U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs

Remarks at a Luncheon of the
International Federation of Election Systems' Board of Directors
Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary for Global Affairs
Washington, D.C.
June 4, 2001

Madame Chairperson, Board members, distinguished guests, President Soudriette, and Vice President Pilon: I'd like to thank you for having me here today. It is truly a pleasure to be a guest of the IFES Board of Directors, and to meet both the board members and staff, as well as other democracy experts.

In my first several weeks as Under Secretary for Global Affairs, I have -- as one can expect -- received a number of invitations to speak. While giving speeches to outside groups is a key part of my job, I am particularly partial to appearing before organizations like IFES, NED, IRI, NDI, Solidarity Center, CIPE, Vital Voices, Freedom House, Asia Foundation, and others that are on the front line of democracy building. This is not the case simply because democracy building is a key institutional goal of the Global Affairs office but also because of my personal interest. My interest in human rights and democracy dates back some 20 years ago, to my NSC days, where, among other things, I worked with Solidarity and other democratic movements in East Europe, the Human Rights bureau at the State Department, then at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe meetings, and at USIA. I came to fully appreciate that human rights and democracy are not only important but are significantly integral to our American foreign policy.

Our unique political culture and constitutional history naturally predisposes us to care about democracy-related issues. Our founding fathers understood well the connection between political accountability, rule of law, separation of powers, and good governmental policies both at home and abroad. They were also keenly aware of the need to have a limited government with a large sphere of private life, free from government involvement. Last, but not least, they felt that these principles did not just apply to the United States, but to mankind as a whole.

Given that as a foundation, let me now fast forward 225 years. IFES and others in the room embody all of our forefather's key political principles -- a private organization, working in partnership with the U.S. Government, on the promotion of democracy beyond America's shores. IFES and many co-partners in the room whom I have already mentioned, have truly been great partners to the United States Government, particularly to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

As this lunch is part of the IFES board meeting, let me mention some of the projects IFES has launched and which are examples of your significant contributions to democracy:

• Your study of judicial systems around the world will help international and local reformers target efforts to assist judiciaries function independently and effectively.
• IFES played a key role in helping East Timor not only train its own judges and prosecutors, but also to establish a human rights court which is already trying several cases of crimes against humanity. This has been and will continue to be crucial to restoring peace and stability in East Timor.
• I know just last weekend, IFES worked very hard and very closely with local Peruvian elections administrators on the second round of elections. This will go a long way to ensuring public confidence in this defining moment in Peru's history. NPR described it this morning as the "cleanest election in years."
• IFES also is to be commended for its rule of law project in Ukraine.

Overall, IFES has contributed immeasurably to improving voter participation and education by stressing tirelessly that in a democratic body polity an individual's voice matters a great deal, and that political engagement is a core attribute of citizenship.

It is noteworthy that the impact of the work of IFES and others here in the room today extends past the realm of elections and touches upon many other aspects of democracy, including human rights, rule of law, good governance, effective independent transparent democratic institutions, and a strong civil society. And the advancement of these goals is a vital component of this Administration's foreign policy.

As Secretary Powell so eloquently put it, a guiding principle of the Administration's foreign policy will be that the United States stands ready to help any country wishing to join the democratic world. The first and most essential ingredient for political, economic, and foreign policy success in the 21st century is a free people and a government that derives its right to govern with their consent. When you are sitting across the table from government officials who do not subscribe to the same basic democratic principles, it is far more difficult to pursue mutual security goals, economic or trade aims, humanitarian objectives, or other foreign policy priorities. This is why the work that all of you do is so important.

By developing accountability, transparency, rule of law, and citizen participation, we are able to help others develop and grow and promote our own interests.

I am struck by how much the issues that IFES and all democracy promotion-related groups work so hard on overlap with the issues for which I am responsible. As the Under Secretary for Global Affairs, I will allocate my time and efforts among the issues of democracy, human rights, environment and global health issues, humanitarian assistance and refugees, and combating international narcotics, trafficking in persons, and crime.

Both the challenges and the solutions in these areas are interconnected, and can be best advanced through democratic change. Preventing refugee outflows will only happen when we end conflict, when countries learn to deal with discord through peaceful means and respect fellow citizens regardless of ethnic, religious, racial, and political differences. Ending trafficking in persons and protecting victims is a goal that we agree upon with our democratic allies, and one that most of them are pursuing. Similarly protecting human rights and women's rights is done more readily within the context of a civic society, governed under the rule of law.

Let me underscore that fostering good governance, rule of law, and other basic democracy principles is not only good for the country that is moving closer to democracy and for American interests. It is truly better for the entire international community. As you work with emerging democracies and countries in transition, they join the community of countries that understand and advocate democratic principles. And the more voices that are joined together, the stronger the chorus. To underscore, the spread of democracy also serves the interests of the world, at large, international security, lasting peace, and economic prosperity.

It is for this reason that the Administration is seriously reviewing how best to strengthen the Community of Democracies structure. We want to embrace this concept with real meaning and go beyond a network and the holding of meetings. A strengthened Community of Democracies, operating with transparency and strong input from NGOs, can become a vital forum for dealing with human rights and democracy deficit problems throughout the world.

Let me also turn to a few specifics about other key areas of democracy promotion, which deserve special emphasis.

In the democracy-building area:

• We should focus our efforts on providing small- to medium-scale, very targeted assistance, as opposed to dispensing large-scale assistance that is difficult to monitor.
• We should support the efforts of indigenous non-governmental organizations. It is these groups that build civil society and will carry on the work decades after the foreign NGOs are gone.
• We should emphasize cross-fertilization among NGOs from various emerging democracies, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe, as well as Latin America, Asia, and Africa, that can share with each other their democracy-building experiences. While broad democratic principles are universal, we should not be openly prescriptive in our approach or advocate one-size fits all solutions. It is important that regional differences be factored into our strategies for various countries. And I am confident this can be done within the context of promoting internationally accepted standards, such as those enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Conventions.

I know that IFES and other NGOs have grown increasingly sensitive to these issues and found success in pioneering these approaches. I appreciate IFES' efforts to continue to expand and refine its strategies.

As I mentioned this morning at InterAction's annual forum, I am very committed to working closely with the NGO community. I have done this before while at the NSC, State Department, USIA, OSCE, and Council on Foreign Relations, and have found the advice of NGOs to be invaluable. Your voice and work are so important to policy dialogue, decision-making, and resource allocation. We need your input when we consider how to design our democracy programs most effectively. I will be working closely with non-governmental organizations, as well as policy experts, assistance practitioners, private business, and community- and faith-based groups, in all areas in my portfolio.

Listening to people with hands-on experience like those of you from IFES and other groups will remain an important priority for me, during my entire tenure at the State Department. I very much look forward to our continuing partnership over the next few years.

Let me close on that note. But before I do let me applaud the work that all of you are doing, and also thank the board again for having me here this afternoon.

END