Section: Documents on Democracy

January 2024, Volume 35, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi’s letter from prison; Russian artist Sasha Skochilenko’s final court statement; the Bletchley Declaration on AI safety and ethics; “An Open Letter to the Presidents of Africa” by Congolese hip hop artist Martial Pa’nucci; a letter from Guatemala’s indigenous ancestral and community authorities; a Chinese blogger remembers Peng Lifa.

October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

A final statement by Russian activist and opposition politician Alexei Navalny; The North Atlantic Council’s communiqué on Ukraine; Legal analyst Ethan Hee-Seok’s testimony on North Korean asylum-seekers at the China–North Korea border; “Voices of a New Belarus” by playwright Andrei Kureichik; Guatemalan president-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s victory speech.

July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Activist Xu Zhiyong on the Imperative for a Democratic China; Historian Timothy Snyder on “Russophobia”; Fadzayi Mahere on why Zimbabwe is a tragedy; a call for the release of the speaker of Tunisia’s parliament, Rached Ghannouchi; a Burmese student recounts her experience as a strike leader following the 2021 military coup.

April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Zelensky’s speech on the first anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion; “Us–You–Them” by Ukrainian author Haska Shyyan; Belarusian human-rights defender Ales Bialiatski’s Nobel lecture; Activist Lhadon Tethong’s testimony on human-rights abuses against Tibetans in China; Activist Miriam Atahi’s remarks on women-led protests against Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Featuring Canadian deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland’s remarks on defending democracy; a letter by Chinese and Hong Kong socialists on China’s “zero-covid” protests; Shervin Hajipour’s song “Baraye,” the unofficial anthem of the protests in Iran; Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen’s remarks on shoring up democratic resilience in Taiwan and globally; and Gambian human-rights lawyer Fatou Bensouda’s…

October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Burma’s National Unity Government statement on execution of four prodemocracy activists by military junta; UN Human Rights Commission report on the treatment of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region; international NGO statement on closure of Uganda’s leading LGBTQ rights advocacy organization; the Prague Manifesto for a Free Ukraine; Zov, a Russian soldier’s memoir.

July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Journalist Lian Qingchuan’s reflections on the Shanghai lockdown; Evgenia Kara-Murza’s testimony before the UN Human Rights Council; independent expert assessment of Russian violations of the international Genocide Convention; Moldovan president Maia Sandu’s commencement address; Larry Diamond’s acceptance speech from the 2022 Democracy Service Medal award ceremony; U.S. president Ronald Reagan’s Westminster Address.

April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Excerpts from: letter from the Editors of Novaya Gazeta; Speech by Ukraine’s UN Ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya; statement by former Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė; statement by the Russian Anti-War Committee; transcript of an interrogation of an antiwar protester by Russian police; speech by Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky to the U.K. Parliament

January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Summit for Democracy speech; announcement by Women’s Tennis Association cancelling future tournaments in China; statement on sentencing of Tony Chung under Hong Kong’s National Security Law; Honduran president Xiomara Castro’s inauguration address; “Nigeria Unite” by DJ Switch.

October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Sergei Adamovich’s remarks on the death of Andrei Sakharov; Marjan Farsad’s “Moonlight”; joint letter for a global moratorium on surveillance-technology sales; Zambian president Haikande Hichilema’s inaugural address.

July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Maria Ressa’s comments on social media at the 2021 Copenhagen Democracy Summit; NGO statement on the arrest of Algerian human-rights defenders; statement denouncing the dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and the attorney general; letter on the sentencing of a Saudi man for allegedly running a satirical Twitter account.

April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Russian political activist Alexi Navalny’s final appeal of politically motivated defamation charges; Burmese permanent representative to the UN Kyaw Moe Tun’s denunciation of the coup; lyrics of the prodemocracy Cuban rap “Patria y Vida”; an interview with Ugandan presidential candidate Bobi Wine; statement of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo.

