Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§8251 Cooperation with democratic countries

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 89— - ADVANCING DEMOCRATIC VALUES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— - COOPERATION WITH DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES › § 8251

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The United States must work with other democratic countries to protect and spread democratic rules and values. It must defend shared freedoms like association, speech, a free press, religion, and private property. It must support respect for the rule of law, coordinate common goals in international organizations, and give political, economic, and other help to countries moving toward democracy. Congress says the Community of Democracies should create a permanent secretariat and a headquarters and should exclude nondemocratic countries. The Secretary may assign Department employees to that secretariat or to member governments without reimbursement. The Secretary should also set up an office to coordinate multilateral democracy efforts, run interministerial projects, support the United Nations Democracy Caucus and Fund, and work with other regional bodies. Congress supports the International Center for Democratic Transition and authorized $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010 as a grant; those funds remain available until spent.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §8251

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(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.

(b)(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.

(d)(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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 8251

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73