8-11 March 2005, Madrid, Spain
Exactly one year after the March 11th terrorist bombings of commuter trains in Madrid, the Club of Madrid convened the International Summit on Democracy, held on March 8-10, 2005 in Madrid.
The summit brought together over 400 government leaders, policy makers and practitioners to commemorate the victims of the Madrid bombings and to develop a common strategy to confront terrorism in all its forms through democratic means. In preparation for the Summit, over fifteen working groups – made up of nearly 200 leading experts on terrorism and democracy – have been debating four key facets of this challenge: 1) causes and underlying factors of terrorism, 2) confronting terrorism, 3) a democratic response to terrorism, and 4) civil society’s role. During the three days of the Summit, participants discussed and debated ways to develop a comprehensive democratic response to the threat of terrorism.
One of the key outputs that emerged from these rich discussions was the Madrid Agenda, adopted by the Club of Madrid at the end of the Summit. This document outlines principles and proposes effective strategies to address one of the greatest challenges of our time: how to confront terrorism while safeguarding democratic values and principles.