January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Iranian women’s rights activist Shaparak Shajarizadeh’s speech accepting the Morris B. Abram award; the World Uyghur Congress statement for the UN’s 75th anniversary; call by NGOs for the release of human-rights advocate Ramy Kamel in Egypt; NGO statement on the police response to Thai prodemocracy protests; statement of support for LGBTI activists in Poland; statement…

October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Text of “A Call to Defend Democracy,” initiated by International IDEA and the National Endowment for Democracy; televised statement by Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya; open letter on the imprisonment of Turkish civil society leader Osman Kavala.

July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Remarks on China from Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger; joint statement by David Kaye, Harlem Désir, and Edison Lanza on protecting the free flow of information during the covid-19 pandemic; open letter by Indian academic and Dalit-rights activist Anand Teltumbde; reflections from Joshua Wong on the future of Hong Kong’s prodemocracy movement

April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: an open letter on the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang; a speech by Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen; a pact by the mayors of Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, and Warsaw.

January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement by a group of NGOs on China; a speech by former prime minister of Moldova Maia Sandu; a speech by Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed; an open letter calling for free and fair elections in Russia.

October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement by the Sudanese Forces for Freedom and Change; a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; a speech by journalist Maria Ressa; a speech by Hong Kong democracy activist and musician Denise Ho; a speech by Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa; a statement by Konstantin Kotov.

July 2019, Volume 30, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; a speech by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; a speech by Félix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); a statement by Reverend Chu Yiu-ming; and a speech by Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a speech by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian; a letter by Bernard-Henri Lévy, Milan Kundera, Salman Rushdie, Elfriede Jelinek, and Orhan Pamuk; tributes to Lyudmila Alexeyeva; and the Parliamentary Call for Global Democratic Renewal.

January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the G7 Charlevoix Commitment on Defending Democracy from Foreign Threats; victory speech by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro; inaugural address by Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador; inaugural address by Maldivian president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih; remarks by Angolan journalist Rafael Marques; and address by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Washington Declaration.

October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Report on Nicaragua by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); inaugural address of Ethiopia's new prime minister Abiy Ahmed; remarks by Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra at the Eighth Summit of the Americas; inaugural address of Colombian president Iván Duque 

July 2018, Volume 29, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Courage Tribute acceptance speeches from the World Movement for Democracy’s Ninth Assembly in Dakar, Senegal; Organization of American States (OAS) statement on Cuba’s presidential succession; French president Emmanual Macron’s address before the European Parliament; report by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.K. Parliament on Russian money laundering

April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Inaugural address by Liberian president George Weah; open letter by Iranian activists and intellectuals; testimony by China analyst Clive Hamilton before the Australian Parliament's Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. 

January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

International Forum for Democratic Studies report on "Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence"; Emmerson Mnangagwa's inaugural address as interim president of Zimbabwe; letter from Zimbabwean civil society organizations; address by U.K. prime minister Theresa May; statement by former Soviet political prisoners and dissidents. 

October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: an open letter calling for the release of democracy activists in Hong Kong; excerpts from the inaugural address of new South Korean president Moon Jae In.

July 2017, Volume 28, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Prague Appeal for Democratic Renewal. Excerpts from: the inaugural address of French president Emmanuel Macron; remarks by Chilean politician and political scientist Sergio Bitar, recipient of the inaugural  Guillermo O’Donnell Democracy Award and Lecture-ship. 

April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: U.S. president Donald J. Trump’s inaugural address; remarks by U.S. vice-president Mike Pence and U.S. senator John McCain at the Munich Security Conference; speeches by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, and the Gambia’s new president Adama Barrow; and NED president Carl Gershman’s remarks before the Lithuanian parliament. 

January 2017, Volume 28, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Prime Minister Theresa May on the U.K. vote to leave the European Union; former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright on Václav Havel; joint statement by U.S. representatives Peter J. Roskam (R-Ill.) and David Price (D-N.C.) on the threat of corruption.

October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the inauguration speech by Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski; Ennahda party president Rachid Ghannouchi’s remarks on religion and state in Tunisia; inaugural award ceremony of the Darnal Award for Social Justice; Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's inaugural address; Philippine senator Leila de Lima’s speech on extrajudicial killings.

July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a letter by Thich Quang Do, Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and a leading human-rights advocate, to U.S. president Barack Obama; a declaration by prominent Latin American political leaders and activists calling for political and social opening in Cuba; the inaugural address of Taiwan’s new president Tsai Ing-wen.

