Carter Center

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The Carter Presidential Center

The Carter Center is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

The Atlanta-based Carter Center has helped to improve the quality of life for people in more than 65 countries. In partnership with Emory University, the Center is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering.

The organization's Board of Trustees is chaired by John J. Moores.

The Carter Center is located in a 35-acre park approximately two miles east of downtown Atlanta. The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, which adjoins the Center, is owned and operated by the National Archives and Records Administration of the federal government. The Center and Library are known collectively as The Carter Presidential Center.

The Carter Center is guided by five principles:

1. The Center emphasizes action and results. Based on careful research and analysis, it is prepared to take timely action on important and pressing issues.

2. The Center does not duplicate the effective efforts of others.

3. The Center addresses difficult problems and recognizes the possibility of failure as an acceptable risk.

4. The Center is nonpartisan and acts as a neutral in dispute resolution activities.

5. The Center believes that people can improve their lives when provided with the necessary skills, knowledge, and access to resources.

The Carter Center collaborates with other organizations, public or private, in carrying out its mission.

The Carter Center observes international elections, works for reduction of the stigma of mental illness, strengthens national, regional, and international systems dedicated to democracy and human rights, and spearheads programs to eradicate several diseases common in Latin America and/or Africa, such as Guinea worm.

1 Carter Center election observation
2 Criticism
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Carter Center election observation

In 2002, President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development".

[edit] Criticism

Regarding the Venezuelan recall referendum of 2004, according to the neoconservative think tank the Center for Security Policy, Carter's "continued international work certifying election results has provided essential political cover to anti-democratic forces in the region. Indeed, it might be said that over the past four years, Jimmy Carter has been the most visible and arguably most influential U.S. leader in Latin America." The Center for Security Policy's report goes on to say that, "The (Hugo Chávez) regime delayed and obstructed the recall referendum process at every turn. Once the regime was forced to submit to such a referendum, moreover, it used a fraud-filled voting process to ensure victory. The government did everything—including granting citizenship to half a million illegal aliens in a crude vote-buying scheme and “migrating” existing voters away from their local election office—to fix the results in its favor. The outcome was then affirmed and legitimated by ex-President Jimmy Carter’s near-unconditional support." "Jimmy Carter ignored pleas from the opposition and publicly endorsed the results, despite the fact that the government reneged on its agreement to carry out an audit of the results. Carter’s actions not only gave the Venezuelan regime the legitimacy it craved, but also destroyed the public’s confidence in the voting process and in the effectiveness of international observers."[1]