CAPACITY BUILDING FOR DEMOCRACY

Democracy may be a word familiar to most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused in a time when totalitarian regimes and military dictatorships alike have attempted to claim popular support by pinning democratic labels upon themselves. In the dictionary definition, democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system." In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of a set of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, often tortuous history. In short, democracy is the institutionalization of freedom. For this reason, it is possible to identify the time-tested fundamentals of constitutional government, human rights, and equality before the law that any society must possess to be properly called democratic.

Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and representative. In a direct democracy, all citizens, without the intermediary of elected or appointed officials, can participate in making public decisions. Such a system is clearly only practical with relatively small numbers of people--in a community organization or tribal council, for example, or the local unit of a labor union, where members can meet in a single room to discuss issues and arrive at decisions by consensus or majority vote. Ancient Athens, the world's first democracy, managed to practice direct democracy with an assembly that may have numbered as many as 5,000 to 6,000 persons--perhaps the maximum number that can physically gather in one place and practice direct democracy.

Today, the most common form of democracy, whether for a town of 50,000 or nations of 50 million, is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws, and administer programs for the public good. In the name of the people, such officials can deliberate on complex public issues in a thoughtful and systematic manner that requires an investment of time and energy that is often impractical for the vast majority of private citizens.

Majority Rule and Minority Rights

All democracies are systems in which citizens freely make political decisions by majority rule. But rule by the majority is not necessarily democratic: No one, for example, would call a system fair or just that permitted 51 percent of the population to oppress the remaining 49 percent in the name of the majority. In a democratic society, majority rule must be coupled with guarantees of individual human rights that, in turn, serve to protect the rights of minorities--whether ethnic, religious, or political, or simply the losers in the debate over a piece of controversial legislation. The rights of minorities do not depend upon the goodwill of the majority and cannot be eliminated by majority vote. The rights of minorities are protected because democratic laws and institutions protect the rights of all citizens.

Democratic Society

Democracy is more than a set of constitutional rules and procedures that determine how a government functions. In a democracy, government is only one element coexisting in a social fabric of many and varied institutions, political parties, organizations, and associations. This diversity is called pluralism, and it assumes that the many organized groups and institutions in a democratic society do not depend upon government for their existence, legitimacy, or authority.

Thousands of private organizations operate in a democratic society, some local, some national. Many of them serve a mediating role between individuals and the complex social and governmental institutions of which they are a part, filling roles not given to the government and offering individuals opportunities to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.

These groups represent the interests of their members in a variety of ways--by supporting candidates for public office, debating issues, and trying to influence policy decisions. Through such groups, individuals have an avenue for meaningful participation both in government and in their own communities. The examples are many and varied: charitable organizations and churches, environmental and neighborhood groups, business associations and labor unions.

In an authoritarian society, virtually all such organizations would be controlled, licensed, watched, or otherwise accountable to the government. In a democracy, the powers of the government are, by law, clearly defined and sharply limited. As a result, private organizations are free of government control; on the contrary, many of them lobby the government and seek to hold it accountable for its actions. Other groups, concerned with the arts, the practice of religious faith, scholarly research, or other interests, may choose to have little or no contact with the government at all. In this busy private realm of democratic society, citizens can explore the possibilities of freedom and the responsibilities of self-government--unpressured by the potentially heavy hand of the state.

The Pillars of Democracy

Sovereignty of the people.

Government based upon consent of the governed.

Majority rule.

Minority rights.

Guarantee of basic human rights.

Free and fair elections.

Equality before the law.

Due process of law.

Constitutional limits on government.

Social, economic, and political pluralism.

Values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise.

Core characteristics of good governance

Participation — All men and women should have a voice in decision-making, either directly or through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their interests. Such broad participation is built on freedom of association and speech, as well as capabilities to participate constructively.

Rule of law — Legal frameworks should be fair and enforced impartially, particularly laws on human rights.

Transparency — Transparency is built on the free flow of information. Processes, institutions and information are directly accessible to those concerned with them, and enough information is provided to understand and monitor them.

Responsiveness — Institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders.

Consensus orientation — Good governance mediates differing interests to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interest of the group, and where possible, on policies and procedures.

Equity — All men and women have opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being.

Effectiveness and efficiency — Processes and institutions produce results that meet needs while making the best use of resources.

Accountability — Decision makers in government, the private sector and civil society organizations are accountable to the public, as well as to institutional stakeholders. This accountability differs depending on the organization and whether the decision is internal or external to an organization.