April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the inaugural address of Argentine president Mauricio Macri; victory speech by Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen

January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: remarks given by Iranian historian Ladan Boroumand at the opening of the Eighth Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy; a speech given by Venezuelan opposition leader Jesús Torrealba; remarks given by Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza as as he accepted on behalf of slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov a posthumous freedom award.

October 2015, Volume 26, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: remarks by Nigeria's new president Muhammadu Buhari; statement by Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova; statements on abuses against lawyers and activists in China

July 2015, Volume 26, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari’s inaugural address; a speech given by Leon Wieseltier honoring the slain Russian opposition politician and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov; the conclusion of the report “Putin.War”; Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova's letter from prison.

April 2015, Volume 26, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: newly elected Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena’s campaign manifesto; Newsweek Polska's interview with Boris Nemtsov; opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's statement of innocence issued after the Federal Court of Malaysia upheld his conviction and sentence; a statement issued by UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association Maina Kiai.

January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: an open letter by the Hong Kong Federation of Students to Chinese premier Li Keqiang; the campaign manifesto of former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who was proclaimed Afghanistan’s president; the third annual Carlos Cardoso Memorial Lecture; an open letter calling for the release of human-rights activist Liu Xiaobo.

October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilve’s speech in Oslo, Norway; Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech; Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán's shocking speech in favor of an “illiberal” state; an open letter by senior members of the Communist Party of Vietnam calling for an end to communism; the inaugural address of Colombian…

July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the inaugural address of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko; “My Ideals and the Career Path I Have Chosen,” an autobiographical essay by by Ilham Tohti; a speech given by Chinese lawyer and civil-rights activist Chen Guangcheng to mark the impending twenty-fifth anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square.

April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the statement of Xu Zhiyong, a founding member of New Citizens Movement, at his trial; a joint statement by the former presidents of Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru on the situation in Venezuela; the preamble of Tunisia’s first constitution since Ben Ali’s fall; statement by Ukrainian NGO Civic Sector.

April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: The statement that Chinese rights activist Xu Zhiyong read at his January 22 trial for gathering a crowd to disrupt public order, for which he received a four-year prison sentence. The March 4 statement issued by former presidents Oscar Arias (Costa Rica), Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), Ricardo Lagos (Chile), and Alejandro Toledo (Peru) on the deteriorating…

January 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a speech delivered in North Korea by Mongolian president Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj; Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech honoring Václav Havel; the joint statement of governments participating in a meeting on the growth of restrictions on civil society globally; the charter of the newly formed Asia Democracy Network.

October 2013, Volume 24, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Russian anticorruption crusader and Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny’s speech; presidential contender Nana Akufo-Addo’s speech conceding the race to John Dramani Mahama and Mahama’s address; remarks by jailed Chinese human-rights activist Xu Zhiyong and essay dedicated to him by lawyer and human-rights activist Teng Biao.

July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the inaugural address of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta; the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai's annual report to the Human Rights Council; Remarks by Rosa María Payá, daughter of the late Oswaldo Payá Sardiñ​as.

April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: The Declaration of Free Citizens by Vietnamese bloggers; Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; a letter issued by the Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Colombo; the inaugural address of South Korean president Park Geun-hye; a speech given by Shin Dong-hyuk who fled North Korea.

January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the speech of Maryam al-Khawaja accepting, on behalf of human-rights activists in Bahrain, the Democracy Courage Tribute; 14-year old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai’s speech accepting the Civic Courage Award; Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s concession speech and opposition leader Bidzina’s statement clarifying his postelection call for Saakashvili to resign; the inaugural address of Mexican…

October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech; former Yukos oil company head Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s statement criticizing the Moscow trial of three members of the band Pussy Riot; Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi’s speech; the statement of 17 Egyptian NGOs urging a greater focus on the rule of law and human rights.

July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade’s concession speech; newly elected Senegalese president Macky Sall’s first national address; the Ottawa Declaration on Tibet issued on April 29 at the conclusion of the Sixth World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet.

