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UN Sets Fund to Strengthen Democracies in Developing Countries Xinhua

The United Nations has set up a democracy promotion fund to help developing countries strengthen democratic institutions, a senior UN official disclosed on Monday.

The UN Democracy Fund which was launched by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan last July is to be used to finance projects to empower civil society, bolster the rule of law, boost popular participation and ensure that people are able to exercise their democratic rights from the grassroots level, said Amir Dossal, Executive Director of the UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP).

Addressing a news conference in Nairobi, Dossal who is representing UN Secretary General at the 114th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) underway in Nairobi said it was important for countries that want assistance as emerging democracies to nominate themselves and come up with projects which can bolster the rule of law.

"We have 50 million U.S. dollars already committed and the most important thing about this fund is that we are going to open it up for civil society organizations to see how they can try to improve democratic institutions at the local level. The UN is so keen to reach out to the citizens of the world," Dossal told reporters in Nairobi.

He said the fund began work in March this year with a closed meeting of the 17-member advisory board that will provide policy guidance and recommend funding proposals.

"The Democracy Fund operates differently from development aid programs in that it will not impose projects on a country, but will accept proposals from the countries themselves," said Dossal.

"We are putting a lot of emphasis on new democracies and restore democracies to make sure they do not fall back into the previous mark," Dossal added.

He said the funds would be distributed globally based on the applications received.

"We are not targeting any particularly countries. We are opening up invitations to all countries," he said.

He said the UN Democracy Fund's 17-member advisory board met in March for the first time, to discuss how to administer that money and the millions more it hopes will flow into its coffers.

"The fund will support projects aimed at consolidating and strengthening democratic institutions and processes, such as the drafting of constitutions and the development of pluralistic media," he said.

The fund's charter says "no single model of democracy" will be endorsed and "under no circumstances" will any activities undertaken by the fund be imposed on a country.

Countries will be expected to bid for funding themselves, presenting projects they believe are worthy of support, he said. The UN Secretary General Annan agreed with the plan and established the fund in June 2005 and world leaders officially endorsed the new body at their UN summit in September 2005.