Organization of American States Summits of the Americas
     
Follow-up and Implementation: Mandates
  

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DEMOCRACY: Political Parties
 MANDATES

  1. Strengthen regional cooperation in support of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, including through the following measures, among others:

    • a. Encourage regular multilateral meetings and foster inclusive discussions among countries in our Hemisphere about challenges to democracy that have arisen in the region over the past two decades since the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter;

    • b. Develop, strengthen and/or consolidate, in accordance with national legislation, the role of the Office of Ombudsperson (Public Defender, Citizen’s Advocate or Human Rights Prosecutor or Commissioner) and/or other relevant national authorities with a view to strengthening democratic governance and respect for and promotion of human rights in the countries of the region;

    • c. Recognize the provisions adopted by States Parties to the Escazú Agreement and invite the countries of the region to join efforts to act in keeping with it, as appropriate. (Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. Support free and fair elections with full respect for state sovereignty, through the following measures, in accordance with domestic law:

    • c. Implement measures to protect and strengthen the integrity of the electoral process and promote its accountability to the citizenry, transparency, and impartiality in domestic electoral institutions and oversight mechanisms, as well as transparency in the funding of political parties, electoral campaigns and candidatures for public office;

    • d. Promote the rights of citizens to choose their leaders in free and fair elections, which are periodic, based on universal suffrage and the secret ballot, and carried out in a transparent manner, by implementing measures to facilitate the ability of all political parties, including those in opposition, to stand for election, promoting the full and equal participation of women, and removing, where applicable, barriers to women running for political office;

    • f. Eliminate measures that create direct or indirect limitations in accessing the electoral process for members of specific groups, particularly opposition political parties and groups in vulnerable situations and/or historically discriminated against; (Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

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  1. Encouraging adoption and/or strengthening of measures that promote transparency, accountability, appropriate accounting, and use of the banking system for income and expenditures of political organizations and parties, especially those related to their electoral campaigns, in order to guarantee the licit origin of the contributions and penalizing anyone involved in accepting illicit contributions. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018).

  1. We recognize that political pluralism and sound political parties are essential elements of democracy. We underscore the importance of rules to ensure the transparency of party finances, to prevent corruption and the risk of undue influence, and to encourage a high level of electoral participation. Therefore, we will promote the conditions that enable political parties to thrive, autonomous of government control. We will encourage political training and leadership development, including for women, youth, indigenous people, members of ethnic groups, and marginalized segments of the population. We acknowledge the important work of the Inter-American Forum on Political Parties in enabling political parties to share best practices and strengthen themselves, as well as promoting reforms of political party systems (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. Convene under the auspices of the OAS, and with the collaboration of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), meetings of experts to examine in more depth issues such as: political party registration, access of political parties to funding and to the media, campaign financing, oversight and dissemination of election results and relations of political parties with other sectors of society; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  1. Ensure the media is free from arbitrary interventions by the state, and specifically, work to remove legal or regulatory impediments to media access by registered political parties including by facilitating, where possible, equitable access during election campaigns to television and radio; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  • 3.1 A strong and diverse civil society, organized in various ways and sectors, including individuals, the private sector, labor, political parties, academics, and other non-governmental actors and organizations, gives depth and durability to democracy. Similarly, a vigorous democracy requires broad participation in public issues. Such activities should be carried out with complete transparency and accountability, and to this end a proper legal and regulatory framework should be established to include the possibility of obtaining technical and financial support, including from private sources. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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