CD MINISTERIAL IN BAMAKO 2007

Community of Democracies Adopts Bamako Ministerial Consensus on Democracy, Development and Poverty Reduction

Following the 4th Ministerial meeting of the Community of Democracies (CD) held in Bamako, Mali November 14-17, 2007, the CD governments issued the Bamako Ministerial Consensus on Democracy, Development and Poverty Reduction. This document reaffirms the governments' commitment to the Warsaw Declaration, Seoul Plan of Action and the Santiago Commitment, in addition to laying out new elements of the CD plan of action. The Bamako Consensus affirms the importance of strengthening democratic governance "as an essential means to reduce poverty and support equitable and sustainable development. Furthermore, it accepts that persistent inequality and poverty can lead to low public trust in political institutions and vulnerability to undemocratic practices. At the conference in Bamako, the CD governments resolved to promote and increase support to civil society in addition to ensuring that NGOs may carry out their peaceful activities without interference.

In addition to the Bamako Consensus, working group reports from the thematic and regional panels were issued:

Regional Roundtable Reports
African Group Regional Roundtable (French)
American Regional Roundtable
Asian and Oceanan Regional Roundtable
European Regional Roundtable
Middle Eastern and North African Regional Roundtable (French)

Thematic Roundtable Reports
Institutional and Political Environment for the Promotion of Democratic Governance
Poverty Reduction, Sustainable Human Development, and Democratic Governance (French)
Civil Society and the Private Sector in Democratic Governance and Development
Regional Organizations and the Democracy Caucus at the United Nations: Promoting Peace, Democratic Governance and Expanding Prosperity
International Engagement to Advance Democratic Governance and Development

Also presented in Bamako was A Civil Society Democracy Agenda for 2007-2009: Recommendations of The International Steering Committee for the Nongovernmental Process of the Community of Democracies.

Invitations to the Upcoming Community of Democracies Ministerial in Bamako Deemed "Largely Credible"

The Convening Group for the Community of Democracies has released invitations to the upcoming Ministerial meeting in Bamako, Mali. To read the Convening Group's statement on which countries have been invited to the meeting in Bamako on November 14-17, click here.

The Secretariat for the International Advisory Committee (IAC) for the Community of Democracies Invitations Process have deemed the invitations "largely credible" in a statement issued statement on September 6, 2007 in response to the announcement of which countries have been invited to the upcoming meeting of the Community of Democracies.

To view a comparitive list of which governments have been invited to the previous meetings of the Community of Democracies, click here.

International Advisory Committee Adjusts Recommendations Following Close Monitoring Of Evolving Political Situations

Upon issuing its recommendations to the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies in February, the International Advisory Committee (IAC) identified several countries which deserved close monitoring in the following months to allow further examination of an evolving political situation (e.g., the conduct of elections, constitutional reform, trends in human rights, etc.). The IAC continued to monitor democracy and human rights trends in these countries and adjusted their recommendations accordingly.

The new recommendations issued to the Convening Group in the spring and summer of 2007 advocated inviting Timor-Leste as a full participant and withholding invitation pending dialogue and reforms by the governments of Bangladesh and Venezuela. Following the national elections in Nigeria, which were uniformly characterized as fraudulent and not reflecting the will of the voters, the IAC determined this posed a fundamental obstacle to Nigeria's full participation.

DCP Executive Director Co-Authors Editorial Focused on the Invitations Process for Community of Democracies

DCP's Executive Director, Theodore Piccone and Deputy Executive Director of Freedom House, Thomas Melia, both advisors to the International Advisory Committee of the Community of Democracies, have published an editorial in Canada's National Post newspaper titled Wanted: Genuine democracies. This editorial examines the invitations process for the Community of Democracies, as well as the recommendations released by the IAC.

International Advisory Committee Releases Invitations List for Community of Democracies

The IAC is an international, independent high-level body of experts established for the purpose of assessing the quality of democracy in countries belonging or aspiring to belong to the Community of Democracies (CD).

It aims to strengthen and improve the Community of Democracies by bringing credibility, legitimacy and transparency to its invitation process.

International Advisory Committee Country Reports

Click on the country names below to view the International Advisory Committee's country specific reports.

Afghanistan
Algeria
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Congo (Brazzaville)
Djibouti
Egypt
Ethiopia
The Gambia
Guinea Bissau
Haiti
Iraq
Jordan
Kenya
Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Liberia
Malaysia
Mauritania
Nepal
Niger
Nigeria
Qatar
Russia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Tanzania
Tunisia
Uganda
Venezuela
Yemen

The "watch list" was established for countries that qualified for invitation but whose recent evolution could jeopardize their eligibility for invitation to the Bamako Ministerial. Click on the country names below to view the International Advisory Committee's country specific watch list reports.

Bangladesh
Ecuador
Georgia
Guatemala
Malawi
Moldova

Background Materials

Further information on the methodology and criteria used by the Secretariat to determine which countries to study in detail.

