Democracy Fundamental to Human Development, UNDP Reports

  
The concept of "inclusive democracy" embraces minority groups and encourages the distribution of political power. This definition is part of a proposal for a new model of democracy in the Human Development Report 2000, published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in late June. The model is based on the premise that "distributing power means expanding democracy" by granting access to minorities and guaranteeing full participation by all citizens.

"No country in the region has attained the levels needed for an inclusive democracy," said Eleana Mart�nez, director of the UNDP's Latin American and Caribbean Program. Latin America has showed progress in elections, Mart�nez noted, but governments in the region continue to deny basic rights to millions of their citizens. At the same time, inequality in many societies has deepened.

The UNDP report argues that democracy is the only system of government compatible with respect for economic, political, civil and cultural rights. It goes on to express concern over the lack of protection for human rights under many present democratic regimes. It begins by citing progress in several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile and Honduras, where the number of cases of torture reported to the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights declined from 156 in 1991 to 7 in 1996. And in Guatemala, development programs targeted at the country's indigenous population achieved a drop in infant mortality rates from 94 per 1,000 to 79. However, the report also identifies countries where violence and instability are the rule, such as Colombia, where the annual murder rate is 80 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Despite such cases, Latin America compares favorably to other parts of the world. Of a total of 174 countries analyzed, the majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries ranked toward the middle of the human development index. The exceptions were Argentina, Chile and Uruguay-ranked 35th, 38th and 39th, respectively-which were closer to the top of the list. The index considers such factors as financial security, life expectancy and education.

While noting these positive figures and statistics, however, the report gives the region low marks for human rights and development. Among the challenges facing Latin America, it cites basic freedoms vital for overcoming discrimination, misery, injustice and fear. "Human rights and human development share the same vision and the same goal: guaranteeing the freedom, well-being and dignity of all human beings," the report states. To achieve these guarantees, Latin America must eliminate social inequalities and poverty while promoting democracy and human rights. The report ends its discussion of democracy and human rights with 10 conditions necessary for attaining these goals, among them: an independent judiciary; the inclusion of minority groups in the decision-making process; political parties with an internal democratic structure; and protection and promotion of human rights.

"Fortunately," the report concludes, "countries no longer have to choose between authoritarianism and democracy. The task for the twenty-first century consists of deepening and enhancing fragile democracies."