DEMARCHE REQUEST: ADVANCING THE DEMOCRACY AGENDA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 STATE 151024 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PHUM PREL UNGA SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: ADVANCING THE DEMOCRACY AGENDA AT THE 4TH COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES MINISTERIAL IN BAMAKO, MALI, NOVEMBER 14-17, 2007 REF: A. A:STATE 116583 ¶B. B: STATE 129764 ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraphs 3-18. The CD Ministerial in Bamako, November 14-17, will have five thematic and five regional roundtables. We ask that Posts inquire as to the priorities of host government for the ministerial and each roundtable, and share the U.S. priorities listed in this cable. SUMMARY -------------- ¶2. (U) The upcoming 4th Community of Democracies (CD) Ministerial will occur November 14-17 in Bamako, Mali. As Chair of the CD for the last two years, Mali has been charged with setting the agenda, leading the Convening Group to determine priorities and the invitation list, and carrying out logistics for the Ministerial. The U.S. continues to place great importance upon the development of concrete democracy promotion initiatives, increased participation by countries in the work of the CD, and strengthening the CD's interaction and response to events in multilateral and international fora. The U.S. delegation will be led by Deputy Secretary Negroponte, accompanied by U/S Dobriansky, Ambassador Danilovich of the MCC, and DRL Front Office. Additional participation from WHA, NSC, and Congressional staff is likely. The Government of Mali has distributed an agenda of the meeting which includes an Inaugural Opening plenary on the first day, followed by thematic and regional roundtable discussions, and a final plenary on the last day of the conference. OBJECTIVES -------------- GENERAL POINTS ¶3. (U) Action requested to all Posts. -- Encourage host country representation at the Ministerial at an appropriate level. Inquire about delegation list. -- Bamako Declaration: Urge host country to support a forward leaning declaration with minimal changes at the Ministerial. A draft of the document was distributed Oct 1st during the CD Ministers meeting in New York and will be circulated again by Mali during the 1st week of November. Input and submissions should be sent to the Malian chair. Preference is to conclude the final draft Declaration prior to the Ministerial so that delegates can focus more on the development of concrete democracy promotion initiatives in Bamako, rather than the Declaration text. -- Democracy and Development: Highlight the critical importance of democracy for sustainable development, the theme of the Bamako Ministerial. Democratic governance has the power to attract the types of investment that lead toward sustainable development through initiatives such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Rather than additional rhetoric on democracy and development, CD participants should spotlight tangible programs that integrate democratic governance with poverty alleviation. -- Countering the NGO Backlash: Recognize the indispensable role of NGOs and other civil society organizations in the development and success of free societies and their vital function in ensuring accountable and democratic governments. NGOs play a pivotal role in the Community of Democracies as well; just this year the non-governmental International Steering Committee provided recommendations to the CD Convening Group to improve upon the invitation process by upholding rigorous standards of democratic governance and respect for human rights. The CD Declaration as well as a thematic roundtable will address rights relating to NGOs. Urge that countries express support for NGOs and mention restrictive NGO laws as one of the biggest global democracy challenges we face as a community. -- CD Secretariat Launch: Urge countries to expressly support the establishment of the newly created CD Secretariat both politically and financially. (Note: The U.S. Government has contributed some $953,000 to the CD in the past year and a STATE 00151024 002 OF 007 SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: ADVANCING THE DEMOCRACY AGENDA AT THE 4TH COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES MINISTERIAL IN BAMAKO, MALI, NOVEMBER 14-17, 20 half alone. We don't want to be viewed as the prime mover or financier of the CD, and hope other countries will come forward to support the Secretariat initiative with seed money, detailees and other resources. End Note.) The U.S. believes that this small secretariat, which the Government of Poland has offered to host, is necessary to assist the CD in meeting its objectives and help in coordinating democracy promotion initiatives. -- Consultations with host country: Engage host country government on what they intend to discuss or what initiatives they intend to put forward during the thematic and regional roundtables. Encourage them to put forward some concrete democracy promotion initiatives, issues, or areas of focus. THEMATIC ROUNDTABLE POINTS "INSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE" ¶4. (U) Action requested to all Muslim-Majority posts (and posts with significant Muslim populations even if not a majority): -- Encourage the host governments to raise the issue of complementary nature of Democracy and Islam (reftel A) and to explore possibility of follow on