USEFUL LinkS

Central America

• ASOCODE: Asociación de Organizaciones Campesinas Centroamericanas para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo.  The “Association of Central American Peasant Organizations for Cooperation and Development” is an instrument of the peasants and indigenous peoples.  It is a space for meeting, reflection, and action. Its goal is to continue to develop an institutionalization process to consolidate unity in the diversity of the peasant identities of Central America.  ASOCODE is undertaking an economic, political, gremial, and equitable project that aims to be a more viable, sustainable and human alternative to the dehumanizing neoliberal model.

• Casa Alianza Casa Alianza is an independent, non profit organisation dedicated to the rehabilitation and defense of street children in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. Casa Alianza is the Latin American branch of the New York-based Covenant House, whose President is Sister Mary Rose McGeady D.C.. A leading advocate of children's rights in the region, Casa Alianza is headquartered in San José, Costa Rica, as well as its Executive Director for the Latin American Programs Bruce Harris.

• Central American Parliaments.

• Costa Rica Legislative Assembly
• El Salvador Legislative Assembly
• Guatemala Congress of the Republic
• Nicaragua National Assembly

• Centro de Recursos para el Desarrollo Sostenible en los Asentamientos Humanos de Centroamérica The “Center of Resources for Sustainable Development in Human Settlements in Central America” (CERCA) provides a “System of Information for Communities and Municipalities” (Sistema de Información para Comunidades y Municipios - SISCOM): this is a meeting point to discuss issues of “Participative Management and Local Development in Central America”.

• Elections in Central America and the Caribbean This page provides information about elections around the world.  It has links to electoral organizations and parties in Central America and around the world.

• Fundación Arias (Arias Foundation) The Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress is a non-profit organization devoted to the construction of fairer and peaceful societies in Central America.

• Guatemala:    Civil Society Organizations This web page is part of Georgetown’s “Political Database of the Americas”. It provides links to civil society organizations that operate in Guatemala.

• Home Page of the Maya People The Maya people of the Toledo District of Belize are engaged in a struggle to preserve their land rights, and to protect the rainforest and ecosystem of Southern Belize from the depredations of foreign-owned logging companies. The Government of Belize has granted a Malaysian logging company, Atlantic Industries, logging rights in the Columbia River Forest Reserve. No environmental impact statement was obtained and the Maya people who have lived in the areas near the Reserve for hundreds of years were not consulted.

• Honduras This Week On Line Honduras This Week is a privately owned, independent Honduran newspaper without government connections (national or foreign) and solely responsible to its readers. Honduras This Week is an English language weekly newspaper published 51 Saturdays a year. In addition to a concise review of the top news events making headlines in Honduras each week, HTW also features in-depth reports on subjects of interest to the international community. With a special emphasis on tourism, culture and the environment, HTW is also an excellent source of information on economic, development, human rights, diplomatic and judicial affairs.

• Instituto Centroamericano de Administración Pública –ICAP- The Central American Institute of Public Administration was created in 1954 and reformed in 1967.  It is a specialized intergovernmental organization that seeks to boost Central American integration and public administration.  Its main goal is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the governmental administrations of the Central American isthmus.

·        Inter-American Institute of Human Rights The IIHR is an autonomous, international, academic institution created in 1980 through an agreement between the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Republic of Costa Rica. Under this agreement, the IIHR, based in San José, Costa Rica, has the international and domestic legal standing necessary to complete its various projects. Our mission is to promote and strengthen respect for human rights and to support the consolidation of democracy, through research, education, political mediation, technical assistance in the field of human rights, and through the dissemination of knowledge through our specialized publications. Our endeavors are guided by the principles of representative democracy, the Rule of Law, ideological pluralism and a respect for fundamental rights and freedoms. The IIHR works with several international institutions, and with the public and private sectors of each of the countries of the Western hemisphere.

• PIECA The Central American Program of Strategic Information (Programa de Información Estratégica Centroamericana) focuses on civil society, in particular on the regional economic sector, represented by the organizations that are present in the Consultative Council of the General Secretariat of the System of Central American Integration SG-SICA. This project is executed by a consortium created by INFORPRESS and CRIES, with assistance of Canada’s CECI.

• Bulletin PIECA’s bulletin publishes news concerning the civil society in Central America.  Old issues are available by issue, by country, and by topic.

