Our human rights field operations are helping build national as well as non-governmental institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights. I am pleased and proud to say that we now have more staff working on human rights issues in the field than at Headquarters. The United Nations has provided electoral assistance to dozens of countries. We promote the full participation of women in politics, particularly at the senior decision-making levels. Support for democratization has become one of our major concerns.
Good governance is also a component of our work for peace.
In post-conflict settings, good governance can promote reconciliation and offer a path for consolidating peace. Good governance demands the consent and the participation of the governed and the full and lasting involvement of all citizens in the future of their nation. I have been deeply gratified by the movement towards good governance that is taking place around the world. The will of the people must be the basis of governmental authority. That is the foundation of democracy.