meeting specifically on this topic. Countering ideological support for terrorism is an important goal we all share. Terrorist leaders seek to portray the West as at war with Islam as a justification for their terrorist actions. As such, correcting the misrepresentation that the West is at war with Islam is one of the key objectives in our efforts to counter violent Islamic extremism. An important step in achieving this objective is to make evident that Islam and democracy are wholly complementary and support others who are already promoting this message. ¶5. (U) Action request to Dar es Salaam: -- Per Reftel A, Urge the Government of Tanzania to announce at Bamako its offer to host a follow-on meeting of Muslim democrats to discuss the complementary nature of Islam and democracy. (Note: The U.S. continues to seek funding for this conference, but does not have readily-identified resources. End Note.) "POVERTY REDUCTION, SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE" and "INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT TO ADVANCE DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT" ¶6. (U) Action requested to all Posts. -- Encourage countries to discuss ways in which concrete public policies under democratic governance support sustainable development. (Note: U.S. intends to spotlight MCC. End Note.) -- Under the banner of energizing the Democracy Caucus at the UN, the CD should both recognize the importance of education, in particular civic education (or education about democracy) for democracy and sustainable development. UNESCO could be an ideal mechanism to follow up on any discussions. Possibilities for UNESCO action include: -- Promoting best practices for the teaching of civic education and transmitting concepts of democracy to students -- Working with ministries of education (as appropriate) and NGOs to provide information and expertise on incorporating civic education programs into country-specific education programs -- Utilizing the existing UNESCO Associated Schools Network to encourage international school partnerships incorporating civic education ¶7. (U) Action requested to Canberra, Brasilia, Copenhagen, Wellington, Ankara, Ottawa, Santiago, Tokyo, Mexico City, Warsaw, and Seoul regarding the same Working Groups. -- Press countries, as founding members of the new Partnership for Democratic Governance (PDG),to actively engage in this panel and support increased multilateral partnership, especially south-south cooperation, for improving democratic governance globally. PDG members should also promote the new initiative at OECD and its potential application in CD member countries. "ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN DEMOCRATIC STATE 00151024 003 OF 007 ¶8. (U) Action requested to all Posts. -- NGO Principles: Press governments to take a strong position against NGO restrictions. In 2006 Secretary Rice announced the U.S. commitment to adhere to a set of principles related to treatment of NGOs. The World Movement for Democracy (NED network of NGOs) and ICLD will launch their own recommendations on "Defending Civil Society" at the Bamako Ministerial. Participants should be urged to support said principles and endorse the WMD report. (Note: The U.S. has worked to include the principles in the Bamako Declaration. End Note.) -- Working Group Initiatives: All CD Working Groups were created with the goal of developing concrete democracy promotion projects to be carried out under the aegis of the CD. The Democratic Governance and Civil Society working group has developed a Diplomats' Handbook; urge countries to contribute to and support the activities of the working group and to use the Handbook in training programs for diplomats working with civil society. Further, urge countries to become more engaged in all working groups as their activities continue beyond the Bamako Ministerial in preparation for Lisbon 2009. "REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: PROMOTING PEACE, DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND EXPANDING PROSPERITY" ¶9. (U) Action requested to Tokyo, Canberra, New Delhi, Jakarta, Ottawa, Wellington, Seoul, Ulaanbaatar and Manila. -- Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership (APDP): Urge interested APDP countries to brief or highlight as appropriate this nascent initiative that will complement the CD and strengthen regional cooperation on democracy issues. During the recent APEC Meeting in Sydney President Bush called for the creation of the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership. The U.S. is planning to host a working breakfast for the initial members of APDP on November 15, on the sidelines of the Bamako ministerial. (Note: Not all members of the Asia regional working group have been approached about the APDP because it remains in the developmental stage. End Note.) ¶10. (U) Action requested to all Posts regarding the same Working Group. -- Reenergizing UN Democracy Caucus (UNDC): Countries should press for the CD to reinvigorate its efforts to act as a Democracy Caucus by committing to pass at least one CD-sponsored resolution on democracy in both New York and Geneva in 2008, coordinating common positions on democracy and human rights issues before United Nations bodies, and committing to help elect democracies to important UN bodies. -- Support for the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF): The CD ought to explicitly