The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

A landmark anti-discrimination law, described by one supporter as “an homage to equality,” was signed into law last month by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. For the first time, it levies prison sentences for acts of discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or nationality.

The law is “a form of justice,” said President Santos. “It was time to get tough on this and to ensure the protection of the rights of those discriminated against.”

Election observation efforts by Guatemalan citizen groups, including NDI’s partner Citizen Action (Acción Ciudadana), helped increase public confidence in the integrity of last month’s presidential runoff election and head off a repeat of problems associated with the first round of voting. 

In 1998, Lebanon revised its drug law, decriminalizing drug addiction and treating it as a public health issue, a first step toward viewing addiction as a social and health problem. But in the years since, judges and civil society representatives have found shortcomings in the statute, which they say include a lack of access to healthcare and a tendency to ignore drug users’ civil rights. Tired of waiting for government action, civil society organizations across Lebanon have begun advocacy campaigns of their own.

Liberians voted in presidential and legislative elections Oct. 11. The Election Coordinating Committee (ECC), a coalition of seven civil society organizations and a partner of NDI's, fielded more than 2,000 election monitors across Liberia to observe the vote. The ECC provides nonpartisan assessments and reports on any elections-related violence or conflict during the campaign. It has been observing the pre- and post-election periods for these elections and an Aug. 23 constitutional referendum.

Zambians went to the polls on Sept. 20 to vote in presidential, parliamentary and local elections. The Civil Society Election Coalition (CSEC), made up of eight civil society groups, fielded election monitors across the country to observe the electoral process before, during and after the vote. The group issued a preliminary statement on the voting process, finding the election process, while not perfect, was generally smooth and peaceful.

Following the Electoral Commission of Zambia's release of the final vote count, the CSEC stated "with great confidence" that the official election results accurately reflect the ballots cast.

To help give young Sudanese a voice, caricature art has become a civic education tool. Political cartoons provide a platform where they can express their views on important issues and engage others, including Sudanese who cannot read.

To strengthen those skills, young Sudanese artists participated in a training program at the Ahfad University for Women, Sudan’s leading women’s education institution, sponsored by one of NDI’s partners, the Babiker Badri Scientific Association for Women’s Studies.