World Democracy Conference: Will Words Lead to Action?

  
Late last month, leaders from around the world gathered in Warsaw for a global conference entitled "Toward a Community of Democracies," organized by Chile, South Korea, the United States, India, the Czech Republic and Poland. For two days, the officials discussed the present state of democracy and its future around the globe. More than 107 countries sent delegations to reaffirm the importance of promoting democratic systems of government. Especially noteworthy was the presence of representatives from Haiti and Peru, both of which have drawn international criticism for their handling of recent elections.

The conference concluded with a declaration signed by 106 countries supporting multiparty elections, human rights and transparency. The document establishes universal principles for measuring the progress of developing and mature democracies, setting standards for democratic consolidation in the twenty-first century. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan affirmed that the world is gradually moving toward a consolidation of democracy, and "it's not too much to dream" that one day all the members of the UN will be democratic states. "When the United Nations can truly call itself a community of democracies, then the noble ideas expressed in this declaration about the protection of human rights and promotion of social progress will be closer to reality," he said.

France abstained from the declaration, objecting that the conference seemed designed to force nondemocratic countries to adopt a democratic system of government. The French foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, called this effort "counterproductive," citing as examples the ineffective sanctions against Iraq and Yugoslavia. Vedrine argued that democracy is evolutionary, not revolutionary: "Many of us in the West think that democracy is like a religion, and that all you need is a process of conversion," he said. "I don't see it like that."

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright countered that "nobody wants to impose democracy on anyone." In her final address she stated, "We didn't come to Warsaw to impose democracy, because that would be an inherent contradiction. Dictatorships impose; democracies are elected."

The NGO Human Rights Watch sent a message of support to the conference, but expressed its disappointment at the presence of countries with one-party or repressive governments. "The concept of democracy is cheapened when conferences like these include one-party states and governments that regularly win 99% of the votes in elections," complained Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

Burmese pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi also gave her backing to the conference, arguing that "democratic institutions are essential for peace and unity within nations as well as for peace and harmony between different regions of the world." She urged conference participants to take concrete steps, noting that "we'd like to see more action and less talking."