In Cuba, the government of Fidel Castro continues to exercise control over all aspects of Cuban life and ruthlessly suppress all forms of political dissent. The United States' interest in promoting democracy does not end when an authoritarian regime is overthrown or an election is held, Madam Chair. Democratization is a long, difficult and complicated struggle, one that must begin within a society, rather than being imported. Because it's the right thing to do. As President Clinton has explained, this notion is the basis for our efforts to restore peace and order to the Balkans and establish democratic institutions there.
Democracy also provides the surest route to prosperity.
Open, transparent economies unlock the full creative and commercial potential that lives in people everywhere. This freedom, which only a broad-based civil society can provide, drives economic growth, boosts employment and powers the engine of national development. It is no coincidence that the most prosperous nations of the world are all free market democracies. Nor is it surprising that, as India's recent Nobel Prize winner for economics, Amartya Sen, has shown, no major famine is known to have occurred in a democratic country. What we have learned is that governments that are truly democratic offer their citizens the best assurance of respect for basic human rights and the best opportunities to improve their lives.