Peace Programs

The Carter Center Americas Program

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The Carter Center established the Americas Program in 1986 when the Western Hemisphere was undergoing dramatic political changes, restoring or establishing democracies and opening economies.  The program, a pioneer in monitoring elections, made important contributions to these profound changes in the region. Since the late 1990s, the program evolved from an emphasis on observing elections in Latin America to ensuring that democracies in the region work effectively to serve their citizens.

Many countries in Latin America now have achieved more than two decades of democratic governments.  However, in some countries dissatisfaction with the performance of those democracies has been growing and problems still prevail, such as weak political institutions, persistent poverty and income inequality, and insufficient economic growth.  There is a growing demand from citizens for expanded political, civil, and social citizenship rights.

The mission of the Americas Program is to work toward the collective protection and promotion of meaningful democracy in the Western Hemisphere.  The Americas Program strives to enhance the quality of democracy and its ability to improve the lives of individuals in three areas: 

        1)      Sustaining Democracies and Crisis Prevention;

        2)      Promoting Democracy through Effective Citizenship; and

        3)      Building Regional Consensus

Sustaining Democracies

Through ongoing engagement, the Americas Program seeks to assist countries to sustain strong democracies and prevent crisis from threatening governability.  The approach includes dialogue facilitation and mediation as needed, consensus-building and capacity building on specific issues, periodic public statements, and regular discussions and consultations of local actors about issues that may generate conflicts or that could deepen democracy. The program provides a flexible and secure environment for diverse groups to reflect on the divisions within and between their countries as well as to identify opportunities to improve their relations.

The Carter Center has a history of engagement with four countries in particular, which constitute the Americas Program current focus: Bolivia since 2002; Ecuador since 1998; Nicaragua since 1989; and Venezuela since 1998.  The program seeks to assure that democratic transformation occurs within a framework of peace with justice, respect for human rights, and in an inclusive manner that engages a broad array of citizens.

Promoting Democracy through Effective Citizenship

The Americas Program has striven to empower individuals to exercise their citizenship rights in the political, civil, and social realms through various initiatives, including electoral reform, political finance reform, and anti-corruption initiatives.  The current focus is on access to public information (ATI). 

ATI is a key to democracy and the cornerstone of any accountability and transparency-enhancing effort, as well as a fundamental human right. ATI is also crucial to building confidence of citizens in their democratic governments, and to improving effective public administration.  The Americas Program has been working to promote ATI in the region over the past decade and in partnership with government and civil society groups to pass, implement, and enforce ATI laws in key countries, such as Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Bolivia.   

Though there have been important advances with regard to ATI in the region, there remain a number of challenges including countries without laws, patchy implementation, and some continued resistance.  In convening representatives from all the key stakeholder groups, the program helps to share the international experience and to identify the specific necessary steps and measures to ensure the effective creation and implementation of universal access to public information. 

Building Regional Consensus

The Americas Program works together with the Organizations of Americas States (OAS), its associated bodies, the United Nations, and regional civil society networks in order to accomplish its mission.  The program helps to establish regional consensus on specific international norms in order to protect and promote democracy and citizenship. It also encourages individual state compliance and regional evaluation mechanisms.  The program tracks key issues in Inter-American relations and has given advice in the development of a key document: the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which was adopted by the OAS in 2001.

The program serves as the secretariat for the Friends of the Democratic Charter, tracking democratic crises and emerging issues of democratic governance, and organizing fact-finding trips and meetings of the group.  This group is composed of former presidents, prime ministers, parliamentarians, Cabinet ministers and human rights officials in the Western Hemisphere.  The Friends visit stressed countries and recommend ways for governments, citizens, and the OAS to prevent tensions from erupting into crises, as well as provide advice to the OAS on alternatives for a more effective implementation of the Democratic Charter.

  
Download the Americas Program brochure (English Version PDF).

Download the Americas Program brochure (Spanish Version PDF).

Read about how the Americas Program has responded to growing dissatisfaction with democratic leadership in Latin America in a Q&A with Program Director Jennifer McCoy.