Introductory Note
Methodology Note
Country Scores in Leading Indices
Record of Participation in Community of Democracies Ministerials

Members of the International Advisory Committee

Genaro Arriagada, Former Minister of the Presidency, Chile

César Gaviria, Former President of the Republic, Colombia

E. Gyimah-Boadi, Executive Director, Center for Democratic Development, Ghana

Morton H. Halperin, Director U.S. Advocacy, Open Society Institute, United States of America

Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, Former Deputy Prime Minister, Jordan

Asma Jahangir, Chairperson, Human Rights Commission, Pakistan

Josef Janning, Head of International Relations, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Germany

Hong-Koo Lee, Former Prime Minister, Republic of Korea

Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, Former President of the Republic, Cape Verde

Nadezhda Mihaylova, Member of Parliament, Bulgaria

Mark Palmer, Vice-Chairman, Freedom House, United States of America

Sonia Picado, Chair, Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, Costa Rica

Ghassan Salame, Former Minister of Culture, Lebanon

Advisory Member

Wim Kok, Former Prime Minister, The Netherlands

Observer

Martin Palous, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Czech Republic

DCP announces release of the International Advisory Committee's Recommendations on Invitations to the Community of Democracies at events in Brussels, Washington, DC, and Bamako, Mali.

Washington, DC

The Democracy Coalition Project and Freedom House hosted a panel discussion with press, the diplomatic community and civil society in Washington, DC on April 12 to announce the release of the International Advisory Committee's Recommendations on Government Invitations for the IV Community of Democracies Ministerial meeting to be held November 2007 in Bamako.

The event , attended by over 70 representatives from the diplomatic community, civil society and the media, featured a panel consisting of two of the members of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) as well as the chair of the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies. Ted Piccone, Executive Director of the Democracy Coalition Project and Thomas Melia, Deputy Executive Director for Freedom House, moderated the discussion.

Ambassador Mark Palmer, a member of the IAC, began the discussion by addressing the important role of the IAC in strengthening the credibility of the invitations process for the Community of Democracies. Fellow IAC member, Dr. Morton H. Halperin, Director of U.S. Advocacy for the Open Society Institute, touched upon several of the country specific recommendations released in the report, including Venezuela and Russia, among other states. Dr. Halperin noted the vast amount of research, analysis, and debate that took place to produce the 500 page report. Ted Piccone elaborated on the research methods used by the Secretariat for the IAC in coming up with the recommendations and plans for outreach.

Malian Ambassador Abdoulaye Diop, the current chair of the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies, welcomed the IAC's work and explained that the Convening Group countries have begun using the IAC report as an important resource for its deliberations. Ambassador Palmer urged Ambassador Diop and the other members of the Convening Group to consider the recommendations issued by the IAC when the Convening Group decides in July who will and who will not be invited to the Ministerial meeting in Bamako.

Brussels, Belgium

The Democracy Coalition Project and the Bertelsmann Stiftung presented the International Advisory Committee's Statement and Recommendations on Invitations for the Community of Democracies to a Brussels audience of policy-makers, civil society and media representatives. Ms. Nadezhda Mihaylova, a Member of Parliament of Bulgaria, gave an overview of the initiative on behalf of the IAC, explaining the purpose of the high-level task force, its composition and the Community of Democracies’ criteria for participation. Mr. Josef Janning, Head of the International Relations Program at the Bertelsmann Stiftung and also a member of the IAC discussed country-specific recommendations such as Armenia, Mauritania and Thailand, and further conveyed the IAC’s particular concerns about Russia and Iraq.

Mr. Ted Piccone, Executive Director of the Democracy Coalition Project, outlined the research methodology used and plans for future outreach. Mr. Sekou Kasse, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Mali to the United Nations office at Geneva, on behalf of the Mali chairmanship of the Community of Democracies, welcomed the independence and professionalism of the IAC. This roundtable was also a unique opportunity to hear the European Union’s thoughts and reactions to the IAC report. Ms. Riina Kionka, Personal Representative of the Secretary General/High Representative for Human Rights of the Council of the European Union, outlined the EU’s stand on the Community of Democracies, suggested that the independence and credibility of the IAC's work will help to change misconceptions about the initiative and posed a number of challenging policy questions. An open and lively discussion followed, moderated by Ms. Petra Pinzler, European Correspondent for Die Zeit.

Bamako, Mali

The Democracy Coalition Project hosted a round table meeting with press and civil society in Bamako, Mali on March 28 to announce the release of the International Advisory Committee's Statement and Recommendations on Government Invitations for the IV Community of Democracies Ministerial Meeting to be held November 2007 in Bamako. Dr. Morton H. Halperin, President of the Democracy Coalition Project and a member of the International Advisory Committee, discussed the role of the International Advisory Committee as well as the process used to reach the final recommendations. Also on hand for the event was Joseph Asunka, Program Officer for the Center for Democratic Development Ghana and a representative of the Secretariat to the International Advisory Committee, who outlined the specific country recommendations of particular concern for the Convening Group. Ambassador Oumar Daou, Director of Political Affairs for the Foreign Ministry of Mali, commented on the significance of the IAC recommendations as well as the work being completed by the Convening Group of which Mali is the chair. Prior to the event, Dr. Halperin and Mr. Asunka presented an overview of the work of the International Advisory Committee to the Convening Group, the intergovernmental body charged with issuing invitations to the Bamako Ministerial, touching in depth upon several country specific recommendations. While in Bamako, Dr. Halperin also met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Moctar Ouane to discuss with him the IAC Recommendations.