Artikel verfasst von
Anna Proskurina
Communication officer
Dear friends, partners and supporters of Democracy International,
This year was undoubtedly challenging for democracy. Wherever you are, we know you felt the consequences of global crises in many aspects of life, as even more people are now living in places that are in democratic decline. We invite you to have a look together at the world’s democracy and Democracy International in 2022.
While the war in Ukraine really started eight years ago with the occupation of Crimea and the Donbas region, since 24 February the world of Ukrainian people has been shattered and democratic developments in Ukraine have come under threat. Illegitimate votes, which were held on temporarily occupied territories and were unfairly called “referendums”, violations of fundamental human rights and terror of civilians were used to subjugate even more population to the autocratic regime in Russia.
In places where people live far from the standards of a democratic society, we witness dangerous developments. A plebiscite to change the constitutions - once again mislabeled as a referendum - was held in Belarus, and Turkey and Russia are considering reinstituting the death penalty. Moreover, we are concerned about the decline of democracy within Europe. Hungary organised four plebiscites, held not up to democratic standards, and was declared a state with a regime of hybrid autocracy by the European Parliament. In Tunisia, the democratic advances of the Arab spring were single-handedly undone by the President who replaced the participatory-created constitution with his own draft.
This trend of abusing the tools or, rather, the terminology of democracy to create the illusion of living in a free democratic society is indeed terrifying. Yet, we do have faith in the future! The protest movements in Iran and Sri Lanka are living proof of people‘s will to keep fighting for human rights and dignity. The new constitution drafted by a citizens‘ assembly in Chile was rejected by voters. This might not sound like a complete success story, but it is a persuasive sign that citizens taking the initiative may become the ground of change. The new Australian government has also made a solid commitment to enshrine the rights of indigenous people in political decision- making, promising to hold a referendum next year on adding an indigenous ”voice to Parliament“.
The year 2022 proved the impactfulness of citizens‘ sense of responsibility on happenings in any corner of the world and the influence of a united community and concerted actions. For sure, we believe that people have the power to make changes and intend to continue the efforts towards a more democratic future. We are paying close attention to the United Nations Summit of the Future in 2024 as an opportunity to empower people worldwide, as well as to a periodic review of the European Citizens’ Initiative that potentially can lead to further reforms. Moreover, three citizens’ assemblies will take place on the European level in 2023. As the Democracy International team, we are honoured by the people we are sharing this journey with, and we hope to have you with us for many more years. Thank you. You influence our work and the world!
The Democracy International team