Topic: Role of the UN in Encouraging and Aiding Democratization
Country: India
Delegate Name: Sasawat Prankprakma
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All India position papers GLIMUN 2012 committees
Democracy, or the rule of the people by the people, has been around since the time of the Ancient Greeks. The Charter of the United Nations and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights both stress democratic values. The UN Democracy Fund, the UN's largest institution established to help democratization efforts was established in 2005, funded primarily by India and the United States. In recent years, a revolution has taken off in the Middle East, with a push for the overthrow of dictatorships. The newly formed governments need help establishing a stable, free democratic government for their countries.
India is the world's largest democratic nation. We have been a democracy since our independence from Great Britain in 1947. Democracy in India works pretty well, however we have significant problems with corruption. As for promotion of democracy around the world, India, this February, contributed 4 million USD, bringing our total contribution to the fund since its inception in 2005 to 30 million USD. We are one of the largest contributors the fund.
We would like to see the UN further emphasize democratic principles throughout the world. We should expand the UNDEF to help meet the challenge of helping democratize the countries that were involved in Arab Spring. The UN should offer any help needed by the newly formed governments in the Middle East to establish stable, free democracies. The UN should also provide aid and protection to protestors in totalitarian regimes and provide tools to help peaceful transitions of power into a democratic form of government. We, however, should not infringe on national sovereignty.
