United Nations General Assembly A/RES/59/201 Distr.: General 23 March 2005 Fifty-ninth session Agenda item 105 (b) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2004 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/59/503/Add.2)] 59/201. Enhancing the role of regional, subregional and other organizations and arrangements in promoting and consolidating democracy The General Assembly, Reaffirming the purposes and principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, Recalling its resolution 55/96 of 4 December 2000 and all relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights, in particular resolutions 1999/57 of 27 April 1999, 1 2000/47 of 25 April 2000, 2 2001/41 of 23 April 2001, 3 2002/46 of 23 April 2002, 4 2003/36 of 23 April 2003 5 and 2004/30 of 19 April 2004, 6 Recalling also that all peoples have the right to self-determination, by virtue of which they can freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development, Reaffirming its resolve, expressed, inter alia, in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, 7 to implement the principles and practices of democracy, and recognizing the diverse nature of the community of the world’s democracies, 1. Declares that the essential elements of democracy include respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia, freedom of association and peaceful assembly and of expression and opinion, and the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives, to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic free elections by universal and equal suffrage and by secret ballot guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the people, as well as a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations, respect for the rule _______________ 1 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1999, Supplement No. 3 (E/1999/23), chap. II, sect. A. 2 Ibid., 2000, Supplement No. 3 and corrigendum (E/2000/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A. 3 Ibid., 2001, Supplement No. 3 (E/2001/23), chap. II, sect. A. 4 Ibid., 2002, Supplement No. 3 (E/2002/23), chap. II, sect. A. 5 Ibid., 2003, Supplement No. 3 (E/2003/23), chap. II, sect. A. 6 Ibid., 2004, Supplement No. 3 (E/2004/23), chap. II, sect. A. 7 See resolution 55/2. 04-48832