The Community of Democracies (C.O.D), established in 2000, is an intergovernmental coalition of states. Its aim is to bring together governments, civil society and the private sector in the pursuit of the common goal of supporting democratic rules, expanding political participation, advancing and protecting democratic freedoms, and strengthening democratic norms and institutions around the world. The Warsaw Declaration had outlined the task of promoting democracy. It is disputed if the coalition qualifies as an International Organization in the legal sense.
At the close of the conference the participating governments signed onto the Warsaw Declaration, agreeing to "respect and uphold core democratic principles and practices" including, among others, free and fair elections, freedom of speech and expression, equal access to education, rule of law, and freedom of peaceful assembly.[3]
Structure
The C.O.D works on the base of the Warsaw Declaration. Since 2018, their work is more specifically guided by the Community's Strategic Plan for 2018-2023 which identified the following strategic objectives:[4]
Encouraging Adherence to the Warsaw Declaration
Support for Democratic Consolidation in Transitioning Countries
Deepening the Dialogue on the Challenges to Democracy
Their internal structure include regular Ministerial Conferences, a Governing Council, a Chairmanship, a Permanent Secretariat headed by the Secretary General, six Working Groups as well as two Affiliated Bodies.
As of September 22nd, 2022, the two-year Presidency of the C.O.D is held by Canada.
Past Presidencies include: Romania (2019-2022), South Korea (2001-2003), Chile (2003-2005), Mali (2005-2007), Portugal (2007- 2009), Lithuania (2009-2011), Mongolia (2011-2013), El Salvador (2013-2015), United States of America (2015-2017). Between Sept 2017-Sept 2019, the C.O.D was led by a collective chairmanship of the C.O.D Executive Committee.
Ministerial Conferences are held towards the end of each presidency term in the capital of the presiding state, resulting in the adoption of a common declaration (plan of action) towards the following activities of the Community. The conferences were held in: Warsaw 2000 (Poland), Seoul 2002 (South Korea), Santiago 2005 (Chile), Bamako 2007 (Mali), Lisbon 2009 (Portugal), Vilnius 2011 (Lithuania), Ulaanbaatar 2013 (Mongolia), San Salvador 2015 (El Salvador) and Washington D.C. 2017 (United States of America).[6]
Permanent Secretariat
Since 2009, a Permanent Secretariat of the C.O.D operates in Warsaw, providing technical, logistical, organizational and administrative support to all its bodies.[7] The current head of the Permanent Secretariat and therefore Secretary General of the C.O.D is Thomas E. Garrett, appointed September 1, 2017.
Working Groups
Working Groups (WG) are action-oriented structures that drive the implementation of the strategic objectives of the Community of Democracies. WGs are composed of states, civil society representatives, and other democracy stakeholders. WG mandates are approved by the Governing Council, and they supported and coordinated by the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies. Currently, there are six Working Groups:[8]
Working Group on Enabling and Protecting Civil Society
Working Group on Women and Democracy
Working Group on Democracy and Technology
Working Group on C.O.D Governance and Effectiveness
Affiliated bodies
The C.O.D consults two external bodies on a regular basis.
Academic Advisory Board (AAB)
The Academic Advisory Board assists the work of the C.O.D by providing an academic perspective.[9]
Civil Society Pillar
The Civil Society Pillar (also Civil Society Assembly) refers to the non-governmental process of the C.O.D, including civil society organizations, foundations, and experts devoted to promoting democracy. It is represented by the non-governmental "International Steering Committee" (ISC), which is composed of 26 leaders of civil society organizations from all regions of the world, the Chair and Vice-Chair and the organization which serves as the ISC's secretariat. In April 2018, Fundacion Multitudes was elected as the first Permanent Secretariat of the CSP and Paulina Ibarra as Chair of the ISC. The ISC advises governments on the actions needed to enable civil society to work freely to strengthen democracy, rule of law, and protection for the fundamental rights enshrined in the Warsaw Declaration. The ISC coordinates a variety of initiatives for civil society, including the civil society forum taking place in the biannual Ministerial Conferences of the Community, which results in a set of recommendations to the Ministerial Declaration made by civil society representatives.[10]
Other activities
Myanmar Constitutional Democracy Project
In 2018, the C.O.D finalized the Phase III of the Myanmar Constitutional Democracy Project, implemented cooperation with Australia-Myanmar Constitutional Democracy Project, that aimed to facilitate an inclusive constitutional framework, through embracing all stakeholders within society and providing them with the necessary legal tools and language to engage in the process of drafting and amending it. In 2018, the C.O.D published a Building a Democratic Constitutional Culture in Myanmar booklet, which contains a summary of fundamental principles and concepts of constitutional democracy with a particular focus on those most relevant to the situation in Myanmar. Together with the two constitutional democracy workshops, held in Myanmar in February 2018, the booklet constitutes an effort to increase the capacity of key stakeholders to participate in the process of democratic reforms in Myanmar, extend their knowledge on constitutional matters, as well as to contribute to the development and support of a culture of constitutionalism in Myanmar.[11]
Advancing Women's Political Participation
To support women's participation in politics, the Community of Democracies created a project called "Advancing Women's Political Participation", aiming to implement it in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International IDEA. As part of the project, five regional consultations were held on the margins of large international democracy-related events in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Consultation brought together politicians, state officials, civil society activists, academics, and members of international and regional organizations to discuss gender equality and strategies for advancing women's political empowerment in the MENA region. The project's five regional reports and final report contain specific policy recommendations on the advancement of women's political participation in each region.[12]
