Celebrating International day of Democracy – Sept 15

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Resolution 62/7 declaring 15th September as International Day of Democracy.

The resolution’s preamble defines democracy as ”a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life.” The resolution further recognizes that “while democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy and that democracy does not belong to any country or region” and highlights some key actors in democracy, which are, parliaments, civil society organizations, media and the government at all levels.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. It brings parliaments together to share knowledge, unite on tackling key issues facing the world today, and to drive positive democratic change.

In 2013, IPU is promoting International Day of Democracy through its Member Parliaments in 162 countries around the world.

2013 Theme: Strengthening Voices for Democracy

Democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.

While democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy. Activities carried out by the United Nations in support of efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate democracy are undertaken in accordance with the UN Charter, and only at the specific request of the Member States concerned.

The UN General Assembly, in resolution A/62/7 (2007) encouraged Governments to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy, and also decided that 15 September of each year should be observed as the International Day of Democracy.

The subject of this year’s theme — Strengthening Voices for Democracy — aims to shine a spotlight on the importance of people’s voices, both expressed directly and through their elected representatives, in today’s political, economic, social, developmental, environmental and technological debates. The ability of people to raise their voices and decide how they are governed lies at the heart of democracy.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union is promoting the International Day of Democracy through its Member Parliaments in 162 countries around the world.

The staff of the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies wish all of us a happy International Day of Democracy!

An approach to democracy

Gender Partnership: what the IPU is doing

In September 1997, in Cairo, the IPU Council adopted the Universal Declaration on Democracy and urged Governments and Parliaments throughout the world to be guided by its content.

The opening section of the Declaration, entitled “The Principles of Democracy“, states:

“The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarity, drawing mutual enrichment from their differences.”

Already in April 1992, in Yaoundé, the IPU Council had stated:

“The concept of democracy will only assume true and dynamic significance when political policies and national legislation are decided upon jointly by men and women with equitable regard for the interests and aptitudes of both halves of the population.”

Again, when summarizing in the New Delhi Declaration the outcome of IPU’s Specialised Conference “Towards Partnership Between Men and Women in Politics” (New Delhi, February 1997), the Conference President stated:

“As politics is deeply rooted in society and reflects dominant values, our discussions highlighted clearly that developing a partnership in politics necessarily depends on the degree of partnership as a social mode in general. This is undoubtedly why the Inter-Parliamentary Union asserts that what has to be developed, in modern democratic societies, is nothing less than a new social contract in which men and women work in equality and complementarity, enriching each other mutually from their differences. (…) What is basically at stake is democracy itself.”

PLAN OF ACTION – TO CORRECT PRESENT IMBALANCES IN THE PARTICIPATION OF MEN AND WOMEN IN POLITICAL LIFE

Adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Council, the plenary policy-making body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, at its 154th session(Paris, 26 March 1994).

The Plan of Action is the outcome of reflection within the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organization of national parliaments. The Inter-Parliamentary Council developed it by means of a working group1 made up of an equal number of male and female parliamentarians, on the basis of proposals presented by the member Parliaments. The Council adopted the Plan at its 154th session held in Paris on 26 March 1994 as a contribution to the Fourth World Conference on Women to be held in Beijing (China) in September 1995.

The Plan of Action is based on the affirmation2 that “forty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Political Rights of Women and despite undeniable progress, political and parliamentary life remains dominated by men in all countries”.

It is also inspired by the following vision of democracy3: “The concept of democracy will only assume true and dynamic significance when political policies and national legislation are decided upon jointly by men and women with equitable regard for the interests and aptitudes of both halves of the population .”

It is divided into five main sections:

1. Section A covers all that must precede political participation, i.e., the conditions needed for women to participate actively in political life; this section briefly looks into the question of the cultural and religious values of civilization, education, employment, health and participation in economic life;
2. Section B concerns the legal basis for equality of men and women;
3. Section C deals with participation in politics at the national level; it covers such issues as action to promote women’s “political awareness”, respect for the principle of equality in political parties, measures for affirmative action, participation of women in elections, and the sharing of political responsibilities by men and women;
4. Section D covers the various aspects of women’s participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s activities; and
5. Section E concerns the mechanism for follow-up and assessment of the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Plan.

In this Plan of Action, emphasis is placed essentially on political participation as such. It is, however, impossible to refer to political participation in isolation, and other indicators relating to the achievement of civil, economic, social and cultural rights must also be taken into account.

Drawn up with a world-wide approach and prepared in the spirit of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies (1985) and of the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), the Plan of Action is conceived as guidelines to inspire and stimulate national action. It takes account of the variety of cultural, religious, political and institutional contexts and aims to offer solutions adapted accordingly. It also contains provisions that directly concern the Inter-Parliamentary Union itself.

Events – Listed HERE

WOMEN IN PARLIAMENTS: SPEAKERS OF HISTORY