recognize that grants or support to civil society are an important component of building a strong democracy. Urge countries to make such support explicit at the Bamako Ministerial, and to consider donating to UNDEF (if they haven't already done so) as a concrete demonstration of support for civil society. (Note: In the first round of UNDEF grants, 60% went to civil society organizations; the U.S. goal is to increase that to 75%. End Note.) ¶11. (U) Action requested to Organization of American States (OAS)/ African Union (AU) Member Countries. -- Organization of American States (OAS)/ African Union (AU) Democracy Bridge: Encourage member countries of the OAS and AU to pursue implementation and broadening of the "intention to cooperate" agreement in the field of democracy promotion, as agreed to by both institutions on July 10, 2007. Observers to the OAS/AU should be encouraged to provide input and support for this initiative. Specific areas of experience-sharing and increased interaction include: electoral observation, crisis prevention, civil society participation, and the protection of human rights. Urge key states Colombia and Brazil, which have large Afro-descendant populations, to lead in this initiative in advance of the 2008 OASGA in Medellin, Colombia. The OAS and AU could further work together on core democracy promotion issues such as elections, human rights, and promoting increased civil society participation. Further, we note the benefits of engaging entities such as the OSCE, which is an excellent source of best practices and prin ciples. STATE 00151024 004 OF 007 AFRICA ¶12. (U) Action requested to Cotonou, Gaborone, Ouagadougou, Praia, Accra, Maseru, Bamako, Lilongwe, Antananarivo, Windhoek, Niamey, Dakar, Sao Tome and Principe (through Libreville),Dar es Salaam, Pretoria, and Lusaka. -- Encourage countries to ratify the African Union's Charter on Democracy, Governance and Elections. -- Urge countries to consider what the AU or regional countries can do to press for improvements in their record on human rights, such as what can be done collectively on difficult cases such as Zimbabwe. AMERICAS ¶13. (U) Action requested to all CD Western Hemisphere Posts. -- Strengthening Implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter: Urge participants to agree to support the efforts of civil society and NGOs in accessing the OAS General Assembly and OAS Permanent Council without member state veto, monitoring the implementation of the Charter, and in assessing threats or impediments to democracy in the region. -- Municipal Government Initiative: Local government is well-positioned to deliver some of the benefits of democracy by providing the necessary tools and access for citizens to share in the successes of their countries. Encourage countries to consider supporting the development of an initiative that would provide training for mayors and councilmen, as well as opportunities to share best practices with regional counterparts. Such work could build upon the progress and broad hemispheric support of the Summit of the Americas-initiated and U.S.-led "Opportunity Zones" effort to enhance the role of local government and NGOs in advancing good governance and development. (Note: Argentina, Honduras, and Guatemala are very interested in generating more interest and follow-up for this effort. End Note.) -- Support for Independent Judicial Institutions: To solidify recent efforts to revamp judicial systems and institutions, encourage countries to seek technical assistance from fellow CD participants in addressing corrupt practices as well as excessive delays and backlogs in the region's courts. -- Discussion on Cuba and Venezuela: As the only two Central and South American countries not invited to the CD, the state of democracy in Venezuela and its total absence in Cuba will likely be raised. With respect to Cuba, we encourage countries to consider Cuba's adherence to the Inter-American Democratic Charter as the framework for its reincorporation in the inter-American system. On Venezuela we invite countries to consider ways to address the rapid deterioration of civil, political, and economic liberties. ASIA AND OCEANIA ¶14. (U) Action requested to Canberra, New Delhi, Tokyo, Seoul, Wellington, Ulaanbaatar, and Jakarta. -- Burma Discussion: Propose that countries that have not done so already consider establishing legislative caucuses on Burma and participating in the existing regional network, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC). Parliamentarians in India, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, among others, have been very active on Burma. (Note: Parliamentary caucuses in non-ASEAN states can link to the AIPMC and some have already done so, including the Indians. End Note.) -- Pacific Islands Core Partners: Countries should press for CD support of the Core Partners Consortium to coordinate democracy promotion, rule of law, and development in Pacific Island states. The Core Partners' focused effort to restore democracy to Fiji again highlights CD's need to address threats to democracy through both regional and global solutions. -- ASEAN: Urge countries to seek cooperative ways for the CD to strengthen ASEAN's work on good governance and sustainable development and build on elements in the forthcoming ASEAN charter. STATE 00151024 005 OF 007 SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: ADVANCING THE DEMOCRACY AGENDA AT THE 4TH COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES MINISTERIAL IN BAMAKO, MALI, NOVEMBER 14-17, 20 -- South and Central Asia: Discuss potential for established regional organizations such as the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation group (CAREC) to eventually expand governance strengthening activities by promoting democracy and the rule of law. