Last year, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 September International Day of Democracy. This decision holds special significance for the IPU as the international organization of parliaments. To mark this event, the IPU will examine current challenges to democracy at a panel-discussion at The House of Parliaments on Monday 15 September 2008. Guest speakers at the event include Mr. Danilo Türk, the President of the Republic of Slovenia; Ms. Marta Lagos, Executive Director of the LatinoBarómetro polling organization (Chile); and Mr. Benjamin Barber, a US-based political analyst and writer. The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, will also be in attendance. Mr. Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States of America, 2002 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and President of The Carter Center will send a video message.
The IPU promotes democracy on the basis of the Universal Declaration on Democracy, which its Members adopted ten years earlier. Major advances have been made across the world in the field of democracy. However, it continues to face considerable difficulties and even disillusionment in both established and emerging democracies. Failure to identify and address these challenges may undermine the foundations of democracy.
Democracy requires strong parliaments that function according to a set of core values - representativeness, transparency, accessibility, accountability and effectiveness both nationally and in international affairs. Parliaments – like democracy – are always perfectible, and the extent to which they put these values into practice is perhaps the best indicator of the future health of democracy.
The panel will be moderated by Ms. Muriel Siki (Swiss Television-TSR journalist). It will stimulate debate on democracy, the challenges it faces and how to overcome them. It will aim to shed light on a number of issues, including:
- How democracy is affected by globalization and today’s consumer society, the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the increasingly virtual world in which we live.
- How parliaments and other political actors perform in this environment. Are they adapting successfully to today’s world? What can and should they do to meet the challenges facing democracy?
The IPU has also urged parliaments to commemorate the International Day of Democracy through some form of special activity. A dedicated section on the IPU web site provides detailed information on the various activities being organized by the IPU and Parliaments.
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