Community of Democracies - Purpose and Structure

Purpose and Structure

The Community of Democracies aims to forge international consensus among countries committed to the democratic path on ways they can better work together to support and deepen democracy where it exists, and to defend it where threatened.

It is the mission of the Community of Democracies to support democratic transition and consolidation worldwide and help bridge the gap between principles of democracy and universal human rights and practice by:

• assisting societies in the development and strengthening of democratic institutions and values;
• identifying and responding, consistent with the UN Charter and the Warsaw Declaration to threats to democracy so as to assist states to remain on the path to democracy;
• supporting and defending civil society in all countries;
• advancing broad-based participation in democratic governance; and
• giving a voice to those working peacefully for democracy in all countries.

The Community of Democracies seeks to achieve these goals by: creating a global network of government representatives, members of legislative bodies, civil society and other stakeholders committed to these goals; sharing ideas, advice and best practices; providing opportunities for coordinating democracy support activities; and working towards a common democratic voice in international organizations.

Membership in the CD is reserved for governments that have shown a commitment to democratic governance as outlined in the Warsaw Declaration. The previous ministerial invitation process had come under criticism for being too lax, which undermined the credibility of the Community as an organization with a fully democratic membership.

The presidency of the CG rotates on a biennial basis. It is the responsibility of the presidential government to host the biennial ministerial conference, as well as carry out other CD initiatives.

In 2007, it was announced that a Permanent Secretariat would be established in Warsaw.

The CD was reformed in 2011 at the Vilnius Ministerial. The reform package included the establishment of a Governing Council, made up of the members of the previous governing body, the Convening Group. The Governing Council consists of 25 members:

• Canada
• Cape Verde
• Chile
• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Finland
• Hungary
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Lithuania
• Mali
• Mexico
• Mongolia
• Morocco
• Nigeria
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• South Africa
• Republic of Korea
• Sweden
• United States
• Uruguay