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The Second Ministerial Conference of The Community of Democracies Seoul, Republic of Korea November 12, 2002 Seoul Plan of Action - Democracy: Investing for Peace and ProsperityWe, the Participants in the Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies held in Seoul on 10-12 November 2002, affirm that the essential elements of representative democracy in all its forms are: respect for human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural – including freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion and conscience; access to and free exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law; the holding of periodic free and fair elections based on secret balloting and universal suffrage monitored by independent election authorities; freedom of association including the right to form independent political parties; separation of powers, especially an independent judiciary; and constitutional subordination of all state institutions, including the military, to the legally-constituted civilian authority. We also reaffirm the Warsaw Declaration which includes our common commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and fundamental principles of international law.
Recognizing the universality of these democratic values, the dedication of the Community of Democracies to promote and defend democracy, and the human rights and fundamental freedoms protected under democracy, we are committed to the continuous development of democracy domestically and the promotion of democracy regionally and globally. We, working as individual countries, within our regions and globally, adopt this Seoul Plan of Action with a view to accomplishing the following: 1. Regional Action In addition, we further encourage states to consider various measures which may include: · Review the state of democracy, including the human rights situation in the region; · Share experiences and identify best practices in the region; · Utilize lessons learned, including those applicable from other regions, to encourage and assist emerging democracies to develop and strengthen adherence to human rights and fundamental freedoms, and universally-accepted principles of democracy, as well as to regionally-agreed upon democracy charters; · Develop or strengthen mechanisms in regional organizations’ charters and procedures that promote democracy, inter alia, the Inter-American Democratic Charter approved on Sept 11, 2001 by American states, adopted following the appeal for regional initiatives included in the Warsaw Declaration. 2. Responding to Threats to Democracy To prevent or respond to scenarios of violence against a democratic government, disruption of constitutional rule, persistent unconstitutional alteration of the democratic order, or support for terrorism, countries may need to resort, preferably within the framework of regional or international organizations, to a range of measures, including but not limited to: In accordance with the principles articulated in the Warsaw Declaration, the Community of Democracies, through as wide consultations as possible with its participants, will not include those countries where there is currently a disruption of constitutional rule or severe persistent erosion of or lack of essential elements of democracy. 3. Education for Democracy · Encouraging the development of human capacity to empower an educated public who can participate in the national decision-making process; · Seeking to ensure universal primary education; · Adapting public education curricula to further incorporate the promotion and understanding of democracy, and democratic principles and institutions; · Providing training to teachers to enable them to better inform students at all learning levels of democratic principles and human rights; · Seeking to guarantee full access to education for all citizens, with specific emphasis on such access for women and girls. 4. Promoting Stronger Democracies through Good Governance
· Seeking to ensure that government decision-making is open and transparent and that citizens have access, including via electronic means, to information concerning government action, laws, court decisions, procurement decisions and legislative proceedings and establishing freedom of information legislation; · Implementing or strengthening, if necessary, constitutional and other safeguards for the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, including establishing procedures to ensure a professional corps of judges; · Establishing any mechanisms that may be needed to ensure high standards of competence and conduct from prosecutors, defense attorneys and other members of the legal profession; · Establishing the necessary legal, judicial, and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that basic democratic principles and human rights are fully enforced, particularly through the development and implementation of regular training procedures for military and police; · Promoting implementation of good governance practices and enforcement of anticorruption measures and providing support for negotiations to finalize a UN convention against corruption; · Seeking to ensure open and transparent budgetary procedures that provide for oversight by an independent legislature; · Encouraging the involvement of civil society in the process of governance at the local, national and international levels. 4-2. Alleviating poverty and promoting economic growth by: · Strengthening good governance as a critical foundation for economic development; · Adopting policies which prioritize and promote sustainable social and economic development; · Promoting transparency and openness; · Stimulating social policies to fight exclusion, with due consideration to gender perspective and social inequalities derived from racial discrimination; · Encouraging popular participation in national economic development and the decision-making processes; · Recognizing the urgent need to develop ways to strengthen and sustain democracies to address social demands, boost economic development and support democratic stability and good governance. 4-3. Building and sustaining a strong political party system and a healthy civil society by: · Creating a favorable environment, including a strong legal framework, for the development of political parties and their free engagement in political developments, elections, and responding to the interests of various segments of society; · Establishing mechanisms to promote transparency in political parties’ financing; · Guaranteeing freedom of expression for individuals, including media outlets and journalists, engaging in the public exchange of ideas; · Establishing constitutional protection of and mechanisms for the involvement of civil society in the governance process and developing a regular government-civil society dialogue; · Supporting non-governmental groups that inform citizens of their rights and responsibilities, that help engage citizens with their government, that advocate democratic values and that assist people in developing basic skills needed for effective participation in public affairs; · Encouraging the efforts of the public and private sectors to achieve equality between women and men in their ranks, including in terms of their participation in decision-making bodies; · Protecting and promoting the equal rights of women and men to engage in political activities, including membership in political parties and trade unions; · Providing opportunities for citizens and civil society organizations to participate in government at the local level, including through town councils. 5. Volunteerism: Toward a Stronger Civil Society 6. Coordinating Democracy Assistance 7. Procedures The Convening Group will follow up on the progress in the implementation of the Seoul Plan of Action and report to the Third Ministerial Conference.
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