Publication

Activities

DCP Releases 65th UN General Assembly Scorecard

The Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) has published its annual UNGA Scorecard on the voting record of UN member states on select human rights resolutions put before the 65th session of the General Assembly. The 2010 session was characterized by increased cross-regional support for human rights resolutions, progress on issues related to sexual orientation, and decreased support for the "combating defamation of religions" resolution. In addition, emerging democratic powers in the global South, including South Africa, Nigeria and Brazil, improved their positions on country resolutions.

The recurring resolutions on Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea were adopted with greater cross-regional approval from UN Member States reflecting international concern about ongoing grave human rights abuses. Unfortunately, the annual resolution on Myanmar lost support from a number of Asian and African Member States after the release of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi despite the continued imprisonment of more than 2,100 political prisoners.

To read more about the 65th session of the General Assembly, please read DCP's 2010 UNGA Scorecard by clicking here.

Human Rights Council Report Card: Government Positions on Key Issues 2009-2010

The Democracy Coalition Project is pleased to release its annual report, “Human Rights Council Report Card: Government Positions on Key Issues 2009-2010.” The report assesses the work of the Council on important issues debated by the body during its fourth year of work from July 2009-June 2010.

In its first full year since the United States joined the Human Rights Council, the body has seen significant improvements in addressing gross violations of human rights in several countries; however, it has been unable to engage on new situations when the state in question has refused cooperation and genuine dialogue. The unbalanced response to serious situations indicates the need for improvements to the body's functioning. As the Human Rights Council undergoes its five-year review, governments, NGOs, and human rights experts will have a critical opportunity to re-examine the body's effectiveness in promoting and protecting human rights.

DCP hopes that this report will serve to assist governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to take stock of the achievements and challenges facing the international community in the promotion of universal human rights standards and democratic development.

To read the report in Spanish, click here.
To read the report in French, click here.

HRW Publishes Report on the 2011 Review of the UN Human Rights Council

On June 24, 2010 Human Rights Watch released a report urging the UN Human Rights Council to use its upcoming review as an opportunity to develop approaches that effectively address human rights violations wherever they occur. Curing the Selectivity Syndrome examines the successes and failures of the Human Rights Council to date, and finds significant gaps in the performance of its mandate. Human Rights Watch also calls on the Council to engage on all human rights situations that need its attention and to overcome selectivity in its work.

64th UN General Assembly Scorecard: Expansion of support for country resolutions

The Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) has published its annual UNGA Scorecard on the voting record of UN member states on select human rights resolutions put before the 64th session of the General Assembly. The 2009 session saw an expansion of support for resolutions dealing with specific human rights violations. Three recurring resolutions on violations of human rights in Iran, Myanmar, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea saw noticeable increases in cross-regional support from UN member states. A resolution on the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict also received resounding support, signaling increased resolve and a more even handed approach to prevent impunity on violations in the conflict.

More states upheld the principle of freedom of expression by withdrawing their support the resolution on “combating defamation of religion,” but during the session, UN special procedure mandate holders, civil society and human rights defenders were subject to increased attacks by select states for speaking out on human rights violations and lending their expertise to UN instruments.

To read more about the 64th session of the General Assembly, please read DCP's 2009 UNGA Scorecard by clicking here.

To read the report in Spanish, click here.
To read the report in French, click here.

DCP Publishes Human Rights Council Report Card: Government Positions on Key Issues 2008-2009

In timing with International Human Rights Day, the Democracy Coalition Project has published its annual report on government performance at the UN Human Rights Council.The report, “Human Rights Council Report Card: Government Positions on Key Issues 2008-2009”, assesses the work of the Human Rights Council (Council) by studying the positions and votes of governments on important issues debated by the body during its third cycle. DCP’s annual assessments are aimed to increase transparency and accountability of the work of the United Nations and its individual member states in the promotion of universal human rights standards and democratic development. The report is designed to assist governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in taking stock of the achievements and challenges facing the international community in making progress toward the realization of the universal rights guaranteed to its citizens in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

To read the report in Spanish, click here.
To read the report in French, click here.
To read the report in Arabic, click here.
To read the report in Russian, click here.

63rd UN General Assembly Scorecard: Achievements Mark 60th Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) has published its annual voting record of U.N. member states on select human rights resolutions put before the 63rd session of the General Assembly. DCP’s 2008 UNGA scorecard and analysis examines the voting positions taken by all U.N. states on six adopted resolutions that were considered barometers of a country’s approach to key human rights issues before the UN: resolutions on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, and combating defamation of religions, as well as resolutions on the human rights situations in Myanmar, North Korea, and Iran. This year's scorecard analyzes the change in government positions on these same issues as addressed at the 61st and 62nd sessions of the General Assembly.

For copies of the UNGA scorecard in French, click here. In Spanish, click here.

