Should the Office of Ombudsman for Democracy Be Created in the Inter‐American System?

Abstract

In light of the challenges posed to the Inter‐American Democratic Charter (IADC) since its foundation in 2001, which prompted some circles to refer to this legal instrument as “defunct” or “toothless,” this article advances a concrete proposal—or complementary formula—to strengthen its implementation that has been elaborated by an internal debate among the Friends of the IADC of the Carter Center: the creation of the office of an Ombudsman for Democracy within the framework of the Inter‐American System.The role of the Ombudsman for Democracy will specifically be to enforce observance of the Charter as proposed by the Friends. One of the most interesting aspects of this proposal, if implemented, is that the office would receive communications and complaints not necessarily originating only from governments, but also from other governmental authorities, including not just the central government or civil society institutions, giving a voice in the collective defense of democracy to other branches of government, a historical demand by the people who consider that the collective defense of democracy should not rest only on the executive powers.The article also tries to respond to the question of whether an Ombudsman would erode the good offices of the Secretary General of the OAS.