Good afternoon and welcome to the House of the Americas, the historic home of the Organization of American States. It is my pleasure to participate in this 41st Lecture of the Lecture Series of the Americas, “Regional Perspectives on Democracy: Celebrating Ten Years of the Inter-American Democratic Charter”.

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our keynote speaker, Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union. I would also like to thank Mr. Vidar Helgesen, Secretary General of International IDEA for being here to provide comments that will no doubt be informative and thought-provoking.

We are also very honored today to have in this room; Mr. Neroni Tuolima Slade, Secretary General of the Pacific Island Forum; Mrs. Uz Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation; Dr. Hussein Hassouna, Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the U.S; and Dr. Mely Caballero-Anthony, Director of External Relations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

These distinguished guests are here at the OAS attending the First Meeting of the Inter-Regional Dialogue on Democracy, a project spearheaded by our friends at International IDEA, which aims to allow us to share our experiences and practices with democracy-building, assess our accomplishments and the challenges before us, exchange views on issues of common interest and enrich our understanding of the different mandates, mechanisms, and comparative advantages of our organizations. This initiative builds on the high-level retreat convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon almost a year and a half ago in which he stressed the importance of inter-regional collaboration, as we all are part of an increasingly inter-connected global community.
This Lecture is part of a program of commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which was signed by our Member States on September 11, 2001. This anniversary of the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter provides an opportunity for debate throughout the year about the kind of democracy that we in the Americas want for ourselves. A democracy that not only needs to be established in a formal way, but also one that needs to be nurtured continuously and embedded in the minds of the people. A democracy that also will deliver on the promises it holds for creating peace and prosperity in our societies.

Undoubtedly, the Democratic Charter is the most important document in the modern history of our region. Its most novel element is perhaps its first article, which proclaims that the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it.

It establishes the way in which this right is to be exercised and the way democracy is to be practiced under the rule of law. As Secretary General Insulza says, to be called democratic, a government must not only be elected democratically, but also govern democratically. In other words, democracy extends beyond the electoral or political activity. It touches on institutions, separation of state powers, the independence of the judiciary in combating corruption, respect for minorities, respect for all citizens, the rule of law, respect for opposing views and in general, the way we live our daily lives.

In this regard, the Charter identifies representation –which is why we talk about representative democracies; the rule of law and the existence of a constitutional regime as the basis for democracy.

It further points out for us the essential elements of a democracy, which include elections, but also respect for human rights, access to power and its exercise under the rule of law, pluralism in political parties and organizations, and the separation of government powers.

Therefore, the Inter-American Democratic Charter is more than just a recipe or a list of ingredients. It is a political program for a democratic republic, which states that democracy, economic and social developments are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. It is a document that primarily aims at strengthening democratic institutions and values.

As it turns out, our regional efforts to consolidate democracy as the reigning form of government have paid off. Our region is experiencing an unprecedented period of democratic growth despite certain factors that complicate its consolidation. There is not only more but better democracy today than there was two or three decades ago.

From our perspective, the greatest progress has been made in the way democracy originates, rather than in its day to day exercise. For instance, in the last year and a half roughly, seven presidential races took place in Latin America, with elections in Uruguay, Honduras, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil.

Like many other electoral processes carried out throughout the region, these presidential elections were by and large free of fraud, and their results have been respected, which is a sign of maturity of the origin of democracy.
But there are still and there will continue to be threats and challenges along the way – such as organized crime and the concentration of unchecked power - which is why we must always remain vigilant.

The region is much more democratic than 25 years ago and no effort should be spared to make sure we do not lose ground. We must continue to move forward. It stands to reason that our Member States need to be able to count on solid democratic institutions based on a true and transparent separation of powers.

Like the young democracies in the Americas, the Inter-American Democratic Charter is a work in progress. It continues to be informed by experience and analysis. Some of the regions represented here today have already developed their own democratic charters; others have focused their efforts on advancing the quality of life for their peoples through improving economic development. Some are only now being faced with democratic demands from their citizens. Our regions have different political systems and differing degrees of participation by political parties and social actors. However, peace is at the top of all of our agendas, and so is our desire to work better together and learn from each other.

And in that spirit, I now offer the floor to Ambassador Gillian Bristol, Permanent Representative of Grenada to the OAS who is the Chair of the Permanent Council and who will introduce our keynote speaker.

I thank you very much for your attention.