DCP Publishes Annual Human Rights Council Report Card for 2007-2008

The Democracy Coalition Project has released its annual independent analysis of government performance during the second year of the new UN Human Rights Council entitled “Human Rights Council Report Card: Government Positions on Key Issues 2007-2008.”The analysis charts the positions of governments on key thematic and country specific proposals during the second cycle, as well as debates surrounding the Council's working methods and procedures such as country scrutiny and NGO participation. The report card also analyzes the trends and voting patterns observed among the regional and cross-regional blocs active at the Council. The report is designed to assist human rights advocates as they work to strengthen the Council's attention to serious human rights issues.

To read the report in Spanish, click here.

To read the report in French, click here.

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DCP Board Member Publishes Article on Work of NGOs at Human Rights Council

DCP Board Member, Theodore Piccone, has written an op-ed titled "Score One for the NGOs" that is published in the July 5, 2008 edition of the Washington Post. This article highlights the work of nongovernmental organizations in strengthening the UN Human Rights Council.

UN General Assembly approves landmark text on death penalty, affirms practice of censuring human rights violators

The Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) has published its annual voting record of U.N. member states on select human rights resolutions put before the 62nd session of the General Assembly. DCP’s 2007 UNGA scorecard and analysis examines the voting positions taken by all U.N. states on five adopted resolutions that were considered barometers of a country’s approach to key human rights issues before the UN: a landmark resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty and resolutions on the human rights situations in Myanmar, North Korea, Iran and Belarus. This year, all “no action motions” were rejected, and a broad cross-regional group of states pushed through the groundbreaking death penalty measure after two failed attempts in 1994 and 1999.

Human Rights Council Report Card: Government Positions on Key Issues 2006-2007

The Democracy Coalition Project has released an independent analysis of government performance during the first year of the new UN Human Rights Council entitled “Human Rights Council Report Card: Government Positions on Key Issues 2006-2007.” The analysis charts the positions of governments on key proposals related to institutional reforms and country specific situations of major concern to the human rights community. The conclusions of the report underscore the need to develop cross-regional coalitions in order to build a credible and vigorous UN human rights system. The report is designed to help human rights advocates as they pursue strategies to strengthen the Council's attention to serious human rights issues; it will also help them evaluate how governments measure up as candidates for election of new Council members. DCP plans to publish these report cards on an ongoing basis.

For information on the methodology used and an anlysis of the findings, click here.

To view the full chart on Government Positions on Key Issues 2006-2007, click here.

To view the chart on Establishing a credible Universal Periodic Review mechanism, click here.

To view the chart on Protecting the Independence of the Special Procedures, click here.

To view the chart on Addressing Country Human Rights Situations, click here.

To view the chart on Addressing Country-Specific Human Rights Situations:
Darfur, click here.

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DCP Releases Publication: Strategies for Democratic Change: Assessing the Global Response

The Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) and Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE) have published a book that examines how the international community has responded to recent threats to democracy in seven countries. Strategies for Democratic Change: Assessing the Global Response, provides an in-depth analysis of how EU states, the United States and other international actors can better fulfil their commitments to support democracy by coordinating common strategies. The book examines what the international community has done recently to advance democratic transition and consolidation in Myanmar, Togo, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe, and how it could do better. Strategies for Democratic Change is a timely contribution to the ongoing debate on democracy promotion, in a context in which recent events in Iraq and Afghanistan and the "colour revolutions" have brought this issue to the top of the international agenda. The joint publication, edited by DCP's Executive Director, Ted Piccone, and by FRIDE's Co-director and Coordinator of the Democratisation programme Richard Youngs, was presented at a policy forum in Brussels, on June 20, 2006.

You can download the book by parts here:
•  Title Pages
•  Preface
•  Overview
•  Chapter 1: Burma (Myanmar)*
•  Chapter 2: Togo
•  Chapter 3: Turkey
•  Chapter 4: Ukraine
•  Chapter 5: Venezuela
•  Chapter 6: Yemen
•  Chapter 7: Zimbabwe
•  Appendix: List of Contributors

Download a copy of the press release on the book

*Myanmar is the term for the country used officially by the United Nations.

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Democracy Coalition Project Releases Scorecard of Voting Patterns on Human Rights abuses by UN Member States at the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations

The Democracy Coalition Project has carried out a study on the voting patterns of UN Member States at the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations. The analysis is based on a scorecard that records the voting on the seven country resolutions condeming Human Rights abuses in specific states that were presented to the General Assembly's 3rd Committee in the Fall of 2005. Six of the seven resolutions were approved, a trend that shows an increase in censure of Human Rights violations by the international community.

DCP Publishes Chapter in Restoring American Leadership: 13 Cooperative Steps to Advance Global Progress

DCP's Executive Director, Theodore J. Piccone, has written an article that is published as a chapter in Restoring American Leadership: 13 Cooperative Steps to Advance Global Progress (ed. Chuck Sudetic, 2005, Open Society Institute and The Century Foundation). This paper explores what the United States should do to improve coordination with allies to promote democracy.

Improve Coordination with Allies to Promote Democracy
by Theodore J. Piccone.

