moneylaundering, and to do so in accordance with respect for human rights of all persons and for thenorms of international law.

We will encourage political leaders to uphold the values of tolerance and compromise thatunderpin effective democratic systems, and to promote respect for pluralism so as to enablesocieties to retain their multi-cultural character, and at the same time maintain stability and socialcohesion. We reject ethnic and religious hatred, violence and other forms of extremism. We willalso promote civil society, including women's organizations, non-governmental organizations,labor and business associations, and independent media in their exercise of their democraticrights. Informed participation by all elements of society, men and women, in a country'seconomic and political life, including by persons belonging to minority groups, is fundamental toa vibrant and durable democracy.

We will help to promote government-to-government and people-to-people linkages and promotecivic education and literacy, including education for democracy. In these ways we willstrengthen democratic institutions and practices and support the diffusion of democratic normsand values.

We will work with relevant institutions and international organizations, civil society andgovernments to coordinate support for new and emerging democratic societies.

We recognize the importance our citizens place on the improvement of living conditions. Wealso recognize the mutually-reinforcing benefits the democratic process offers to achievingsustained economic growth. To that end, we will seek to assist each other in economic and socialdevelopment, including eradication of poverty, as an essential contributing factor to thepromotion and preservation of democratic development.

We will collaborate on democracy-related issues in existing international and regionalinstitutions, forming coalitions and caucuses to support resolutions and other internationalactivities aimed at the promotion of democratic governance. This will help to create an externalenvironment conducive to democratic development.

Final, June 27, 2 p.m.