Community of Democracies - Non-governmental Process

Non-governmental Process

During the initial CD meeting in Warsaw, Madeleine Albright spoke at a parallel meeting of civil society actors called the “World Forum on Democracy,” organized by U.S. based Freedom House and the Stefan Batory Foundation of Poland. Addressing the audience of over 300 NGO representatives, democracy promoters, and civil society leaders from 80 nations, Albright affirmed the need for governments to work together with civil society in support of democracy. In subsequent ministerial conferences, the civil society component of the CD was strengthened and further developed and emerged out of the preparations for the Santiago Ministerial Conference as the “non-governmental process of the Community of Democracies.”

The “non-governmental process” refers to the non-governmental members of the CD movement, including civil society organizations, foundations, academics, and experts devoted to promoting democracy. The non-governmental component of the CD serves mainly as a conduit for information and advice to the governments. An Executive Secretariat, composed of NGOs from the host country, coordinates the activities of the non-governmental process in preparation for the upcoming ministerial meeting. Leading up to the 2005 meeting in Santiago, the Chilean Executive Secretariat coordinated meetings of NGOs in six regions where civil society representatives met to discuss challenges and democracy deficits in their respective regions. The findings of the workshops were compiled and presented before government representatives at the Ministerial Conference in Santiago.

In addition to the Executive Secretariat, a “Global Issues Group” of non-state actors was formed to focus on proposals to strengthen the governmental process of the CD. The Global Issues Group, comprising various civil society organizations from around the world, among other proposals, sought to create objective criteria for CD membership based on the principles laid out in the Warsaw Declarations and reaffirmed by the convening group in Seoul. Based on these criteria, The Democracy Coalition Project and Freedom House presented a final report to the Convening Group governments, entitled “Country Assessments: Invitation Process for the Community of Democracies,” which examines 30 countries on their fitness to participate as full members in the Community of Democracies.

While governments are not bound to adopt the proposals of the non-governmental process, the framework of the Community of Democracies provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and experience between governments and civil society actors.

The Global Issues Group became what is today, the “International Steering Committee” (ISC) of the non-governmental process. The ISC is made up of 20 representatives of civil society organizations, from five regions of the world and a representative of the Executive Secretariat. The Council for a Community of Democracies in Washington, D.C., serves as the secretariat for the ISC.