Foreign Affairs committee  The answer is you're right. It is worrisome. Many of the important achievements in Canadian foreign policy and also of the United Nations are the result of government and civil society partnerships. These don't always have to be expensive. In this information age, there is a lot you can do that doesn't cost a lot of money.

Foreign Affairs committee  We can only address the consultation process. We were not formally asked for our views, but I'm involved in an international UN-related process, the international conference of new and restored democracies, and my work with officials in foreign affairs there led me to have numerous conversations about this process.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. The last section of our presentation focuses on the importance of an enabling international environment for democracy promotion. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us, in article 28, Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Many of your witnesses, as well as some of the expert commentators published on the democracy promotion section of the Foreign Affairs Canada website, have remarked that democracy promotion has become such a controversial vocation for governments. President Bush has been outspoken about the importance of spreading democracy as a cornerstone of his foreign policy, but in many parts of the world democracy promotion is associated with regime change or other unwelcome interferences in the daily lives and security of citizens.