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DCP Publishes Chapter in Protecting Democracy: International Responses

DCP's Executive Director, Theodore J. Piccone, has written a paper that will be published as a chapter in Protecting Democracy: International Responses (eds. Morton H. Halperin and Mirna Galic, forthcoming, Lexington Books). This paper compares the key elements of democracy clauses that currently exist and, based on that analysis, presents a model democracy clause that tries to reflect and integrate best practices in the field of international relations.

International Mechanisms for Protecting Democracy
by Theodore J. Piccone.
For a hard copy please contact DCP at info@demcoalition.org

DCP Releases Scorecard of Voting Patterns of UN Democracy Caucus Countries At 59th UNGA (2004)

On January 10, 2005 DCP released an analysis and scorecard of the voting patterns of members of the UN Democracy Caucus on key country resolutions at the 59th UN General Assembly. The analysis shows that there is little consensus among UN Democracy Caucus members to condemn even some of the worst violators of human rights, as some democratic governments continue to prioritize regional or north/south alliances when casting votes.

The Democracy Coalition Project’s assessment suggests that democratic regimes are not inclined to vote as a unified bloc for resolutions critical of human rights violations, but instead to continue to vote along regional and sub-regional lines. Non-democratic regimes, on the other hand, remain united against any move to erode the principle of “non-intervention in sovereign affairs,” regardless of the severity of the documented abuses against unarmed civilians.

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International Status of the Right to Vote
In November 2003 DCP issued a paper comparing right to vote provisions in over 100 democratic constitutions around the world. DCP Research Assistant, Alex Kirshner, presented the paper to US voting rights groups who gathered to discuss the legal and political merits of a campaign to amend the U.S. Constitution to guarantee the right to vote. To read his paper, click here.

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DCP publishes Regime Change by the Book

The Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) has released a new publication, Regime Change by the Book, examining how democracies should manage a crisis of leadership without provoking a crisis of regime. Building on the landmark report “Threats to Democracy: Prevention and Response,” issued by the Council on Foreign Relations, DCP examines four categories of legal regime change outside of national elections—recall and votes of no confidence, impeachment, succession, and criminalization of unconstitutional seizures of power. The report’s premise is that, in order to avoid sliding backwards to authoritarian rule, democratic governments should take steps to ensure continuity of democratic government when political leaders face pressures, sometimes violent, to step down from power. The report offers a set of practical recommendations to politicians, their lawyers and advisors for constitutional reforms which would safeguard democracy during emergencies and further consolidate the rule of law.

Read the One Page Summary
Download the entire report (16MB)

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Defending Democracy:
A Global Survey of Foreign Policy Trends 1992–2002

Survey Rates 40 Countries on Pro-Democracy Policies

The first-ever survey assessing how democratic governments pursue a democratic foreign policy concludes that governments are doing a better job of promoting democracy beyond their borders, but still put other interests first when dealing with dictatorships or responding to violations of democratic rights.

Defending Democracy: A Global Survey of Foreign Policy Trends 1992–2002, released in October, 2002, grades 40 countries on implementation of their pledges to protect and promote democracy, based on their response to such events as General Musharaff's coup in Pakistan, flawed elections in Zimbabwe earlier this year, and the attempted ouster of Venezuelan President Chavez in April. Each surveyed state is given a "defending democracy" rating ranging from very good to poor.

For a full copy of the press release, click here.

The survey is being released in conjunction with the November 2002 meeting of the Community of Democracies in Seoul. It was conducted by the Democracy Coalition Project and funded by the Open Society Institute.

•  Executive Summary
•  Individual Country Reports
•  Tables and Charts summarizing findings
•  Methodology
•  Regional Organizations’ Fact Sheets
•  Case Studies (16 case studies were used by the Survey Project Team as seminal events which tested the democratic community's willingness to promote and defend democracy abroad.

If you would like to read the report in its entirety, including 40 country specific reports, you may download it here (PDF, 16 MB).

To receive a hard copy of this report, please contact our office:

info@demcoalition.org
1.202.721.5630 Telephone
1.202.721.5658 Fax
1120 19th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20036

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	DCP Executive Director, Ted Piccone, meets Spanish King Juan Carlos at the Second General Assembly of the Club of Madrid.

Democracy Update December 2003

The third edition of Democracy Update, the DCP newsletter covering advances in democracy at the national and international levels, is now available. DCP will continue to keep you informed of activities and news related to the Community of Democracies and other issues through this newsletter. You can also find more information in the Democratization of International Institutions and Resources section of our website.

Please distribute this newsletter freely, and should you have questions, comments or would like to submit material for inclusion in future newsletters, you may contact us at: info@demcoalition.org

Democracy Update December 2003
Democracy Update June 2003
Democracy Update December 2002

To receive a hard copy of of any of these newsletters, please contact
our office:

info@demcoalition.org
1.202.721.5630 Telephone
1.202.721.5658 Fax
1120 19th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20036

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