Roundtable on Special Summit Theme: Democratic Governance

Vancouver, October 6, 2003

Renata E. Wielgosz, Director for Inter-American Affairs, led an informal roundtable co–organized with the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the Political Science Department of the University of British Columbia.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, offered brief opening remarks that helped focus the discussion on democratic governance. In particular, he drew from the example of Colombia, highlighting the importance of reconciling any prospective peace with justice. He underscored the role of NGOs and emphasized the need for increased Canadian engagement in Colombia.

Ms. Wielgosz then began the discussion by providing an update on the state of the hemisphere and outlining recent developments pertinent to the discussion on democratic governance. She also mentioned that while Canada had proposed and provided the rationale for the Special Summit of the Americas (January 12-13, Mexico), Mexico is now chairing the preparatory process and, as a result, Canada's role, although still substantial, is less influential with regard to the organizational aspects of the event than when Canada was the host country. We are continuing to promote and push for increased transparency and citizen engagement, along with like-minded countries.

She then outlined briefly some of the changes that occurred in the hemisphere, with particular reference to political parties and the law-making process, noting that the improvements were highly uneven across the countries. The Summit of the Americas was innovative by not only adopting a Democracy Clause, which exists within the framework of other regional mechanism, but also by mandating the development of an Inter-American Democratic Charter. The Charter, adopted in September 2001, is a key elements in strengthening democracy and implementing benchmarks in the region. At the June 2003 OAS General Assembly, held in Chile, OAS member states adopted the "Declaration of Santiago on Democracy and Public Trust: A New Commitment to Good Governance for the Americas". This Declaration outlines the importance of strengthening political parties; implementing elements of the Inter-American Democratic Charter; and ensuring greater transparency within the countries. It was developed in preparation for the work that will be done on democratic governance in the context of the Special Summit.

During the ensuing discussion, the following points were made:

• Participants generally agreed that great advances had been made in the area of democracy since the Quebec City Summit and that a relationship does exist between democracy and development. However, there is a growing trend of impatience in the region because democracy does not seem to deliver quickly enough on the promises of greater prosperity and increased standards of living.

• Now that the Organization of American States and the Summit of the Americas process have given themselves the instruments to ensure that all Summit countries respect democratic principles, it is key to have a monitoring mechanism to ensure that these instruments are used. Ideas proposed included: the creation of a virtual policy institute - i.e. a group of Friends of the Charter; the creation of a governance institute; and the development of tools which will provide support in assessing the state of democracies in the countries of the region.

• The preventive aspect of the Charter is innovative in Inter-American relations and should be further promoted so that more countries can make use of the various tool the Charter offers in order to gain support for policy reforms and legislation implementation in their countries.

• Several participants proposed that the principal areas of focus for further work - and for the Summit Declaration - should be judicial reform, sustainable development and the rule of law. Human rights must not be forgotten; the issue of Canada signing/ratifying the American Convention on Human Rights was raised. There was also concern expressed about US pressure on countries to not sign onto the ICC and it was suggested that Canada's bilateral support for those countries - particularly the work of their NGOs and civil society - was more critical than ever.

• Endemic corruption and lack of transparency are at the heart of the issues which Leaders need to tackle seriously in the region because a lack of trust in public institutions leads to increased violence. This situation has been most critical in the past months in the Andean region, where there is a high level of social unrest.

• The security issues of concern in the region are quite broad and range from macro issues regarding judicial aspects, such as the nomination of judges, to respect for the court process and the rule of law, to the personal security of citizens provided by the police force. More attention needs to be paid to the police and state order as well as to civil/military relations.

• The interdependence between democracy/good governance and development was highlighted. Public dissatisfaction with market reforms over the last decade needs to be addressed as does the need to invest more actively in public institutions. Monitoring of democracies might draw on tools that are already available - such as the UN Human Development Report which already focusses on the democratic process and could guide development of a more regular and constructive monitoring process in the region. Work on access to information and political party financing should be supported further.

• Tax collection is an important problematic in most of Latin America, and stems from the lack of trust of citizens in that their tax money will yield well-designed social programmes, in particular in the areas of access to health and education, but also pension schemes and infrastructure which can generate economic development. Attention should be given to helping countries (i.e., best practices) put in place viable taxation systems.

• Participants questioned the effect that the Cancun WTO meeting results would have on the hemispheric cooperation process. Beyond the negotiation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas, they wondered whether the position taken by some countries in Cancun would lead to a divide in the hemisphere.

• Institutional reforms: While much is being done in terms of exchanging best practices, and while some countries, such as Canada, may have interesting models to follow in terms of good governance, it is important to empower the countries so that they are the chief executors of their own reform agendas. The process of exchanges of best practices has to be a two-way road if it is meant to constructively engage the countries.

• There is not enough connection between the mandates of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the work of the development banks. Their policies should be more connected to the political agenda agreed by the Summit of the Americas process.

• Civil society needs to be actively supported in its work so that it could have a more direct voice in creating solutions that work. For example, environmental groups are doing much useful work on the ground. They should be given the possibility of having greater impact on the work of the Summit partner institutions. Language regarding partner institutions should be more specific in declarations and plans of action.

• Civil society could play a useful role in independently providing an evaluation and analysis of progress on implementing the Quebec City Summit Plan of Action.

• There was concern expressed over foreign debt and its impact on financial resources that might otherwise be dedicated to public policy programs. It was suggested that links be created between the Summit process institutions and the IMF.

• Sustained attention must continue to be given to basic key issues such as child soldiers, empowering women as agents of peace where their voices are under-represented, and the ongoing need for monitoring election results, including by civil society groups.

• It was suggested that the Special Summit Declaration link issues of labour and labour standards to the problem of unemployment afflicting the region. A proposed focus was to ensure a fair and just transition with respect to labour, particularly its related health and environmental aspects.

• The prospect of applying the rule of law at the international level - i.e., ensuring the accountability of countries/governments - was raised.

Finally, the participants agreed that it was key for the governments to continue engaging civil society organizations and expressed their aspiration to see a dialogue taking place at the hemispheric level between civil society actors and governments both in the lead up to and at the time of the Special Summit in Monterrey.