Promoting and Consolidating Democracy

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 114b Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2001.

What subjects does this mandate have?

14 subjects

Civil Society Democracy Democratization Elections Human Rights Human Rights Advancement Information Dissemination Institution Building Judicial Independence Pluralism Political Participation Popular Participation Rule of Law Sustainable Development

What’s in this document?

50 operative paragraphs

Calls upon States to promote and consolidate democracy, inter alia, by:

Promoting pluralism, the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, maximizing the participation of individuals in decision-making and the development of effective public institutions, including an independent judiciary, accountable legislature and public service and an electoral system that ensures periodic, free and fair elections;

Promoting, protecting and respecting all human rights, including the right to development, and fundamental freedoms, in particular:

Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, belief, peaceful assembly and association, as well as freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, and free, independent and pluralistic media;

The rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, including the right freely to express, preserve and develop their identity without any discrimination and in full equality before the law;

iii

The rights of indigenous people;

The rights of children, the elderly and persons with physical or mental disabilities;

Actively promoting gender equality with the aim of achieving full equality between men and women;

Taking appropriate measures to eradicate all forms of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

vii

Considering becoming parties to international human rights instruments;

viii

Fulfilling their obligations under the international human rights instruments to which they are parties;

Strengthening the rule of law by:

Ensuring equality before the law and equal protection under the law;

Ensuring the right to liberty and security of person, the right to equal access to justice, and the right to be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power in the case of detention with a view to avoiding arbitrary arrest;

iii

Guaranteeing the right to a fair trial;

Ensuring due process of law and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law;

Promoting the independence and integrity of the judiciary and, by means of appropriate education, selection, support and allocation of resources, strengthening its capacity to render justice with fairness and efficiency, free from improper or corrupt outside influence;

Guaranteeing that all persons deprived of their liberty are treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person;

vii

Ensuring appropriate civil and administrative remedies and criminal sanctions for violations of human rights, as well as effective protection for human rights defenders;

viii

Including human rights education in the training for civil servants and law enforcement and military personnel;

Ensuring that the military remains accountable to the democratically elected civilian government;

Developing, nurturing and maintaining an electoral system that provides for the free and fair expression of the people’s will through genuine and periodic elections, in particular by:

Guaranteeing that everyone can exercise his or her right to take part in the government of his or her country, directly or through freely chosen representatives;

Guaranteeing the right to vote freely and to be elected in a free and fair process at regular intervals, by universal and equal suffrage, conducted by secret ballot and with full respect for the right to freedom of association;

iii

Taking measures, as appropriate, to address the representation of under-represented segments of society;

Ensuring, through legislation, institutions and mechanisms, the freedom to form democratic political parties that can participate in elections, as well as the transparency and fairness of the electoral process, including through appropriate access under the law to funds and free, independent and pluralistic media;

Creating and improving the legal framework and necessary mechanisms for enabling the wide participation of all members of civil society in the promotion and consolidation of democracy, by:

Respecting the diversity of society by promoting associations, dialogue structures, mass media and their interaction as a means of strengthening and developing democracy;

Fostering, through education and other means, awareness and respect for democratic values;

iii

Respecting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and the exercise of the right freely to form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations or associations, including trade unions;

Guaranteeing mechanisms for consultations with and the contribution of civil society in processes of governance and encouraging cooperation between local authorities and non-governmental organizations;

Providing or improving the legal and administrative framework for non-governmental, community-based and other civil society organizations;

Promoting civic education and education on human rights, inter alia, in cooperation with organizations of civil society;

Strengthening democracy through good governance as referred to in the United Nations Millennium Declaration5 by, inter alia:

Improving the transparency of public institutions and policy-making procedures and enhancing the accountability of public officials;

Taking legal, administrative and political measures against corruption, including by disclosing and investigating and punishing all those involved in acts of corruption and by criminalizing payment of commissions and bribes to public officials;

iii

Bringing government closer to the people by appropriate levels of devolution;

Promoting the widest possible public access to information about the activities of national and local authorities, as well as ensuring access by all to administrative remedies, without discrimination;

Fostering high levels of competence, ethics and professionalism within the civil service and its cooperation with the public, inter alia, by providing appropriate training for members of the civil service;

Strengthening democracy by promoting sustainable development, in particular by:

Taking effective measures aimed at the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to education and the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services, individually and through international cooperation;

Taking effective measures aimed at overcoming social inequalities and creating an environment that is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty;

iii

Promoting economic freedom and social development and pursuing active policies to provide opportunities for productive employment and sustainable livelihoods;

Ensuring equal access to economic opportunities and equal pay and other rewards for work of equal value;

Creating a legal and regulatory framework with a view to promoting sustained economic growth and sustainable development;

Enhancing social cohesion and solidarity by:

Developing and strengthening, at the local and national levels, institutional and educational capabilities to resolve conflicts and disputes peacefully, including through mediation, and to prevent and eliminate the use of violence in addressing societal tensions and disagreements;

Improving social protection systems and ensuring access for all to basic social services;

iii

Encouraging social dialogue and tripartite cooperation with respect to labour relations among government, trade unions and employer organizations, as reflected in the core Conventions of the International Labour Organization;

Requests the Secretary-General to disseminate the present resolution as widely as possible.

4 Decembre 2000

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents