ja_mageia

Since Pakistan came into existence in 1947, its structure has been lacking a mechanism that can ensure the participation of citizens in governance related issues. The country has been ruled over by undemocratic forces for most of the time. The democratic governments also remained led by landlords, industrialists and other establishment factors who continued making policies of their own interest. As a result of these policies and poor governance, the graph of poverty and social injustice kept on rise. The international ranking of Pakistan in many governance and policy related matters is very poor. Following table shows a synopsis of some rankings.

* as on March 3, 2010

Following are objectives of OPI's Democratic Governance Program.

• Mainstreaming of marginalized communities in decision making processes for the realization of basic human rights as enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Constitution of Pakistan;
• Promoting the accountability of governments and multilateral organizations, and the delivery of policy promises in relation to National Development Goals, Millennium Declaration and other national/ international commitments/instruments;
• Securing the rights of poor and marginalized communities and to support them in claiming their rights;
• Empowering women, youth and other marginalized, poor and excluded groups of the society to participate in political and democratic processes;
• To end gender-based discrimination in politics, legislations and policies and supporting the rights of women at all levels.