Human Rights Council in Geneva. Credit: UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré. License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED
A statement calling on the United Nations to appoint a special rapporteur on democracy has been signed by more than 80 civil society organizations, networks, think tanks and institutions, as well as numerous individuals from across the world united by their commitment to human rights and democracy.
According to the document, which was released on 20 November 2023 and is endorsed by CIVICUS, “democracy is threatened and authoritarianism is on the rise”. In this situation, the UN “needs to do more to strengthen human rights and democracy”, the statement says. The new rapporteur position would be created by the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva and “mandated to investigate the state of democracy around the world.”
“A robust and healthy civic space forms the cornerstone of accountable and responsive democratic governance. Democracy cannot exist without the protection and promotion of civic space, and a democratic society offers the best conditions for guaranteeing an enabling environment. The mandate of a UN rapporteur on democracy is key to ensuring that civil society and civic space remain at the heart of democracy”, said Sigrid Lipott, UN Advisor in Geneva of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.
The statement points out that the new mandate can be based on UN resolutions that identify and support democratic principles. This includes the “central democratic principle” that “public authority must derive from the will of the people” which is expressed in Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
According to the document, the proposed UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy, assisted by an independent advisory board, would “examine challenges and opportunities related to the realization of democracy”. This would include, among other things, looking into “constitutional and institutional arrangements such as checks and balances; effectiveness of parliaments; free, fair and competitive elections and election environments; political participation including of minorities and women; direct and deliberative mechanisms; as well as civic space and freedoms.”
The new mandate would “go beyond and complement” existing ones operating under the Human Rights Council. The statement asks “all governments that are committed to democracy” to support its establishment.
The joint appeal is made ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is coming up on 10 December 2023. Like-minded organizations, policy-makers and individuals are invited to sign on.
Groups that endorsed the appeal include: ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, Asia Democracy Network, Citizens for Global Solutions, Counterpart International, Democracy International, Democracy Without Borders, European Partnership for Democracy, Forum 2000, Integrity Initiatives International, Open Society Foundations, Parliamentarians for Global Action, PEN America, Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por la Democracia, Society for Threatened Peoples, The Carter Center, The May 18 Foundation and Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)].
In addition to representatives of the endorsing organizations, the list of initial supporters includes over 100 individuals, among them numerous human rights and democracy defenders and scholars as well as more than 25 parliamentarians from across the world.
In an individual capacity Thomas Garrett, Secretary-General of the Community of Democracies and Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General of The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), declared their support of the statement. Their organizations are intergovernmental with 30 and 34 member states respectively, some of which are current members of the Human Rights Council. Both organizations work closely with civil society.
“Democracy is a human right and human rights depend on democracy. The UN can no longer look the other way while this right is being denied, undermined and weakened in many countries around the world. A UN rapporteur on democracy is urgently needed”, said Andreas Bummel, Executive Director, Democracy Without Borders.
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