NEWS RELEASE

October 30, 2008

Prominent Canadians Call on Nicaragua
to Respect Democracy

Two former Canadian ministers of foreign affairs and a former prime minister signed an open letter by the Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter urging Nicaragua to respect democracy in advance of that country’s municipal elections on November 9.

The letter underscored the evidence that the government of President Daniel Ortega is gravely constricting the democratic rights of citizens and abusing the basic norms of a democratic society. The government’s actions include the cancellation of the legal status of two parties, a pending prosecution against an opposition candidate during the election, raids of domestic civil society organization offices and interrogations of their leaders, and the denial of credentials to domestic observer organizations. These actions, among others, are “casting doubt upon the development of a democratic municipal electoral process,” said the letter.

FOCAL Board member and former Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, and former foreign affairs ministers John Manley and Barbara McDougall were among the 13 signatories of the letter, which included former US President Jimmy Carter.

"Canada was and is a powerful advocate of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The shrinking democratic space in Nicaragua marks a return to a period when state authority eclipsed the democratic and human rights of individuals. This represents a repudiation of concepts and rules established by the Charter,” said FOCAL Board Chair, John Graham, who is also an advisor to the Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

The seed of the Inter-American Democratic Charter was planted at the Quebec Summit of the Americas in 2001. The Charter, signed on September 11, 2001, in Lima, Peru, by all 34 members of the Organization of American States, serves as a benchmark definition of democracy in the region and details how it can be defended multilaterally. It has only been formally invoked once, during the 2002 failed military coup in Venezuela.

The Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter is a group of prominent former public servants, politicians, and human rights leaders who advocate for democracy in the region.

For more information or to schedule an interview with FOCAL Board Chair John Graham who is an Advisor to the Group of Friends, please contact Peter Moore, Communications Director, at 613-562-0005 x255, www.focal.ca.

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The Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL) is an independent, non-partisan think tank dedicated to strengthening Canadian relations with Latin America and the Caribbean through policy dialogue and analysis.