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U.S. Official Outlines Essential Elements of The Organization of American States (OAS) defending democracy in the region.

John Maisto says democracy must defend human liberties

By Eric Green

Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The Organization of American States (OAS), on behalf of the 800 million people in the Western Hemisphere, must be committed to defending democracy in the region, says U.S. official John Maisto.

In September 12 remarks at the OAS commemorating the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, Maisto said the charter enumerates the "essential elements of representative democracy."

Maisto, the U.S. permanent representative to the OAS, said those elements of democracy are respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; the rule of law; the holding of periodic, free and fair elections based on secret balloting; a pluralistic political system; and the separation of powers between branches of government.

He also emphasized that the "democracy we are talking about is not a U.S. model of democracy," nor a model of democracy from Brazil, Canada, Venezuela, Costa Rica or Jamaica. The elements of democracy, he said, represent "fundamental, universal, non-negotiable human liberties. And in the Americas, we have a positive agenda to assure that all 800 million people enjoy these freedoms."

The U.S. envoy said that if democracy is to help reduce poverty and inequality in the Americas, "then democratic institutions must be effective. Institutions must be reformed to fight corruption and to function transparently. And every democracy must have the strength to create opportunities for improved health and education for all of its citizens."

Maisto said that ?to prevent a breakdown of this democratic infrastructure," the Democratic Charter, adopted by the United States and the 33 other OAS members on September 11, 2001, "must be a relevant tool for action, not just a piece of paper."

On that date, when the United States was attacked by terrorists and citizens of more than 30 countries in the hemisphere were killed, hemispheric leaders committed themselves "not only to defend our territory, our security, and our people," but also to defend democracy, said Maisto.

He added that under the auspices of the charter, the OAS has helped or is helping those member states where democratic practices or institutions are challenged, including in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. In addition, Maisto said that over the last 24 months, the OAS has fielded "high quality, successful election observer missions or other missions" in Bolivia, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, St. Vincent, Suriname and Nicaragua.

Maisto said that even though the charter can serve as an effective tool to "ward off political crises or impending challenges to constitutional order, there is still reluctance on the part of some countries to use it in this way."

With this in mind, Maisto said the charter does not "anticipate rushing to sanction or to suspend" an OAS member state. Rather, he said, the charter "contemplates a gradual, measured response to political crises" and "incorporates very practical measures -- both remedial and preventive -- to strengthen and restore democracy."

Maisto said the two 9/11 events -- the terrorist attacks on the United States and the adoption of the charter -- are "seminal in the course of our hemisphere's history, and they will forever remain tied inextricably by fate's hand." He added that "at face value, both could not be further apart in their human dimensions: one, an act of premeditated evil, the other, a symbol of great human achievement that exalts civilization."

But on that date, Maisto said, "we saw our countries, our region, and our world come together as a community of nations to provide comfort, solidarity, and hope. And we saw political will and determination by each one of our governments to make a historic and explicit commitment to the preservation and promotion of democracy, on the very day that our democratic values and way of life came under attack."

For the text of the OAS democratic charter, see Democracy Dialogues.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)