• Directorio Electrónico de la Sociedad Civil Centroamericana The “Electronic Directory of Central American Civil Society” provides links to civil society organizations.

• Newspapers Links to Central American newspapers.

·        PROCESOS Procesos is the spanish abbreviation for "Central American Program for Sustainable Democracy". We are a non profit organization with no political affiliation. It was created in 1996 with the support from all the presidents of the Central American countries. Our purpose is to strengthen democracy in the Central American countries through actions that: develop and reproduce democratic values; and stimulate citizen activities that strengthen democracy. Our program develops projects that encourage democratic values through educational campaigns in the media as well as formal and informal education projects. We also develop projects that enhance the discussion of important themes of the national or local agenda. Our objective is to stimulate citizen participation, generate alliance processes that will enhance the scope of governability, and to obtain a higher community participation in the decision making process at the different levels of public life.

·        Red Centroaméricana para la Sostenibilidad Democrática Under the auspices of PROCESOS, a “Central American Network for Democratic Sustainability” was created by a series of organizations whose main goals are similar or complementary to that program.  Through this network, PROCESOS hopes to involve a number of regional and national organizations in the promotion of democracy in the region.  This network is taken to be a complement for those organizations created to strengthen peace, democracy and sustainable development in the region. 

General
 

·        Electoral Studies Electoral Studies is an international journal edited by Harold Clarke at the University of North Texas, Geoffrey Evans at Nuffield College, Oxford, England and Elinor Scarbrough at the University of Essex, England.  It is published by Elsevier Science Ltd. and serves those scholars concerned with voting, the central act in the democratic process. 

·        Florida International Volunteer Corps A program of FAVA/CA, the Florida Association of Voluntary Agencies for Caribbean Action FAVA/CA is a private, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit, international development organization incorporated in 1982 to enhance trade, strengthen democracy and improve living conditions in the Caribbean and Central America. Assistance provided by FAVA/CA is guided by principles of self-help and transfer of appropriate, sustainable technology. 

·        Human Rights Information This page provides links to many human rights documents and human rights organizations around the world.  This page is updated by the international student festival in Trondheim (Norway), originated in 1988. Trondheim had always been a town with great traditions for student involvement and activities, - yet someone believed that there was room for more. By bringing together students from many different parts of the world, they wanted to create an event that would be both a conference and a festival. 

·        Institute for Development Studies - Towards Democratic Goverance Institutional strengthening lies at the heart of efforts to consolidate fragile democracies and promote local organisational capacity. To be successful, such efforts require states which are effective in promoting development and in delivering services on the one hand, and legitimate and accountable to their citizens on the other. Democratisation creates opportunities for building durable linkages between state agencies and non-governmental actors for the realisation of long-term development objectives. IDS research in this area is clustered into three themes: democracy and governance, NGOs and institutional development, and gender and institutions. Its main concerns are to explore the developmental potential and effectiveness of democratic regimes, the ability of non-governmental organisations to strengthen the capacity of groups representing marginalised and vulnerable people, and the scope for broadening women's participation in political and bureaucratic arenas.

·        International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development was established by an Act of the Parliament of Canada in 1988, and officially inaugurated in 1990. A Canadian institution with an international mandate, the Centre is an independent and non-partisan organization which initiates, encourages and supports the promotion, development and strengthening of democratic and human rights institutions and programmes as defined in the International Bill of Human Rights. Its mandate therefore covers civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration and its two companion covenants.  

·        Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU The IPU is the world organization of parliaments of sovereign States. It was established in 1889. The Union is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy. To that end, it: Fosters contacts, co-ordination, and the exchange of experience among parliaments and parliamentarians of all countries; Considers questions of international interest and concern and expresses its views on such issues in order to bring about action by parliaments and parliamentarians; Contributes to the defence and promotion of human rights -- an essential factor of parliamentary democracy and development; Contributes to better knowledge of the working of representative institutions and to the strengthening and development of their means of action. 