April 2012, Volume 23, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Tawakkol Karman's acceptance speech for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize; a statement issued by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Conference of Bishops on the DRC's disputed 2011 presidential election; the concluding statement of the February 22 extraordinary meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group regarding the resignation of Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed.

January 2012, Volume 23, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the concession speech of former Zambian president Rupiah Banda; the inauguration speech of Zambian president Michael Sata; the “Russia Development Index 2010–2011” report.

October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement condemning the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' campaign against the country's civil society organizations and human-rights groups; a statement by two top EU officials on the arrest of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko; an address given by Mongolian president Tsakhia Elbegdorj; the OAS resolution "Promotion of the Rights…

July 2011, Volume 22, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan’s inaugural address; the March 29 statement issued by the 31-member Libyan Interim National Council; the final statement issued by participants of the Conference for Change in Syria.

April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from the “Roadmap for a Nation of Rights and the Rule of Law” issued by a group of 13 Egyptian NGOs together as the Forum of Independent Human Rights Organizations. Egypt On February 12, after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down following weeks of protests against his rule, the Forum of Independent Human Rights…

January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: portions of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's closing statement at his fraud trial on 10 November 2010; the Casablanca Call for Democracy and Human Rights; an open letter written by two dozen former officials of the People’s Republic of China Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; a UN resolution establishing the special rapporteur on freedom…

October 2010, Volume 21, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: remarks by Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and president of the European parliament Jerzy Buzek given to mark the tenth anniversary of the Community of Democracies; the inaugural address of president of the Philippines Benigno S. (Noynoy) Aquino III.

July 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from remarks presented by newly elected Chilean president Sebastián Piñera upon signing a set of proposed laws for the strengthening of democracy to be submitted to the Congress.

April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement by Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charches of “inciting subversion of state power”; the inaugural address of Honduran president Porfirio Lobo; a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Lawyers for Democracy; the inaugural address of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Ayman Nour’s video message to the National Endowment for Democracy’s conference, “Middle Eastern Democrats and Their Vision of the Future”; Wang Lixiong’s speech accepting the Light of Truth Award; Ladan Boroumand’s speech accepting the Lech Wałęsa Prize; the “EU Agenda for Action”—the annex to the “Conclusions on Democracy Support in the EU’s External Relations”

October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement issued by Iranian opposition candidate Mir Hosein Musavi; the Organization of American States’ resolution suspending Honduras from the organization; UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s message to the fifth ministerial conference of the Community of Democracies; a speech given newly re-elected Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh.

July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: remarks by Xu Youyu made while accepting the Homo Homini Award on behalf of imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo; the African Union’s decision on the forced resignation of Madagascar’s president; the inaugural address of Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes; ASEAN’s statement condemning Burma’s treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi. 

April 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Charter 08, an open letter calling for a political system in China based on human rights and democracy; an ECOWAS statement condemning the military coup in Guinea; the inauguration speech of new Ghanaian president John Evans; statements issued commending the conduct of Iraq’s January 31 provincial elections.

January 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the farewell speech delivered by the Maldives’ outgoing president and the new executive’s inaugural address; Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo’s inaugural address; several tributes from the memorial service of Bronisław Geremek; an open letter by 109 Iranian university presidents; statements issued for the first International Day of Democracy.

October 2008, Volume 19, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement issued by a leading group of Russian democrats on the conflict over South Ossetia; a joint declaration condemning Russian military actions against Georgia; the African Democracy Forum’s statement condemning the military coup d’état in Mauritania. 

July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: “Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibet Situation,” by 29 Chinese intellectuals; a speech given by European Commission president José Manuel Barroso at the formal launch of the European Foundation for Democracy through Partnership; the “State of the Nation” address delivered by the Movement for Democratic Change’s presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai; International Committee…

April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence from Serbia; U.K. foreign secretary David Miliband’s speech, “The Democratic Imperative”; the power-sharing agreement between the Kenyan president and opposition leader; “Pakistan’s Tipping Point” by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.  