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: ¶15. (U) Action requested to Rabat, Kabul, Manama, Baghdad, Tel Aviv, Amman, Beirut, and Sanaa. -- Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA): Urge countries to seek CD endorsement of the G8's partnership with the countries of BMENA in support of reform, and to urge CD recognition of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue. -- Role of Civil Society in the Democratic Process: Encourage countries to discuss difficulties for civil society in the region, and agree to work through the CD, and partnerships such as BMENA, to engage a broad cross-section of civil society reformers in the Middle East to contribute to best practices and lessons-learned from a global civil society perspective. -- Encourage host governments to raise discussion in this working group regarding the complementary nature of Democracy and Islam (reftel A) and to explore possibility of follow on meeting specifically on this topic. EUROPE ¶16. (U) Action requested to Berlin, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Warsaw, Ljubljana, Vilnius, Tallinn, Bucharest, Kyiv, Tbilisi, and Riga. -- Democratic Neighbors Initiative: Encourage countries in Europe's East who have recently gone through - or are in the midst of - democratic change to share their experiences with less democratic neighbors as means of encouraging and assisting democratic activists in those countries. Suggest organizing panels, conferences, or videoconferences with or between NGOs and activists. -- Belarus: Urge countries to raise the situation of Belarus during the Europe regional roundtable. The aspirations of the Belarusian people for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, as well as their hopes for the integration of Belarus into the European community of democracies should be supported. The CD ought to address threats to, and the absence of, democracy such as that witnessed in Belarus. ¶17. (U) Action requested to all CD European Posts. -- OSCE: Encourage members to draw upon, adhere to, and promote beyond Europe the body of OSCE best practices, standards and commitments, particularly in areas such as democratic institutions, the conduct of free and fair elections, and the protection of human rights. A roundtable with the OAS and AU on elections monitoring would be an excellent opportunity to begin such outreach. OTHER ISSUES COOPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF NEW AND RESTORED DEMOCRACIES (ICNRD) ¶18. (U) Action requested to Ulaanbaatar, Budapest, Kyiv, Santiago, Prague, Warsaw, London, and San Salvador. -- Urge countries to maintain distance between CD and the ICNRD. While the ICNRD may profess to have the same goals as the CD, the ICNRD lacks the rigorous participation criteria the CD Convening Group and the non-governmental International Steering Committee worked so hard to uphold in preparing for this year's Ministerial. CD and ICNRD may on occasion find it useful to share information and best practices, but in the main should remain separate processes. REPORTING DEADLINE -------------- ¶19. (U) Posts should report results of efforts by cable to G - Joaquin Ferrao, DRL/MLGA - Laura Jordan, and IO/RHS - Amy Ostermeier before November 5. BACKGROUND -------------- STATE 00151024 006 OF 007 ¶20. (U) This extensive background is provided for posts' reference. More information is available in reftel B. Unclassified portions may be provided to host governments. SIPDIS Sensitive portions should not be. MINISTERIAL PREVIEW ¶21. (U) The Bamako Ministerial will be held November 15-17, with Senior-level working meetings on the November 14 to finalize the Bamako Declaration. Opening ceremonies and dinner at the Presidential Palace will be held on the 15th. Thematic and regional roundtables will be held on the 16th. The thematic roundtables include: "Institutional and Political Environments for the Promotion of Democratic Governance" to be facilitated by Working Group 4, "Poverty Reduction, Sustainable Human Development and Democratic Governance" facilitated by Working Group 2, "Role of Civil Society and the Private Sector in Democratic Governance and Development" facilitated by Working Group 1, "Regional Organizations: Promoting Peace, Democratic Governance and Expanding Prosperity" facilitated by Working Group 3, and "International Engagement to Advance Democratic Governance and Development." On the final day, rapporteurs will present recommendations and conclusions from each of the roundtables before the final plenary session and closing session, after which a press conference will end the Ministerial. SELECTION ¶22. (U) The Community of Democracies includes over 120 countries with (nascent or developed) democratic governments which have committed to promoting democracy around the world and sharing their unique experiences and lessons learned with others. The U.S. has been an active supporter of CD because we view it as a unique forum where democracies can act together to address issues of democracy and human rights. More information