President Joe Biden has assured that the strengthening of democracy is the »challenge of our days» during a speech at the Second Democracy Summit.
When we gathered here in December 2021, the feeling in many places around the world was that the best days of democracy were behind us. Democracy had declined on some indicators for 15 consecutive years. But this year we can say we have a different story to tell (…) we are seeing signs that we are turning the tide,» Biden said.
Angola with its first steps to build an independent judicial system, the Dominican Republic with the improvement of its anti-corruption law or Croatia with an anti-corruption and transparency plan are some of the many examples that for the president indicate an improvement in the situation.
We are also demonstrating the resilience of American democracy. During our free, fair and secure elections last fall, the first vote since the attack on our Capitol on January 6, voters resoundingly rejected the voices of extremism that attack and undermine our democracy,» Biden explained.
In addition, the U.S. president stressed that history is at »a turning point» in which the decisions made will affect the course of the world for decades to come, as he believes that democracy is about »working hard, strengthening institutions, rooting out corruption, building consensus and rejecting political violence,» something he cannot conceive of without the right to vote.
DEMOCRACY IN DANGER For his part, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has stressed that the values of democracy, law and respect for Human Rights are »under assault».
Walls are closing in on civic spaces, constitutional rights are being restricted, dissenting voices are being silenced, (…) human rights defenders face persecution and prosecutors fighting corruption face reprisals», denounced Guterres.
He also emphasized the arrests, violence and censorship suffered by journalists around the world, whose murders last year amounted to a »horrifying» 50 percent, and called to »give life» to Human Rights on their 75th anniversary.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