January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a Washington Post op-ed written by U Gambira, a pseudonym for the leader of the All-Burma Monks Alliance; remarks by Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, accepting the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award; the keynote address given by Indonesian president Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the 40th Annual Conference of the International Association of Political…

October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a communiqué adopted at a postelection Nigerian civil society summit; a report from Abuja from IFES Deputy Director Nathan Dusen; an open letter issued by Chinese human rights defenders before the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games.

July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the Berlin Declaration; an interview with Thich Quang Do—winner of the 2006 Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for Human Rights Defenders; a speech delivered by Romanian president Traian Băsescu.

April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: an open letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin in response to the decision to close the Society for Russian-Chechen Friendship; a message delivered by Democratic Republic of the Congo president Joseph Kabila acknowledging his victory in the 2006 elections.

January 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: remarks delivered at  a memorial for Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist and human rights advocate murdered in Moscow on October 7; a statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the coup in Thailand; a speech by Felipe Calderón, his first address as Mexico’s president.

October 2006, Volume 17, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a letter from jailed Egyptian politician Ayman Nour; Timorese leader José Ramos Horta’s acceptance speech; the inaugural address of Chilean president Michele Bachelet; a summit declaration entitled “Promoting Peace, Human Rights and Democracy Worldwide. 

July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Akbar Gangi’s acceptance speech of the Golden Pen Award; a speech by Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo; the “Manifesto for a European Democracy Foundation”; the “2006 Declaration on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam.” 

April 2006, Volume 17, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the inaugural address of Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; a statement by Singaporean activist Chee Soon Juan, the secretary-general of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party; a resolution calling for the “International Condemnation of the Crimes of Communist Regimes.” 

January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change; the preamble of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation; the Taipei Declaration on Democracy in Asia.

October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: speeches commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the “Polish August”; the Bamako Declaration of the African Statesmen Initiative; an open letter in recognition of Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday.

July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a joint statement to the Kyrgyz nation issued by the presidents of Georgia and Ukraine; the Madrid Agenda; a letter issued by five hundred Chinese human rights and democracy activists; the third UN Development Programme Arab Human Development Report; a secret audio audio message recorded by Thich Quang Do, deputy leader of the…

April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement by the Lebanese opposition; a speech by Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko; Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s inaugural address; inaugural remarks by Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority; a collective statement by Togolese civil society organizations; an appeal to the international community by 25 Nepalese human rights organizations; Romanian president…

January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a declaration issued by the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba; an open letter issued by leading democrats decrying Russian president Vladimir Putin’s series of “reforms”;  a statement issued by forty leading civil society groups from the Middle East and North Africa; an open letter issued in response to the initiation of criminal…

October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: incumbent Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s inaugural address; The Doha Declaration for Democracy and Reform issued by a conference in Doha sponsored by Qatar University’s Center for Gulf Studies; speech opening the conference by Qatar’s Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani; inaugural speech by newly elected Serbian president Boris Tadić of the Democratic Party.

July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the Alexandria Declaration, a document emanating from a March 2004 conference on Arab reform convened under the auspices of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak; an initiative on political reform issued by the first Arab Civil Forum on March 22; the Tunis Declaration, issued at the end of the Arab Summit; a response from 34…

April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from a United Nations report on the feasibility of early elections and possible alternatives in Iraq; an inaugural address by Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili delivered in Tbilisi on January 25; a letter signed by more than 100 reformist Iranian parliamentarians criticizing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for approving the Guardian Council disqualification of more…

January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a November 2003 interview with Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize; a September 2003 speech by Hossein Khomeni, grandson of the founder and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran; a September 2003 statement issued by Václav Havel, Arpád Göncz, and Lech Wałęsa, former presidents…

October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a November 2002 lecture delivered by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Iraq, the late Sergio Vieira de Mello; the May 25 inaugural address of Argentinian president Néstor Kirchner; a May 17 speech by Zainah Anwar, executive director of Sisters in Islam, a Kuala Lumpur-based organization that advocates a more liberal interpretation of…

July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Kenyan president-elect Emilio Mwai Kibaki’s inaugural speech; statement by the International Movement of Parliamentarians for Democracy condemning the crackdown on Cuban dissidents; Organization of American States (OAS) secretary-general César Gaviria’s speech at a conference entitled “Financing Democracy: Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections.” 

