Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies

Chair’s Press Communiqué
New York, NY
59^th session of the United Nations General Assembly

1. On September 22, 2004, in New York, at the invitation of Ms. María Soledad Alvear Valenzuela, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile and Chair of the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Community of Democracies held a Ministerial Meeting, coinciding with the 59^th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
   
   
2. The Ministers received a report on the progress made in the implementation of the "Seoul Plan of Action" of the Community of Democracies, on the activities developed by the Community of Democracies in the United Nations, and on the preparations for the Third Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies.
   
   
3. The Ministers reviewed the Community of Democracies’ activities from March 2003 until the present. They considered, among other activities, regional conferences to promote democracy, including the Bucharest meeting of November 2003; cross-regional meetings, including the America-Africa Dialogue on Democracy, of June 2003; and on the missions of participants of the Community of Democracy to support and assist new democracies, including the Mission to Timor Leste of May 2004. Also they were informed of the global activities of the Non-governmental Process for the Community of Democracies.
   
   
4. The Ministers received information regarding the Ministerial Meeting of the Convening Group on occasion of the 58^th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2003, and on the results reached at the 60^th session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in 2004, with the approval of three resolutions as a result of cooperation of the members of the Community of Democracies. The Chair reaffirmed the commitment to continue promoting the work of the democratic caucus in the United Nations and other multilateral forums.
   
   
5. The Ministers were also informed by the Chair of the preparations for the Third Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies, to be held May 4-6, 2005, in Santiago, Chile. The Conference will aim to review the activities being pushed forward by the Seoul Plan of Action, to strengthen regional and cross-regional cooperation for democracy and to send a strong message about the value of democracy in the current world. In this context, they reiterate the Community’s commitment of support to practices of democracy, to the strengthening of democratic institutions and processes and to those who fight for democracy.