THE PREVENTION OF MILITARY AND OTHER COUPS AGAINST DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENTS AND AGAINST THE FREE WILL OF THE PEOPLES EXPRESSED THROUGH DIRECT SUFFRAGE, AND ACTION TO ADDRESS GRAVE VIOLATIONS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF PARLIAMENTARIANS

Resolution adopted by consensus by the 104th Inter-Parliamentary Conference
(Jakarta, 20 October 2000)

The 104th Inter-Parliamentary Conference,

Reaffirming that the maintenance of constitutional democracy is of fundamental importance to the human rights of peoples, in particular their right to be governed by representatives that they have elected freely,

Noting that military and other coercive means of removing democratically elected governments strike at the very heart both of these rights and of the principles of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and must be condemned,

Emphasising that the Inter-Parliamentary Union has been an active advocate of parliamentary democracy, and recalling that the Inter-Parliamentary Council adopted a Universal Declaration on Democracy in Cairo in 1997 and a Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections in Paris in 1994, and that these supplemented the principles of many international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Convinced that a parliament elected freely and fairly is the best guarantee of human dignity and the prosperity of citizens,

Further convinced that for an open democratic system to function properly, the right to vote and to stand for election, the right to form associations and parties, the right of free speech and equitable access to the media, and the right to assemble and demonstrate peacefully are essential,

Recognising that one of the essential means of preventing threats to democracy is to ensure the full participation of all sectors of society, including women, minorities and vulnerable groups, in democratic processes,

Further recognising the need to ensure the restoration of democracy in countries where the legitimate government has been overthrown and urging authoritarian regimes to carry out the necessary political transformation,

Stressing that the Inter-Parliamentary Union should play a leading role in the prevention of coups and should call on Governments to strengthen democracy, to promote human rights and to support dialogue and negotiation in the settlement of internal disputes as a way of addressing the cause of divisions that lead to attempts to overthrow democratic governments,

Emphasising that no comfort or encouragement should be given to those involved in the undemocratic overthrow of governments, and recognising the need for the international isolation of such regimes by means of effective sanctions and other appropriate practical measures, and the restoration of legitimate, democratically elected governments,

Reasserting that the rights of parliamentarians must be protected if they are to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms in their respective countries, and acknowledging in this regard the successful work undertaken by the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians,

CONDEMNATION

1. Strongly condemns all attempts, successful or otherwise, to overthrow democratically elected governments by military or other undemocratic means;

2. Vigorously condemns all individuals who abuse the human rights of parliamentarians and other citizens in the course of their involvement in military and other coups;

3. Urges all parliaments to exhort their respective governments to bring about the international isolation of regimes which come to power through the undemocratic overthrow of elected governments, by considering the application of effective sanctions and other practical measures;

4. Calls on all parliaments to adopt, where feasible, new legislation and/or constitutional amendments strictly to enforce appropriate punishment for individuals involved in the undemocratic overthrow of elected governments, particularly when violence is used and to ensure to that end that the punishment of such acts may be neither quashed nor subject to a statute of limitations;

PREVENTION

5. Further calls on parliaments to urge governments to direct the international and regional organisations to which they belong to promote a culture of democracy, good governance and democratic rights of citizens;

6. Urges all parliaments and governments to rise above any differences that may exist between ruling and opposition parties and to unite in resisting all attempts and actions aimed at destroying the system of parliamentary democracy by force of arms or other forcible measures;

7. Stresses the important and vital role of education in the formation of a democratic culture of peace and non-violence;

8. Urges all parliaments and governments to ensure the full and equitable participation of all sectors of society, including women, minorities and vulnerable groups, in democratic and democratisation processes;

9. Further urges all parliaments and governments to ensure that bodies responsible for security, particularly the security forces, are accountable both to elected civil authorities and to civil society, and that they operate in accordance with the rule of national and international law;

10. Recommends that all States strengthen democracy, promote human rights as well as human security and favour dialogue and negotiation in the settlement of internal disputes as a way of addressing the cause of divisions that lead to attempts to overthrow democratic governments;

ACTION BY THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

11. Commends the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians for its invaluable work in defending the human rights of members of parliament, and calls on all member parliaments actively to support its work, particularly through appropriate follow-up action on individual cases of human rights violations suffered by fellow parliamentarians which the Committee examines under its public procedure;

12. Urges the IPU to play a special role through the use of the Internet (electronic mail, Web sites) and other cost-effective yet persuasive modes of mass communication, to provide a venue that encourages the early reporting of human rights violations so that parliamentarians can take swift action to protect the rights of parliamentarians and other citizens around the world;

13. Requests the Secretary General of the IPU to examine the feasibility of establishing a mechanism for monitoring and denouncing violations of human rights and civil liberties, and subsequently to report to the governing bodies of the IPU at their next session.

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 104th Conference and related meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union" in PDF format (file size approximately 457K). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.