News

 On 11-12 July in Lisbon during the Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies, Lithuania took over the chairmanship of this international framework from Portugal. Lithuania chairs the Community, which is comprised of over 100 countries, until 2011.

During the Ministerial Meeting, the Final Declaration was issued, procedure documents giving details of the activities of the Community of Democracies were adopted, and the Bronislaw Geremek award was conferred on famous anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela for merits to democracy.

While taking over the chairmanship, head of Lithuania’s delegation, Vice-Minister of Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Šarūnas Adomavičius thanked the participants of the meeting for confiding in our country and presented Lithuania’s key priorities for the period of its chairmanship.

Lithuania will aim at strengthening the role of the Community of Democracies in consolidating democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law and will foster single position of the countries of the Community regarding the challenges to democracy. Š.Adomavičius stressed that Lithuania was resolved to develop regional cooperation and to include into it regional organizations that work in the sphere of democratic development in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Lithuania’s key partners in Europe will be the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Lithuania will dedicate special attention to form joint position of the countries of the Community of Democracies at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.

This September in New York during the forthcoming 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Lithuania is planning to initiate a resolution on the issues of democracy education and to organize a donor conference to support activities of the Community.

Head of Lithuania’s delegation encouraged the governments of the countries of the Community of Democracies and the civil society to mark the International Day of Democracy on 15 September.

During the Ministerial Meeting in Lisbon, Lithuania’s delegation discussed activities of the Community of Democracies with former U.S. Secretary of State, one of the initiators of the Community of Democracies Madeleine Albright and consulted with the convening countries of the Community, non-governmental organisations and representatives of the civil society.

The Community of Democracies, which was established in 1999, is an intergovernmental structure. Democracies and developing democracies take part in its activities. The goal of this organisation is to strengthen and consolidate democracy worldwide. The Community of Democracies is based on the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Convening Group of the Community is comprised of 17 countries: Cape Verde, Chile, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, India, Italy, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Mongolia, Morocco, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States of America.