Promoting
Democracy and Understanding
in the Face of Terrorism
By
Hon. David Kilgour
For
the Millwoods Newspaper
September
20, 2001
During
the Quebec Summit last spring,
hemispheric leaders gathered
to discuss important issues.
Some of the major areas of
interest included international
trade policy, the elimination
of poverty, environmental
sustainability and, most importantly,
preserving and promoting human
rights through democratic
participation.
It was
ultimately this last point
that would become the major
theme of the Quebec Summit.
“Representative Democracy”
defends personal freedom and
promotes individual security
while, encouraging public
participation and citizen
engagement. It is in the end
the ultimate defender of human
rights.
It was
with this in mind that the
Foreign Ministers, of the
hemisphere, travelled to Lima,
Peru to ratify the Inter-American
Democratic Charter, which
states in no uncertain terms:
“The peoples of the Americas
have a right to democracy
and their governments have
an obligation to promote and
defend it.”
The Charter
reaffirms that the thirty-four OAS (Organization
of American States) member
countries must have democratic
governments and lays out basic
characteristics of what that
means, including free and
fair elections, a pluralist
political party system, and
respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
It
was with heavy hearts that
we unveiled the ratified Charter
on September 11th,
2001 only hours after the
tragic events in New York
and Washington. Ultimately,
the aim of this new tool is
to strengthen and protect
democracy from the sort of
catastrophic events we were
all witness to on September
11th. Enhancing the legal
underpinnings of democracy
throughout the hemisphere,
so that we might better protect
ourselves and defend our principles
against terrorist threats,
is now more important than
ever.
We now
find ourselves involved in
a global struggle against
terrorism. Canadians generally
are determined to work with
our neighbours and the international
community to fight this scourge,
which respects no border.
This is a problem that affects
all of us since an attack
on one country is an attack
on all.
I want
to emphasize that we are in
a struggle against terrorism,
not against any community
or faith. Terrorism is a global
threat that attacks the very
freedoms we cherish. We will
protect and safeguard these
freedoms, but must focus on
doing what is right, not merely
in the short term, but for
all time.
