Presidency of the Community of Democracies

Media Note
Presidency of the Community of Democracies
Warsaw, Poland
July 29, 2015
 
 
On July 22-24, the eighth Ministerial Conference in San Salvador, El Salvador brought together close to 1,000 international participants to exchange experiences on how to strengthen democracy and promote and protect civil society. Those who attended represented youth, government, private sector and civil society groups, and contributed to the creation of the Ministerial Declaration, a shared set of values and principles to advance democracy around the world.
 
The Presidency of the Community of Democracies alters biennially, previously being held by El Salvador. On July 24, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, H.E. Hugo Martinez, conferred the Presidency of the Community of Democracies to Tom Malinowski, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the United States of America.
 
The Presidency transfer from El Salvador to the United States occurred in conclusion to three successful days of the Ministerial Conference, the Community of Democracies’ flagship biennial event which aims to highlight worldwide development of democracy, civil society and human rights. The announcement was made via a surprise address from the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, who emphasized the international need to strengthen democratic institutions and expand alliances to push back against those stifling voices of peaceful citizens.
 
The Community of Democracies will be holding its first Governing Council meeting to discuss the new leadership in September, 2015.  The United States’ foreign policy is greatly focused on promoting freedom and democracy as well as protecting human rights. The United States has a proven track record of supporting those who long to live in freedom with a wide range of tools to advance a freedom agenda.

The Community of Democracies looks forward to its new Presidency as well as to the cooperation with the United States of America.