Strategic vision — Leaders and the public have a broad and long-term perspective on good governance and human development, along with a sense of what is needed for such development. There is also an understanding of the historical, cultural and social complexities in which that perspective is grounded.

Capacity Building for Democracy

Governments should be given special attention to the following areas in respect of Capacity Building measures for Democracy:

 Ensure that the electoral process guarantees principles of holding free, fair, and periodic elections, based on secret balloting and universal suffrage monitored by independent national election bodies.

 Emphasize voter education particularly in an effort to improve voter turnout and reduce invalid votes.

 Ensure that voters have access to independent and sufficient information.

 Ensure independence of electoral bodies and ensure their constitutional guarantees.

 Ensure transparent electoral campaign financing.

 Ensure the freedom of association including the right to form independent political parties to create a pluralistic society.

 Support the participation of citizens living abroad or overseas and ensure that the election and decision-making process benefits from the largest possible rate of participation within society.

 Decentralize decision making to the local level, where feasible.

 Improve democratic institutions at the local level.

 As appropriate, take immediate steps in publishing all legislation (even financial ones) as white papers and consider inviting comments from citizens and interested parties before these are enacted.

 The executive and legislature should hold regular consultations with citizens to ensure they are well aware of their needs and thus are able to address them accordingly at the highest levels.

 Develop safety nets, including social welfare systems, for the poor and marginalized in our societies.

 Ensure provisions of essential services are affordable for the poorest.

 Address the urban/rural divide by developing plans that address the needs of rural communities.

 Promote Human Resource Development for achievement of national economic development goals, especially with a view to the unemployed pursuing a productive life in our communities.

 Promote public participation in environmental decision-making.

 Priorities the protection of the environment as this has a direct link to the alleviation of poverty.

 Aggressively pursue the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

 Protection of human rights.

 Harmonize national legislation with international instruments on the promotion and protection of human rights.

 Consider acceding to all the international human rights instruments, regularly prepare reports on their implementation and submit them for consideration by the appropriate treaty mechanisms and actively cooperate with the United Nations Commission of Human Rights.

 Support human rights monitoring capacities of NGOs and the media.

 Develop human rights education programmes for the military, the police, the civil service, as well as the general population. Countries should consider including civic/ democracy/ human rights education in their school curricula, or encourage the appropriate authorities to do so, and if necessary, seek the help of the United Nations System and civil society.

 Promote and protect equality of all people before the law and their equal protection under the law.

 Ensure right of equal access to justice and to be protected from arbitrary arrest.

 Investigate alternative dispute settlement mechanisms.

 Strengthen the independence, impartiality and professionalism of the judiciary;

 Ensure due process of law and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 Ensure that violations of human rights and abuse of power are well investigated and perpetrators brought to justice.

 Ensure remedies are provided to victims of human rights violations.

 Protect those who work towards ensuring that rights and freedoms are fully respected.

 Facilitate citizens´ access to information.

 Make internal and transnational activities and transactions that are most susceptible to corrupt practices, more transparent and easily accessible for investigation.

 Provide media education to national officials and civil servants to increase appreciation of the media´s role in a democratic society.

 Facilitate access to government records and other information, within our national legal frameworks, while protecting individuals, organizations and institutions from abuse.

 Strengthen the legal basis of the fight against corruption, including, where possible, speedy negotiation and adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

 Strengthening regional collaboration in democratic development by Drawing up a plan of action for the regions through regional inter-governmental organizations with the collaboration of governments and civil society.

 Agree on modes of mutual assistance in the development of democratic institutions; share experiences in the development of a democratic culture; and develop programmes of assistance for countries undergoing democratic transitions.

 Organize regular regional events within the framework of regional organizations or Fora to assess progress of countries in the region in their democratic endeavors.

 Undertake a series of regional meetings and workshops with the participation of academia and civil society to discuss the need for governance and democracy assessments, exchange views on assessment methodologies and identify examples of good practice or innovative problem-solving in this area.

 Promote regional dialogue to share experiences on strengthening electoral and political party systems.

 Use information technology tools to create databases of regional treaties, agreements and declarations, and to share resources and experiences in democratic governance.

 Promote development of international cooperation, particularly at the regional level, against corruption.

 Dedicate our efforts to help new and restored democracies to both consolidate and deepen democracy.

 Undertake to take all possible measures to encourage the full participation of women in the electoral process and increased representation of women at all levels, including legislatures.

 Undertake to ensure people belonging to minorities are well and truly represented in all the national institutions, and where this is not possible, to be regularly consulted.

 Support multilateral organizations in their efforts to promote and strengthen democracy.

Author is a Senior Research Officer