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Statement
by the Honourable Fred Mitchell, M.P.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public
Service at 35th Regular Session of the OAS General
Assembly on Delivering the Benefits of Democracy
Fort
Lauderdale, Florida Monday, 6 June 2005
I am
honoured to be here today both as the representative of the Commonwealth
of The Bahamas and as the newly elected chair of the Council for Foreign
and Community Relations of the Caribbean Community.
Let me
congratulate Dr. Condoleesa Rice upon her election to the Chair of this
General Assembly, as well as for elevation to the office of Secretary of
State of the U.S.A. The Bahamas and CARICOM look forward to working with
you in the months and years to come.
I wish
to congratulate the new Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza, upon his
election to office. The Bahamas and CARICOM pledge to work with the
Secretary General on issues of common concern.
Best
wishes to Lluigi Einaudi. I shall remember the days in Haiti with great
fondness.
This
day, we are all called upon to speak to the issue of delivering the
benefits of democracy. It is a serious issue and one that is central to
the civilization which we share in the hemisphere.
We are
called to review this issue front and centre in the context of a meeting
where it is argued that for our personal safety and security, the
leaders of the hemisphere are fenced away from the people they govern.
We must constantly examine this issue, lest we allow the other side to
win by changing our way of life in ways that may not be necessary and
are the unintended consequences of wanting to be safe and secure.
The
extraordinary measures to ensure this event is carried out safely are to
be applauded, but as we all know, it is important to always review what
we do so that we do not end up inhibiting our own freedom.
The
CARICOM region has a long history of representative or parliamentary
democracy. Within the hemisphere, Barbados as an OAS member has the
oldest parliament, and the second oldest if you include the non-member
Bermuda.
The
Bahamas ranks after Barbados, having a continuous parliament since 1729.
The franchise was first for white men of property, then all men of
property, then all persons, men and women, and finally in 1969, all
adults over the age of 18.
This is
a right, a freedom which we hold dear. We believe that democracy has
delivered political change, equity for our people, and economic
progress. It is the model by which more will be delivered to our
people.
This is
the experience throughout the region, and you will know and be assured
that all of the parliamentary political parties in the region support
and are committed to the principles of democracy. But beyond that, civil
society, as a whole, shares this commitment as the means of further
transforming our societies.
As you
know, The Bahamas and CARICOM participate actively in the Organization
of American States (OAS). This is also a sign of the commitment to the
principles of democracy. We think that it is also evident that The
Bahamas and CARICOM have a commitment to the Inter-American Democratic
Charter. The question is how do the principles of the charter find ready
expression where there is a crisis of confidence in various member
countries in the institutions of the state that regulate the democracies
which we all cherish.
Haiti
is one obvious example of how the OAS works and works well. There are
those who would say nay, arguing that the continuing crisis in that
country demonstrates the failure of OAS mechanisms. We do not think so.
Democracy requires continued superintendence. The OAS is within the
Haitian polity as a means of fostering dialogue, and beyond that, to
foster the development of a political community, and Shepherd Nascent
Political Institutions. We think the ad hoc mechanisms have worked, and
it is obvious that this is the most flexible way by which to approach
issues.
One
must therefore be wary of any effort, a structure which would
straight-jacket, or make inflexible the ability of this body to respond
to a crisis.
We have
had the advantage as a caribbean community and as a member state to
review in advance the draft text under the rubric “The Declaration of
Florida”. We have approached the draft with seriousness and some
caution. We have some suggestions of our own. Principally, there is the
concern that we are not inventing a pretext for countries to believe
that they are a target for the undermining of their institutions.
Democracy is clear when we see it. However, as Sam Huntington’s work
at Harvard would show in the balance between development and freedoms,
there are various trade offs. The regulating mechanism for this is an
abiding belief in the consent of the governed, the right to self
determination and that 20th century concept, the right to
territorial integrity, safe behind defined borders. Nevertheless, the
text is being diligently examined. The community will make concrete
proposals within the working group for amplifications to the draft. It
is a useful beginning of examining how the concrete mechanism for
trouble spotting can work. We
look forward to the adoption of a declaration which has the full support
of the entire membership of the OAS so that we can proceed with its
implementation without equivocation or exception.
This
delegation urges member states to review the matter with similar
seriousness and assiduous attention to detail.
the
people of The Bahamas, Prime Minister Perry Christie, our government
look to this organization as a bulwark of the principles of democracy,
the protection of the sovereignty of the member states, including The
Bahamas and CARICOM countries. We pledge to continue our work. We are
deeply appreciative of all the work that has been done to assist our
member state Haiti. The OAS must remain engaged. Free and fair elections
are absolutely essential for good governance in that country. Those
elections will hopefully herald a new beginning for that member state,
truly delivering to it the benefits of democracy. The Bahamas and
CARICOM stand ready to assist, as we have already been doing to help
bring these elections to a successful conclusion.
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