International Day of Democracy in the Time of the Pandemic: 15 September
UN Secretary-General António Guterres: "As the world confronts
COVID-19, democracy is crucial in ensuring the free flow of information,
participation in decision-making and accountability for the response to
the pandemic." MORE
The former parliamentarians organizations from Europe (FA-AP), USA (FMC) and Canada (ICAFP/ACEP) agreed on an APPEAL FOR DEMOCRACY AND DIALOGUE on 05/02/2021.
The 3
Associations are deeply concerned about recent attacks on democracy in America
and dangerous tendencies in Europe. They deplore: "Conspiracy theories,
unprecedented baiting against the results of democratic elections, spread of
fake news despite clear evidence, the misuse of fears of an invisible pandemic
and the culmination through a brutal and violent mob put the fragile democracy
at risk. Our common democratic values are under threat." For them
democracy "is the prerequisite for rule of law, the respect of human
rights and the protection of the weak ones in our societies. It is the
guarantor of inviolability of human dignity, freedom, gender equality,
tolerance, freedom of religious belief, respect for minorities, cultural
diversity, and peace." Therefore, they forged an Appeal for Democracy and Dialogue, committing themselves to defend democracy whenever and wherever it is
at risk and to closely cooperate for this aim - and inviting all associations
of former parliamentarians to join this Appeal. (FP-AP Honorary President Uwe Holtz
translated the whole Appeal into German)
Defend Democracy in Myanmar, published 05/02/2021
Democracy organizations [and personalities incl.Uwe
Holtz] from around the world call on
the Myanmar military to fully respect the results of the recent national
elections, release all detained political and civil society leaders, refrain
from exerting violence, and allow the country to institute real democratic
reforms:
We reject the claims that the military’s take-over is in line with the
Myanmar constitution and that the recent elections were fraudulent. Although,
according to a statement by 12 domestic election monitoring organizations, the
November polls had some weaknesses as a result of restrictions due to COVID-19
and some flaws in electoral processes, “the election results were credible and
reflected the will of the majority.” We strongly repudiate the spread of
disinformation to justify the interruption of the democratic process.
Myanmar’s erratic democratic transition has been fraught with
challenges. Yet, democracy still offers the best hope to protect human dignity,
provide legitimate governance and advance the freedom of all people. We express
our solidarity with the people of Myanmar and affirm our unwavering support for
their democratic aspirations.
Call to Defend
Democracy
It is important to reinforce democracy’s resilience now and in a post-pandemic world.
The COVID-19 pandemic
threatens more than the lives and the livelihoods of people throughout the
world. It is also a political crisis. Repression will not help to control the pandemic.Democracies do not
guarantee competent leadership and effective governance; but they are best suited
to addressing a crisis of the magnitude and complexity of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 crisis is an
alarming wake-up call. Authoritarians around the world see this crisis as a new
political battleground in their fight to stigmatize democracy as feeble
and reverse its dramatic gains of the past few decades. Democracy is under threat, and people who care about it must summon the
will, the discipline, and the solidarity to defend it. At stake are the
freedom, health, and dignity of people everywhere. The recent Call to Defend
Democracy, supported
by Uwe Holtz, was launched in this spirit. It encourages people and
decision-makers to resist authoritarian
temptations and to back democratic systems that uphold
human rights in these difficult times, too. The Call, initiated by
International IDEA (the Stockholm based Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance), was signed by almost 100 organizations from all
over the
world, as well as nearly 500 prominent individuals from 119 countries,
including 13 Nobel Laureates and 62 former Heads of State or Government. [Aufruf auf Deutsch]
Read also
the Policy Paper: Global
Democracy & COVID-19: Upgrading International Support (published 15 July 2020).
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