about the Community can be found at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/c10790.htm. ¶23. (U) The Criteria for Participation and Procedures set out the basis upon which countries are to be judged for Observer or Participant status. The Criteria for Participation and Procedures are available at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/26085.htm. ¶24. (U) Although the selection is made by CG participants, it is informed by the non-governmental International Advisory Committee (IAC),organized by several NGOs affiliated with the CD process. The IAC issued recommendations to the CG on which countries to invite to the ministerial based on an agreed upon criteria. The recommendations are not binding on CG members. Invitations for full Participants and for Observers went out in late August, the lists for which are available at the CD Ministerial website at www.bamako2007.gov.ml/paysparticipant.htm and www.bamako2007.gov.ml/observateurs.htm. WORKING GROUPS ¶25. (U) At the Santiago CD Ministerial in April 2005, participants established four working groups to develop democracy promotion projects and initiatives with the aim of meeting their commitments made under the Seoul Plan of Action and Santiago Commitment. The CD Convening Group was charged with organizing these working groups and making them operational to further the CD's work in between CD Ministerials, which occur every two years. Mali has been working with the 16 CG members of the Convening Group to activate the groups. ¶26. (U) During preparation for the November Ministerial, Mali asked Convening Group members to assist in urging other CD countries to participate in a CD working group. The U.S. made considerable efforts to support the working groups and to increase participation by other CD countries. ¶27. (U) Because these working groups are open to all CD participants and members of civil society organizations, they serve as a basis to expand the number of countries and organizations actively involved in CD. The four CD working groups and their chairs are: (A) Democratic Governance and Civil Society (India); (B) Poverty, Development and Democratic Governance (Mexico); (C) Regional and Inter-regional Cooperation for Democracy (formerly Portugal, now Romania); and (D) Promoting Democracy and Responding to National and STATE 00151024 007 OF 007 ¶28. (SBU) All four working groups have met to consider how to advance their respective issues, but only the working group on Democratic Governance and Civil Society has developed any concrete initiatives to carry on beyond Mali's Chairmanship. The group has developed a Diplomats' Handbook training manual on diplomacy and civil society with the goal of promoting democratic governance through future training programs. The U.S., India, Canada, and two NGOs provided financial assistance to this program. A second project under consideration would create an assessment tool to gauge the relationship between the state and civil society and provide recommendations for its improvement. U.S. SUPPORT ¶29. (U) The U.S. has provided significant financial and logistical support to Mali, to the non-governmental Executive Secretariat, and to several projects emerging from efforts SIPDIS leading up to the Ministerial. In 2006 and 2007, the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor has provided over $450,000 for Ministerial logistical support, NGO process support, NGO travel and project support for the Diplomats' Handbook. Additionally, USAID has provided $500,000 for secretariat-type services to support the Malian Chair of the Convening Group. The U.S. Mission to the OAS provided $230,000 for the July 2007 high-level meeting of the CD-mandated OAS-AU Democracy Bridge in Washington. PERMANENT SECRETARIAT ¶30. (U) On October 1, 2007, on the margins of this year's UN General Assembly, Mali hosted a short meeting of Ministers that set the stage for the November Ministerial. The Secretary spoke at the event, outlining U.S. priorities for SIPDIS the Ministerial, highlighting Mali's $460 million MCC Compact, the OAS-AU Democracy Bridge, the UN Democracy Fund, the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership, and the importance of CD engagement in international fora. Her remarks are available at www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2007/10/93344.htm. ¶31. (U) A newly created CD Secretariat will be unveiled during the Bamako Ministerial and will be hosted by Poland in Warsaw. At the October 1, 2007 meeting, Mali re-circulated the secretariat structure, mission, and mandate. Under the direction and guidance of the Convening Group and the CD Chair, the Secretariat will provide a focal point for governmental and NGO interaction during and between Ministerials to become the institutional memory of the CD. The proposed secretariat has a limited mandate and small size (5-6 people); it will be supported by voluntary contributions. The Foreign Minister of Poland has offered to provide a site and detail three Polish diplomats. After two years, the CD will evaluate all aspects of the Secretariat, including but not limited to financing mechanisms and staffing and recruitment procedures, to determine whether any revisions are necessary. POINT OF CONTACT -------------- ¶32. (U) Please contact DRL/MLGA - Laura Jordan at 202-647-3088 or via email for any necessary further background information or argumentation to meet our objectives. RICE