Last revised: October 10, 2004
Sergio Vieira de Mello, Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Commission on Human Rights, "Continuing dialogue on measures to promote and consolidate democracy", 27 January 2003 (E/CN.4/2003/11), p. 17
There is no single model of democracy or of democratic institutions. Indeed, the ideal of democracy is rooted in past and emerging philosophies and traditions from all parts of the world, including particular philosophical writings, ancient texts, spiritual traditions, and traditional mechanisms originating in east and west, north and south. Thus, we must not seek to export or promote any particular national or regional model of democracy or of democratic institutions. On the contrary, a key strength of this approach is its recognition that each society and every context has its own indigenous and relevant democratic institutional traditions. While no single institution can claim democratic perfection, the combination of domestic democratic structures with universal democratic norms is a formidable tool in strengthening both the roots and the reach of democracy, and in advancing a universal understanding of democracy.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Lecture to Oxford University, "Why Democracy is an International Issue," 19 June 2001 (UN Press Release SG/SM/7850 19/06/2001)
We must beware of what I call "fig-leaf democracy", which occurs when rulers attempt to legitimize or perpetuate their power by holding flawed elections, that are not really free.Ê Elections can only be truly free and fair if they are held in a peaceful atmosphere, in which all parties can compete on an equal footing, with a chance to make their case through the mass media -- including, of course, any media that are owned or controlled by the State. It must be an atmosphere in which unpopular opinions can be voiced; in which facts embarrassing to those in power can be exposed; and in which peaceful campaigning and political meetings are not only permitted but protected from violence.
Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize Economist, Development as Freedom (Oxford University Press 1999) p. 178
"It is certainly true that there has never been a famine in a functioning multiparty democracy. ...The absence of famines holds even for those democratic countries that happen to be very poor, such as India, Botswana or Zimbabwe."
Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize Economist, Development as Freedom (Oxford University Press 1999) p. 180-81
"The causal connection between democracy and the nonoccurrence of famines is not hard to seek. Famines kill millions of people in different countries in the world, but they don't kill the rulers. The kings and the presidents, the bureaucrats and the bosses, the military leaders and the commanders never are famine victims. ...Democracy, on the other hand, would spread the penalty of famines to the ruling groups and political leaders as well. This gives them the political incentive to try to prevent any threatening famine, and since famines are in fact easy to prevent ..., the approaching famines are firmly prevented. The second issue concerns information. A free press and the practice of democracy contribute greatly to bringing out information that can have an enormous impact on policies for famine prevention."
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Lecture to Oxford University, "Why Democracy is an International Issue," 19 June 2001 (UN Press Release SG/SM/7850 19/06/2001
"In other words, democracy requires the rule of law, administered without fear or favour, by independent courts and impartial police."
Sergio Vieira de Mello, Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Commission on Human Rights, "Continuing dialogue on measures to promote and consolidate democracy", 27 January 2003 (E/CN.4/2003/11), p. 19
"Democracy, in form and substance, is threatened by concentration and abuse of power, poverty, corruption, foreign occupation and aggression, inequality, discrimination, repression of minorities, exclusion of women, terrorism, abusive counter-terrorism measures, inadequate education, ineffective and unaccountable civil service, and, in general, all abuse of human rights. Building, protecting and consolidating democracy means, necessarily, countering these threats."