The WFD, while non-governmental by design, convened parallel with a gathering in Warsaw of more than 100 foreign ministers from democratic and democratizing states. In a written declaration, WFD delegates appealed to the ministerial "Community of Democracies" meeting to endorse and establish a caucus of democracies at the United Nations, with "rigorous standards for membership based on the criteria of free elections, freedom of expression, and freedom of association."