Democracy: Its Principles and Achievement

               This post is a summary of the book with the title above published by Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1998 at http://archive.ipu.org/PDF/publications/DEMOCRACY_PR_E.pdf

              The word democracy is one of the most used terms of the political vocabulary. This vital concept touches the very fundamentals of the life of human beings in society, has given rise to much comment and reflection; nevertheless, until now there has not been any text adopted at the world-wide level which defined its parameters or established its scope. The Inter-Parliamentary Union is pleased to publish in this book the text of the Universal Declaration on Democracy. The Union's commitment to democracy will, however, be pursued far beyond the approval and publication of a text whose implementation it is now striving to promote assiduously. The U.N. has taken note of this declaration in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly. The Principles of Democracy are: 1) Democracy is a universally recognised ideal as well as a goal, which is based on common values shared by peoples throughout the world. 2) As an ideal, democracy aims essentially to preserve and promote the dignity and fundamental rights of the individual, to achieve social justice, foster economic and social development, strengthen the cohesion of society and enhance national tranquility. 3) A state of democracy ensures that the processes by which power is acceded to, wielded and alternates allow for free political competition and are the product of open, free and non-discriminatory participation by the people. 4) Democracy is founded on the primacy of the law and the exercise of human rights. Economic, social and cultural development are conditions for and fruits of democracy. There is thus interdependence between peace, development, respect for the rule of law and human rights. 5) Democracy is based on the existence of well-structured and well-functioning institutions. 6) It is for democratic institutions to mediate tensions and maintain equilibrium between the competing claims of diversity and uniformity, individuality and collectivity, in order to enhance social cohesion and solidary. 7) Democracy is founded on the right of everyone to take part in the management of public affairs, it therefore requires the existence of representative institutions at all levels. 8) The key element in the exercise of democracy is the holding of free and fair elections at regular intervals enabling the people's will to be expressed. These elections must be held on the basis of secret suffrage so that all voters can choose their representative in conditions of equality, and transparency that stimulate political competition. To that end, civil and political rights are essential, and among them, the right to vote and to be elected. 9) It is an essential function of the state to ensure the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights to its citizens. 10) Public accountability, which is essential to democracy, applies to all those who hold public authority. Accountability entails a public right to access to information about the activities of government, the right to petition and seek redress through impartial judicial mechanisms. 11) Public life must be stamped by a sense of ethics and by transparency, and appropriate norms and procedures must be established to uphold them. 12) Individual participation in democratic processes at all levels must be regulated fairly and impartially and must avoid any discrimination, as well as the risk of intimidation by state and non-state agents. 13) Judicial institutions and independent, impartial and effective oversight mechanisms are the guarantors for the rule of law on which democracy is founded. 14) While the existence of an active society is an essential element of democracy, the capacity and willingness of individuals to participate in democratic processes can not be taken for granted. It is necessary to develop conditions conducive to the genuine exercise of participatory rights, while also eliminating obstacles that prevent, hinder or inhibit this exercise. 15) A sustainable state of democracy thus require a democratic climate and culture constantly nurtured and reinforced by education and other vehicles of culture and information. 16) The state of democracy presupposes freedom of opinion. 17) Democratic institutions and processes must also foster decentralised government and administration, which is a right and a necessity, and which makes it possible to broaden the base of public participation. 18) A democracy should support democratic principles in international relations. Democracies must refrian from undemocratic conduct, express solidarity with democratic governments and non-state actors which work for democracy and human rights, and extend solidarity to those who are victims of human rights violations. In order to strengthen criminal justice, democracies must reject impunity for serious violations of human rights and support the establishment of a permanent international criminal court. Democracy can not exist without civil society, and civil society ca not exist without a population that has the will and capacity to act in defense of its values and institutions. In the final analysis, however, it is people who make and live democracy, and who can also undo it and destroy it. Thus, people must have the knowledge and capacity to exercise their individual and collective rights in order to bring about democracy, preserve democratic processes, and insure that these processes work effectively and with integrity so that democratic outcomes may be attained. Education is indispensable and allows a citizenry the capacity to develop civil society and to act in defense of its values and institutions. Lack of education is probably the single most factor which causes apathy and indifference in a society. Such apathy and indifference is what allows the few to malgovern, to abuse individual and collective rights, and to exploit their fellow citizens. No genuine democracy can long exist while the citizenry is apathetic or indifferent. Although elections form a key mechanism for the popular control of government, they are of limited effectiveness on their own without institutions that secure a government's continuous accountability to the public. Here, the task of parliament is not only to approve proposals for legislation on behalf of the electorate, but to keep the policies and actions of the executive under continuous scrutiny, and they require independence to do this effectively. A further crucial dimension of accountability is the requirement that all public officials act within competencies explicity authorised by the rule of law, and this in turn depends on the independence of the courts and judiciary. Finally, no effective accountability of government is possible without the openness of their activities to public inspection, according to the pricniple of freedom of information. The system of democracy becomes synonymous with the idea of justice as the glorious words of Daniel Webster thus indicate: "Justice is the greatest interest of man on earth. It is the ligament which holds civilized beings and civilized nations together. Wherever her temple stands, there is a foundation of social security, general happiness and the improvement and progress of our human race. And whoever labours on the edifice with usefulness and distinction, whoever clears its foundation, strengthens its pillars, adores its entablatures or contributes to raise its august dome still higher in the skies, connects himself in the name fame and character with that which is and must be durable as the frame of human society." No society can advance without open conflicts. But if there is to be a clash of ideas, the rational expression of social claims and needs in a free and responsible manner, it is essential for the citizens to have received a minimum of education. Indeed, without it, the citizens would have no awareness of the freedoms and rights to which they are entitled. Such civil and political rights would remain merely theoretical. Consequently, investment in education must be a priority, along with the production of goods and employment. Social marginalisation destroys national cohesion and democratic rule. The prospects for a long-standing democratic political system depend on the ability of leaders to put forward new ideas and to translate into action the diffuse democratic hopes of the populace, these can be ideas and measures designed to accelerate the democratic process or to repair a democratic system which has broken down. But these leaders must be imbued with democratic values. The bedrock of any democratic system lies in the preservation of basic human rights for all. The preservation of human rights, the final objective of the democratic process, demands the integration of political rights with those of an economic, social and cultural nature. Democracy guards against opportunities for abuses of power and ensures that they are rectified should they occur, especially through the system of checks and balances, considered paramount for a viable observance of the principle of separation of powers. Democracy attempts to satisfy the will of the majority without sacrificing the minorities, to favourequality without ignoring differences, to make room for civil society without devaluing the role of the state, to preserve the right of the individual without neglecting the general interest. This delicate balance, this difficult vigilance of the citizen can sometimes lead to lassitude, uncertainty and disappointment. But the ordinary citizen must be virtuous and well-educated and be willing to make an effort, he or she is subjected to estreme stress. As a result of the subtlety of its procedures and the legitimate progress of individual rights, democracy is becoming more complex for the ordinary citizen. It requires a high degree of rationality. It is now up to the political actors themselves to become the agents of their own renaissance. This implies that political life will be reorganized around new choices. This political reconstruction will not be possible unless we become aware of the conditions needed for the existence of democracy and unless we do away with the false opposition between the requirements of world economy and those of social justice. Conversely, only democracy can enable them to blend together and to create for all of us a space of freedom.