Theme Resolution:
As adopted by the 54th Liberal International Congress, 9-11 November 2006 in Marrakech, Morocco
Noting the 2006 Marrakech Congress Theme Report, ‘Democracy and Development: a Liberal view’, which discusses the interdependency between liberal democracy and economic development,
Declaring the moral challenge for the developed world that those who live in extreme poverty can scarcely enjoy their inalienable human right to live in dignity,
Reaffirming the absolute imperative at the beginning of the 21st century to raise the living standards of the extreme poor, in particular that half of the global population which struggles to survive on less than $2 per day,
Recognising that economic development and the advance of social justice are often hampered by:
Emphasising that development is not simply confined to the economic sphere, but also encompasses the development of political freedom and a liberal democratic system of government, which includes:
Underlining that poverty, illiteracy and low levels of human development are factors that adversely affect the consolidation of democracy; that democratic, accountable, transparent governance is the best condition for sustainable economic development;
that within a liberal democracy, citizens can hold the government accountable for its policies, prevent corruption and the abuse of power, promote human rights and protect people from the cruelties of autocratic regimes;
that liberal democracy, and the civil and political liberties it guarantees, can, through the competition of ideas and freedom of choice, promote individual human development and may lead to improvements in education, health and a clean environment;
that the degradation of the environment through pollution, desertification and the loss of plant and animal species through practices such as over fishing and excessive logging;
that the rapidly growing menace of climate change is a threat to all people and that the cost of preventive measures is an extra burden to the handicaps of the poor;
political initiatives that prevent the executive from enacting legislation on its sole authority.
Liberal International:
Commends for detailed study the 2006 Marrakech Congress Theme Report and political action on the Theme Resolution, ‘Democracy and Development: a Liberal view’, which shows the interdependency between liberal democracy and economic development.
Calls upon Liberal International’s member parties to urge their governments:
to press for the resumption of world trade talks, following the collapse of the Doha Round in July 2006, and urge all countries to dismantle distorting subsidies and entry barriers for agricultural products, industry and services because integrating the poorest countries into international trade is the best way to create growth and alleviate poverty;
to fulfill the 0.7% GNP aid target, proposed by Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Lester Pearson in 1969, and encompassed in the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade, which only five of the 22 donors have met thus far;
to make available the means to implement the agreements of the Paris Declaration of March 2005, which lays down a practical, action-orientated roadmap to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development;
to meet the Millennium Development Goals before 2015, namely:
And calls upon all member states of the United Nations to abide by Resolution 1999/52 on the promotion of the right to democracy adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and to increase their financial and practical support to organisations which work for the promotion of democracy.
