The first Conference on New or Restored Democracies was attended by representatives of 13 "newly restored democracies": Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Greece, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay. The Conference adopted the Manila Declaration, which reaffirmed the indissoluble link between peace, democracy and development.

The Second Conference was held in Managua, Nicaragua,
on 4-6 July 1994

This second Conference of New or Restored Democracies adopted the Managua Declaration and led to the endorsement of a comprehensive Plan of Action for democracy. The documents reiterate the decision to support and promote the universal right to democracy and development. This strong message led to the U.N. General Assembly decision to include a permanent item on democracy on its agenda at the 49th session.

The Third Conference was held in Bucharest, Romania,
2-4 September 1997

It was a natural choice to hold the next conference in Central and Eastern Europe. The region had undergone the most profound and comprehensive political and economic reforms. About 80 governmental delegations participated in the Conference. In addition, 47 non-governmental organizations from 20 countries took part in the Civil Society Forum.

The Bucharest Final Document, entitled "Progress Review and Recommendations" stressed the interdependence between democracy, development and good governance. The document also underlined that there was an almost universal recognition that a democratic system of government was the best model to ensure a framework for lasting solutions to the political, economic and social problems that their societies were facing.

The representatives to the Bucharest Conference recommended that a follow-up mechanism should be established to provide information about country programmes and treatment of specific issues. This would help facilitate communications and better understanding among the new or restored democracies, as well as their cooperation with the traditional ones and national and international organizations, to improve the results of programmes and enhance cooperation. The objective of the follow-up was to have issues treated systematically to share the progress made by each country according to its own circumstances rather than to any absolute standards.

The Fourth Conference was held in Cotonou, Benin,
4-6 December 2000

The choice of an African country to host the Fourth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies was not only a reflection of the geographical rotation but also a necessary and timely move to stress Africa's role in building democracy. The building of democracy in Africa appeared the most difficult challenge and Benin represented an example of a smooth and non-violent shift to democracy.

For the first time in Cotonou, all U.N. Member States were invited. 110 governmental delegations participated to the Conference. The Conference was the largest demonstration at that time of the widening global trend to strengthen and promote the democratization process in all regions of the world.

The theme of the Conference was "Democracy, Peace, Security and Development" and the agenda of the conference covered the following topics:

1. Best practices in building democracy and the relations between peace, security, democracy and development;
2. Democracy and conflict prevention and management;
3. Democracy and development and the participation of women and youth;
4. Factors that may facilitate or hinder the democratic process (good governance, decentralization and violations of human rights and personal freedoms).

The Cotonou Declaration, which was adopted at the end of the Conference, covers a broad range of issues, including peace, security and disarmament; democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms; and development, poverty eradication and environment. It also contains a large number of recommendations addressed to organizations of civil society, the private sector, donor countries and the international community, the U.N system and the follow-up mechanism first established at the Third Conference of New or Restored Democracies.

See also the Department of Public Information (DPI) webpage on the International Conference on New or Restored Democracies held in Cotonou, Benin.

The Fifth Conference was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,
10-12 September 2003

A record number of States, 119, with over 400 participants, and some 30 of them at the ministerial or equivalent levels, participated in the Fifth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, which took place in Ulaanbaatar from 10 to 12 September 2003.

Following concerns emerged from the debates of the Conference:

• Globalization and its impact on democracy
• International terrorism and crime
• Poverty, unemployment and social exclusions as threats to democracy
• The importance of a vibrant, active civil society
• The decline of trust in authorities
• Electoral systems and the role the role of the media.

The conference adopted two substantive documents identifying the core values of democracy and a comprehensive action framework: the Ulaanbaatar Declaration and the Plan of Action on Democracy, Good Governance and Civil Society

The Ulaanbaatar Declaration sets forth six key principles indicating that democratic societies are:

1. just and responsible
2. inclusive and participatory
3. promote and protect the rights and freedoms of all their members
4. open and transparent
5. function under agreed rules of law and accountability regardless of the challenges they may face, and
6. show solidarity towards others.

The countries agreed to a total of fifty-two commitments falling under these six principles. The Plan of Action outlines ways in which the commitments of the Declaration can be implemented at national, regional and international levels.

An innovation in the Conference was a parallel Parliamentary Forum, organized jointly by the Parliament of Mongolia and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. One hundred twenty participants from 47 countries attended. A highly interactive civil society forum, with some 240 participants from 64 countries, preceded the Conference. Both forums presented their results to the Conference, suggested their inclusion in the future conferences and pledged to institute their own follow-up mechanisms to monitor further progress.

The General Assembly encouraged in its resolution A/RES/58/13 the Member States, the relevant organizations of the U.N. system, other intergovernmental organizations, national parliaments, including in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union and other parliamentary organizations, and non-governmental organizations to contribute actively to the follow-up to the Fifth International Conference and to make additional efforts to identify possible steps in support of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies, including those set out in the Ulaanbaatar Declaration and Plan of Action.

The Conference succeeded beyond expectations, which augurs well the future of the movement. The wide and high-level participation in the Conference demonstrated that there is increasing global support to discuss and promote democratization - nationally, regionally and globally. Whereas the Declaration adopted at the Conference reconfirms much of the contents of previous Conference declarations, it also presents more clearly than ever before the benchmarks for a democratic society. The Plan of Action is also action-oriented and commits the participating Governments to implement ambitious plans at the national, regional and international levels, for instance, through drawing up national and regional plans for strengthening democracy.

For more information, please consult the 5th ICNRD web page

The Sixth Conference will be held in Doha, Qatar,
30 October to 2 November 2006

It is the first time the Conference will be held in an Arab country. The General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/58/281 welcoming the proposal of the Government of Qatar to host the Sixth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies in Doha and encouraging the intergovernmental follow-up mechanism to the preceding Ulaanbaatar Conference to actively cooperate in the preparatory process for the 2006 conference.

See press release.