Governing Council
Before the Governing Council was established, a Convening Group (CG) composed primarily of governments which initiated the Warsaw Conference governed the organization. All decisions were made by consensus. At the Vilnius Ministerial the CD formalized the Convening Group and established the Governing Council. The new Governing Council began with eighteen members and was expanded to include an additional 8 members at the first meeting in September, 2011. Former CG members were grandfathered in to the new Governing Council, and all other states which had been invited as participants to the Vilnius Ministerial were invited to express their interest in joining the expanded Governing Council. There is no time limit on membership nor any ceiling on the size of the Council.
In order to be considered for membership on the Council, new member states must respect the principles set forth in the Warsaw Declaration and the Criteria for Participation and Procedures (September 27, 2002), as reported by objective non-governmental reports. In addition, new member states should meet the following criteria and will be evaluated according to consistent standards: 1. Support emerging and transitional democracies and respond to situations involving a serious disruption of democratic governance consistent with the UN Charter and the Warsaw Declaration; 2. Participate in the UN Democracy Caucus in New York and Geneva; 3. Designate a Senior Official of the Foreign Ministry or other relevant government office as the point of contact for the CD; and 4. Make tangible contributions to strengthening the CD through one or more of the following measures: a. Contributing to the budget of the CD (it is recommended but not compulsory that all Governing Council states make a financial contribution, be it large or small, to the CD budget); b. Seconding staff to the Permanent Secretariat; and/or c. Playing an active role in and supporting one or more CD Working Groups and/or CD affiliated bodies such as the Parliamentary Forum and the International Steering Committee of Civil Society.
The Governing Council shall seek consensus but if necessary be able to make decisions by a qualified majority (2/3) of all its members after appropriate debate.
The Governing Council will meet at ministerial level at each of the Ministerial meetings and annually on the margins of the UNGA The Council would also meet from time to time at the call of the Presidency in the capital of the Presidency, in Washington, in Geneva, in Warsaw (headquarters of CD Permanent Secretariat), or in other cities as appropriate.
Read more about this topic: Community Of Democracies
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