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15 September 2004 The following is one of a series of seven fact sheets describing U.S. goals at the 59th session of the United Nations General Assembly: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE "Lasting peace is gained as justice and democracy advance." -- President George W. Bush, November 19, 2003 "When the United Nations can truly call itself a community of democracies, the Charter's noble ideals of protecting human rights and promoting 'social progress in larger freedoms' will have been brought much closer. When the founders of the United Nations met in San Francisco more than half a century ago, they knew that no foundation of peace would be sturdier than democratic government." -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, June 27, 2000 Democratic nations share a common commitment to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. The United States believes that democratic nations must work more closely together in order to help the United Nations live up to its founding principles. Through the formation of a Democracy Caucus at the United Nations -- a network of democratic nations working together -- the U.S. can advance the work of the U.N. in areas such as human rights, good governance, and the rule of law. A Democracy Caucus is not intended to supplant long-standing regional or other groupings, but rather to provide an added mechanism for like-minded democratic nations to cooperate. It will serve as a supplementary network that countries use to cooperate on resolutions and alternatives. In the Warsaw Declaration of June 27, 2000, more than 100 nations acknowledged the interdependence between peace, development, human rights, and democracy. This Community of Democracies, whose members meet standards set out in the Warsaw Declaration, has formed the basis of a Democracy Caucus in the U.N. By advancing democracy, the caucus will in turn advance the U.N.'s
basic aims of preserving peace, expanding economic development,
and securing human rights. The Democracy Caucus is essential to
creating an international environment in which democracy can flourish.
The United States will work with other nations based on the idea
that reinforcing democratic institutions should be the goal of
every U.N. program. U.N. resolutions must better reflect internationally accepted
human rights standards and democratic principles. A Democracy
Caucus can collaborate in drafting, introducing, and supporting
the most vital human rights resolutions. Working together, democracies
can help advance rule of law norms internationally and can better
establish human rights standards. The United States hopes to work with a Democracy Caucus to ensure that democratic nations are encouraged to become strong and active participants in U.N. programs, such as the United Nations Development Program, and other U.N. bodies such as the Commission on Human Rights, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Office (ILO), and other U.N. programs that contribute to the rule of law and basic freedoms. (end fact sheet)
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