The Community of Democracies (C.O.D), established in 2000, is an intergovernmental coalition of states. Its aim is to bring together governments, civil society and the private sector in the pursuit of the common goal of supporting democratic rules, expanding political participation, advancing and protecting democratic freedoms, and strengthening democratic norms and institutions around the world. The Warsaw Declaration had outlined the task of promoting democracy. It is disputed if the coalition qualifies as an International Organization in the legal sense. History The C.O.D was inaugurated at its first biennial ministerial conference hosted by the government of Poland in Warsaw on June 25 to June 27, 2000. The initiative was spearheaded by Polish Foreign Minister Bronisław Geremek and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, along with six co-conveners: the governments of Chile, the Czech Republic, India, Mali, Portugal and the Republic of Korea. In total, 106 nations signed the declaration. At the close of the conference the participating governments signed onto the Warsaw Declaration, agreeing to "respect and uphold core democratic principles and practices" including, among others, free and fair elections, freedom of speech and expression, equal access to education, rule of law, and freedom of peaceful assembly. Structure The C.O.D works on the base of the Warsaw Declaration. Since 2018, their work is more specifically guided by the Community’s Strategic Plan for 2018-2023 which identified the following strategic objectives: Encouraging Adherence to the Warsaw Declaration Support for Democratic Consolidation in Transitioning Countries Deepening the Dialogue on the Challenges to Democracy Their internal structure include regular Ministerial Conferences, a Governing Council, a Chairmanship, a Permanent Secretariat headed by the Secretary General, six Working Groups as well as two Affiliated Bodies. Governing Council Currently, the Governing Council consists of the following Member States: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uruguay. Presidency As of September 15th 2019, the two-year Presidency of the C.O.D is held by Romania. The current presidency has been extended by 1 year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and is set to be changed in September 2022. Past Presidencies include: South Korea (2001-2003), Chile (2003-2005), Mali (2005-2007), Portugal (2007- 2009), Lithuania (2009-2011), Mongolia (2011-2013), El Salvador (2013-2015), United States of America (2015-2017). Between Sept 2017-Sept 2019, the C.O.D