US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI4633

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 004633 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, IN, Indo-US 
SUBJECT: INDIA PROPOSES INDIA-US GLOBAL DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE 
 
REF: A. STATE 112791 
     B. NEW DELHI 4354 
 
(SBU) On June 17, Joint Secretary (Americas) Dr. S Jaishankar 
gave DCM a non-paper "India-US Global Democracy Initiative," 
in response to a commitment that Foreign Secretary Shyam 
Saran had made on May 17 to IO/DAS Mark Lagon (Ref A) to 
develop pilot programs for the UN Democracy Fund that 
President Bush and PM might announce during their July 18 
meeting.  Noteworthy is that New Delhi has increased its 
pledge to the Fund to $10 million, to bring it in line with 
that of the USG request to Congress for FY-06 (as noted Ref 
B).  Asked where the U.S. and India might work together, 
Jaishankar responded that Afghanistan and Iraq would be 
obvious candidates. 
 
Begin text: 
 
1.  The world's oldest democracy and the world's largest 
democracy have an obligation to the global community to 
strengthen values, ideals and practices of freedom, pluralism 
and rule of law. 
 
2.  As developed democracies, they must assist other 
societies in transition to become more open and democratic. 
They recognize democracy as a universal aspiration that 
transcends social, cultural and religious boundaries. 
 
3.  While free and fair elections are the foundation of 
democracies, its pillars are institutions and conventions 
that give civil society the necessary instruments to realize 
its freedoms.  Where these are weak, the independence and 
integrity that is (sic) central to democratic processes stand 
compromised. 
 
4. Democratic countries are the prime targets of terrorism, 
just as they are the best defense against terror.  The spread 
of democracy will make the world safer and more secure.  It 
is inextricably linked to sustainable socio-economic 
development of societies in transition. 
 
5.  Strengthening the capacity of emerging democracies to 
deliver on the compact they have with their peoples is a 
global challenge that India and United States will address 
jointly.  They will work together to support institutions and 
develop relevant human resources that make the workings of 
democracy credible. 
 
6.  An independent judiciary, a credible election commission, 
an active human rights commission and effective and 
transparent auditing process are some of the critical 
elements of that democratic ideal.  The spread of 
parliamentary practices is also an important contribution to 
the process of democratic transition. 
 
7.  Gender equality is an integral aspect of democratic 
societies and support for programmes promoting this objective 
is envisaged as a high priority. 
 
8.  Respect for diversity and pluralism is intrinsic to 
democracy.  India and the US will support programmes that 
will sustain and nurture the value of pluralism. 
 
9.  India and the US will encourage and support the United 
Nations in its electoral assistance programmes, including 
through national capacity building, constitution drafting and 
electoral expertise for transitional democracies. 
 
10.  India and the US resolve to consult closely in pursuance 
of their common ideals on the spread of democratic values and 
aspirations and develop specific programmes to strengthen its 
institutions. 
 
11.  India and the US welcome the operationalization of the 
Democracy Fund under the United Nations and announce a 
contribution of US$ 10 million cash to its corpus fund.  They 
invite other democratic nations to contribute generously to 
the Fund, which should assist societies in building the 
institutions of democracy. 
 
12.  The Indo-US Global Issues Forum is charged with the 
responsibility of formulating and implementing cooperative 
proposals under this initiative. 
 
End Text. 
MULFORD