New York, September 20, 2022
Continuing with its spirit of strengthening and opening spaces for advocacy, multi-stakeholder and multilateral democratic dialogue, Redlad has been chosen to lead the Civil Society Pillar of the Community of Democracies; an intergovernmental coalition formed in 2002 that promotes the agenda of democratic principles within the framework of the Warsaw Declaration, a document signed by 106 countries of the world in June 2000 as a result of a global meeting of governments.
The Declaration commits States to respect essential democratic principles and to support each other in fulfilling those objectives. In this sense, the Community of Democracies was born as an initiative that promotes a path of political consolidation and is a permanent space for debates, articulation and coordination of efforts.
Currently the Community of Democracies is formed by governments and civil society from 28 states: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, South Korea, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Guatemala, Hungary, India, the United States, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Morocco, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania, Sweden and Uruguay.
From this moment on, the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy (Redlad) will be the chair of the Pillar of Civil Society of the Community of Democracies, headed by our general coordinator Enrique de Obarrio. Likewise, RedLad will have the Executive Secretariat of the pillar, which will be assumed by our executive director Gina Romero.
Our main efforts will be focused mainly on:
- Strengthen the relationship with each of the members and focal points, recognizing the leadership and objectives pursued by civil society organizations in their particular contexts.
- Create decentralized processes in which the presidency and the secretariat support the national focal points articulated in subregions. We understand that they are the heart that drives the entire process in each of the countries. Therefore, they must be the center of all action.
- Improve dialogue and articulation between the Civil Society Pillar and the other levels of the Community of Democracies, including its Secretariat and Governing Council, in order to give greater legitimacy to the actions carried out in the field.
We propose all of the above because we deeply believe that dialogue, collective work and the promotion of diversity are the keys to strengthening democracy as the best political system and the most perfectible for guaranteeing essential rights and freedoms. Likewise, we are moved by concerns about the current crisis that most countries in the world are experiencing, in terms of the emergence of authoritarian leadership, the systematic violation of civic space, a strong deficit of citizenship and the entrenchment of corruption in the State.
It is necessary that from all social sectors we focus efforts on promoting transformations that materialize the demands set forth in international agreements, such as the Warsaw Declaration.
So, we are very pleased to be able to contribute to these efforts, to the processes of articulation of civil society and to the defense of civic space.
Likewise, we want to thank and recognize the work that the Fundación Multitudes (Chile) has done in recent years in this same position. With Multitudes we have been able to join forces in different projects, in addition to being very active members of Redlad.
Finally, we also want to let know to all the organizations that are part of the Civil Society Pillar that Redlad has a team willing to work collectively to advance our common goals. Likewise, to the members of the governments, who will find in us channels of dialogue and collaboration in favor of these objectives as democrats and defenders of human rights.