·        National Electoral Management Bodies This page contains links to election commissions, democracy and election-related organizations, and other points of interest. Links will be continually updated.

o       (Costa Rica) Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Costa Rica.

o       (El Salvador) Tribunal Supremo Electoral Supreme Electoral Tribunal of El Salvador.

o       (Panama) Tribunal Electoral de Panamá Electoral Tribunal of Panama.

o       Panama – Misión de Observación Electoral de la Fundación Internacional para Sistemas Electorales (1999) Mission of Electoral Observation of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (1999).

·        Parliamentary and Presidential Elections around the World This site provides links to Elections around the world - Parties around the world - Parliaments around the world - Electoral calendar - Political Resources on the Net
Political databases on the net - Infoelect Magazine.

·        Political Database of the Americas Sponsored by the Georgetown University Center for Latin American Studies/The Organization of American States - Provides information about voter registration and election administration, election calendars and results, electoral systems, laws, and constitutions. (Americas).

·        Pueblos Indios de Norteamérica Indigenous Peoples of North America tries to make possible direct contact among Indian organizations in the three countries, creating an open forum in which the Indian peoples, the Indian tribes or the first nations are able to set forth their ideas, provide information and interchange all kinds of experiences are among the goals of the Red de Organizaciones Indígenas de México, Canadá y los Estados Unidos. This net also includes a data base of those countries by which the organizations can get information about the other organizations that are working on similar issues. These goals are supported by the idea that in spite of their differences, the various native peoples, at the same time, share elements. North America is a huge region covered by three countries; Mexico, Canada and the United States.

·        Red Latinoamericana de Investigadores por la Democracia y Autonomía de los Pueblos The “Latin American Network of Researchers for Democracy and the Autonomy of the Peoples” brings together professors, teachers, academic researchers, independent researchers, and NGO activists to create a framework of converging ideas, experiences and texts.  The traditional fights that dominated the Latin American territory now occupy a space in our collective memory.  However, the creativity, inventiveness, and adaptability of those involved in them have generated innovations in the field of collective action to solve old problems, from a new rational perspective.  The new characteristics of emerging actors are broad social participation, all-inclusive reach, shared and co-responsible leadership, socialization of ideas, and the pooling of strength.  These new actors are shaping new forms of democracy, which brings with it a different daily interaction between civil society and political parties.

·        Swedish Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance  Our objective is to promote and advance sustainable democracy and to improve and consolidate electoral processes worldwide. Independent of specific national interests, we provide a forum for interaction and exchange of experiences among a variety of global actors involved in promotion of democracy. 

o       Democracy Forum 99 

o       Democracy Forum 98 

o       Democracy Forum 97  

·        The Commission on Global Governance is a group of 28 leaders who have suggested ways to make the world a better place for all its people. The Commission's report, Our Global Neighbourhood, proposes improved arrangements for managing our common interests. It suggests measures to enhance the security of people and management of the world economy and to strengthen the rule of law. It wants global institutions better equipped to meet the needs of the post-Cold War world. Recommendations to revitalise the United Nations include proposals to reform the Security Council, set up an Economic Security Council, and give the Trusteeship Council custody of the global commons. The Commission's ideas are influencing the continuing debate on United Nations reform. The Commission emphasises the rights of people and the role of civil society. It calls for commitment to a set of core values.

·        The National Endowment for Democracy, NED The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, nonprofit, grant-making organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world. Through its International Forum for Democratic Studies (Forum), it also produces the Journal of Democracy, conducts analysis of the theory and practice of democratic development worldwide, and serves as a clearinghouse for information on that development. Information on the activities of NED and the Forum can be found in the NED General Information Brochure.

·        Transparency International Transparency International is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to increasing government accountability and curbing both international and national corruption. Our movement has multiple concerns: humanitarian, as corruption undermines and distorts development and leads to increasing levels of human rights abuse; democratic, as corruption undermines democracies and in particular the achievements of many developing countries and countries in transition; ethical, as corruption undermines a society's integrity; and practical, as corruption distorts the operations of markets and deprives ordinary people of the benefits which should flow from them. 

·        WOLA The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) promotes human rights, democracy, and social and economic justice in Latin Americaand the Caribbean. WOLA facilitates dialogue between governmental and non-governmental actors, monitors the impact of policies and programs of governments and international organizations, and promotes alternatives through reporting, education, training, and advocacy.  Founded in 1974 by a coalation of religious and civic leaders, WOLA works closely with civil society organizations and government officials throughout the hemisphere.