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On 12 May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution commending the Community of Democracies (CD) for its achievements on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the organization and welcoming the initiative of the Lithuanian Presidency to re-establish the Working Groups within this international framework.

“The House of Representatives welcomes the initiative of the Lithuanian Presidency supported by the Convening Group and the Permanent Secretariat to re-establish the Working Groups within the Community of Democracies which will strengthen the Community of Democracies and bring additional value to it,” the resolution says.

One of the goals of Lithuania’s two-year long Presidency of the Community of Democracies that started last July is to re-establish the Working Groups, which would identify threats to democracy, find ways to enhance democratic governance following the global downturn and financial crisis, to strengthen the role of women and youth in developing democracy, education for democracy and regional cooperation for democracy building, to protect civil society and non-governmental organizations from non-democratic governments, to reform the organization itself and to involve into its activities world’s largest democracies, various regions and civil society more effectively.

On 11-12 April in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Presidency of the Community of Democracies held a convening meeting of the Working Group on Gender Equality.  In the middle of March, the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies was launched at Lithuania’s initiative. Strengthening the role of the Parliament, as a key state institution, ensuring the democratic governance of the state is among the goals of the Parliamentary Forum.

The resolution of the U.S. House of Representatives also endorses the Krakow Conference, which will be held on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Community of Democracies, and extends its best wishes for the success of that conference and for the Community’s ongoing efforts to promote democracy worldwide.

The resolution commends the Community of Democracies for its achievements “whereas under the leadership of the Convening Group, the Lithuanian Presidency, the Permanent Secretariat, and the International Steering Committee, the Community of Democracies has mounted recent efforts to promote democracy in such countries as Iran, Burma, and Afghanistan, and passed resolutions, issued position statements, and committed itself further to missions assisting democratic advancement in those countries and societies which desire it,” the resolution says.

The Community of Democracies is an intergovernmental structure. The goal of this organization is to strengthen and consolidate democracy worldwide. The Community of Democracies joins together over 100 countries.

For more information on Lithuania’s Presidency of the Community of Democracies please visit here.

To read the resolution, please click here.