April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Václav Havel’s last two addresses as president of the Czech Republic; Nicaraguan president Enrique Bolaños’s speech accepting the National Endowment for Democracy’s Democracy Service Medal; speech by Turkish Justice and Development Party chairman (now prime minister) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; inaugural address of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: “A Republican Manifesto: A Model for Overcoming Iran’s Political Deadlock” by Iranian investigative journalist Akbar Ganji; opening remarks and acceptance speeches from the fifteenth annual W. Averell Harriman Democracy Awards; “Community of Democracies statement on Terrorism.”

October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Egyptian sociologist and prodemocracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim’s written statement; the Arab Human Development Report; UN Development Program Administrator Mark Malloch Brown’s address launching the 2002 Human Development Report; Columbian president Alvaro Uribe Vélez’s inaugural address; Chair of the African Union (AU) and South African president Thabo Mbeki’s speech at the inauguration of…

July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Sierra Leonean president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s inaugural address; the Democracy Coalition Project’s “Call to Action to Build Open Democratic Societies”; the Varela Project, a petition circulated by Cuban dissidents; East Timorese president Xanana Gusmao’s inaugural address.

April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a resolution adopted by the Third International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees; Eduardo Duhalde’s first address as president of Argentina; the opening address of Hussain Sinjari a a seminar entitled “Prospects for Democracy in Iraq”; the introductory speech of the European Convention by Convention chairman, former French president Valéry Giscard-d’Estaing.

January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: British prime minister Tony Blair’s speech on the events of September 11 and their aftermath; the “Inter-American Democratic Charter” adopted by the Organization of American States; UN secretary-general Kofi Annan’s speech accepting the National Democratic Institute’s Averell Harriman Award; Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s “Speech for the Nation.”

October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: writings by Human rights activist Elena Bonner on the situation in Chechnya; the first state address of Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri; the African Union’s New Africa Initiative; Organization of American States General Assembly Resolution 1753.

July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: “Tunisia 2004: Manifesto of Progressive Tunisian Democrats”; the Declaration of Quebec City from the third  Summit of the Americas meeting; Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castañeda’s address at the 57th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. 

April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: South Korean president Kim Dae Jung’s speech accepting the 2000 Nobel Prize for Peace; the inaugural address of Ghanian president John Kufor; Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s inaugural address; the “National Action Charter for the State of Bahrain”; the “Appeal for Democracy” issued on behalf of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.

January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement by Yugoslav presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica; Mexican president Vicente Fox’s inaugural address; the declaration of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad.

October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a victory speech by Mexican president-elect Vicente Fox; a final declaration of a conference entitled “Towards a Community of Democracies”; the “Declaration of Unity” signed by democratic activists from 11 Asian countries. 

July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a videotaped message by leader of the National League for Democracy of Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi; remarks and a draft resolution on Cuba from the 56th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights; Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian’s inaugural address; Russian president Vladimir Putin’s inaugural address; a statement from Elena Bonner; the…

April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s farewell remarks and remarks by his successor, Vladimir Putin; a summary of Chechen foreign minister Ilyas Ahmadov’s remarks at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute; a speech by East Timorese independence leader Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão; a victory speech by Chilean president Ricardo Lagos; a speech by Argentinian president Fernando de…

January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement by Cuban dissidents entitled “All  United”; a letter by former dissidents of the Soviet  bloc to the so-called “Group of Four” critics of the Castro regime in Cuba; an address delivered by the Commonwealth’s outgoing secretary-general Chief Emeka Anayaoku;  the “Seoul Statement” on human rights in North Korea; Abdurrahman Wahid’s speech…

October 1999, Volume 10, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the “Sana’a Declaration” and remarks by Yemeni prime minister Abdul Karim Al-Eryani from the Emerging Democracies Forum; Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri’s remarks; remarks from South African president Thabo Mbeki; the “Rio de Janiero Declaration.”

July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution on the “Promotion of the Right to Democracy”; remarks by Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of Burma’s National League for Democracy; the “Casablanca Declaration of the Arab Human Rights Movement”; Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo’s inaugural speech.