Ensuring peace and security worldwide, as well as promoting and defending human rights, has always been one of the priorities of Spanish Cooperation. Contributing to the development of peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice for all, and building effective institutions with responsible and capable staff are part of the actions carried out at all levels.

Strengthening Democracy with a Human Rights-Based Approach

The AECID incorporates the human rights-based approach (HRBA) as a cross-cutting principle in its interventions, ensuring that all cooperation activities promote equality, participation, and accountability.

It also integrates the disability perspective to ensure that cooperation policies and programs leave no one behind and contribute to creating inclusive environments for all people.

From this perspective, the AECID works alongside public administrations, multilateral organizations, universities, research centers, and civil society, among other cooperation actors, to promote:

• Social cohesion and public trust in institutions.
• Capacity building in public safety and justice.
• Civic and political participation as the foundation of democracy.
• Decentralization as a means of bringing public administration closer to citizens.
• The active promotion of human rights at all levels of development.

Democratic Governance: A Right and a Shared Responsibility

The Spanish Cooperation Strategy on Democratic Governance, Citizen Participation, and Institutional Development defines this sector as the guarantee of people’s right to freely choose their path toward sustainable development.

This approach emphasizes not only the performance of institutions but also their legitimacy and responsiveness, recognizing that democracy is strengthened when institutions act with transparency, efficiency, and accessibility, and when people are recognized as holders of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.

Institutional Reforms and Technical Cooperation Among Countries

For decades, the AECID has supported institutional reform processes in the partner countries of Spanish Cooperation, offering specialized technical assistance and proposing solutions tailored to the needs of these partner countries. This support aims to modernize administrative structures, optimize legal frameworks, and promote more inclusive and efficient public policies.

One of the distinctive strengths of Spanish Cooperation is its ability to connect Spanish public institutions with their counterparts in partner countries, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experiences. This model of technical collaboration—based on mutual learning and institutional trust—helps strengthen democratic structures and improve public management in areas as diverse as justice, security, participation, and transparency. 

A good example is the AECID’s INTERCOONECTA Plan (Plan for the Transfer, Exchange, and Management of Knowledge for the Development of Spanish Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean), which promotes and positions the transfer, exchange, and management of knowledge as a central pillar of public cooperation policies, focusing on sustainable development outcomes. 

Cooperation for an Inclusive and Sustainable Democracy

The approach to democratic governance promoted by AECID combines institutional sustainability with citizen participation, fostering development models that are more aligned with the values of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

Through its programs, strategies, and partnerships, AECID strengthens the role of institutions as guardians of the common good and promotes a democracy that integrates voice, accountability, and social justice. This commitment reaffirms the vision of Spanish Cooperation: that there is no sustainable development without human rights, nor human rights without a strong, inclusive, and participatory democracy.

In this context, the Democracy Program was launched to promote, strengthen, and highlight the value of democracy through diverse actions that incorporate new voices and perspectives, fostering political and social dialogue and the exchange of experiences and knowledge among Spain, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.