§ 8251 — Cooperation With Democratic Countries

(a) It is the sense of Congress that the United States should cooperate with other democratic countries to— (1) promote and protect democratic principles, practices, and values; (2) promote and protect shared political, social, and economic freedoms, including the freedoms of association, of expression, of the press, of religion, and to own private property; (3) promote and protect respect for the rule of law; (4) develop, adopt, and pursue strategies to advance common interests in international organizations and multilateral institutions to which members of cooperating democratic countries belong; and (5) provide political, economic, and other necessary support to countries that are undergoing a transition to democracy. (1) It is the sense of Congress that— (A) the Community of Democracies should develop a more formal mechanism for carrying out work between ministerial meetings, such as through the creation of a permanent secretariat with appropriate staff to carry out such work, and should establish a headquarters; and (B) nondemocratic countries should not participate in any association or group of democratic countries aimed at working together to promote democracy. (2) The Secretary is authorized to detail on a nonreimbursable basis any employee of the Department to any permanent secretariat of the Community of Democracies or to the government of any country that is a member of the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies. (c) The Secretary should establish an office of multilateral democracy promotion with the mission to further develop and strengthen the institutional structure of the Community of Democracies, develop interministerial projects, enhance the United Nations Democracy Caucus, manage policy development of the United Nations Democracy Fund, and enhance coordination with other regional and multilateral bodies with jurisdiction over democracy issues. (1) It is the sense of Congress that the International Center for Democratic Transition, an initiative of the Government of Hungary, serves to promote practical projects and the sharing of best practices in the area of democracy promotion and should be supported by, in particular, the United States, other European countries with experiences in democratic transitions, and private individuals. (2) There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010 to the Secretary for a grant to the International Center for Democratic Transition. Amounts appropriated under this paragraph are authorized to remain available until expended.