Protecting civil society and democracy

SANTIAGO / NEW YORK — For months, hundreds of thousands of people have flooded Sudan’s streets, demanding an accountable government and the end of military rule, even though Sudanese security forces have met them with bullets. Dozens of protesters have died.

Their courage is not unique. From Belarus to Bolivia, and even in the United Kingdom and the United States, civil-society leaders and organizations are heading bold movements to resist structural oppression, authoritarianism, and injustice.

Sadly, their work could not be more urgent. Threats to civil-society leaders and democratic institutions are increasing around the world. Nationalism, inequality, and political polarization are on the rise worldwide, and pandemic-related restrictions on public gatherings and increasingly advanced surveillance technology have empowered authoritarian regimes.

In Colombia, 65 environmental activists were killed in 2020. The Nigerian government’s ban on domestic use of Twitter, imposed in June this year, remains in force. And in August, the Ugandan government suspended the operations of 54 human-rights organizations.

These crackdowns, in democracies and authoritarian states alike, have lasting consequences. By restricting civil liberties — including freedom of the press, assembly, and expression — and attacking the organizations that defend them, states are leaving our rights and institutions defenseless against future attacks.

This is why our civil-society grantees and partners are sounding the alarm bells. Organizations across causes and countries are being targeted by similar strategies, including accusations of “foreign interference” whenever they work with established international organizations and philanthropic institutions like the ones we lead.

These attacks must not continue. They threaten not only the lives and livelihoods of thousands of civil-society organizers and activists around the world, but also democracy itself. As authoritarian regimes go about disempowering these essential groups and disrupting their vital work, their cynical representatives call democracy “idealistic” and “naïve.”

We fundamentally reject this view. We embrace the power of democracy precisely because it requires constant maintenance, protection, and participation. The peace and stability it fosters are won by an inclusive social contract, not an iron fist.

In the human-rights domain, this means advancing international and national protections for free speech and free assembly, thereby ensuring every individual’s right to voice dissent in the face of authoritarianism. In many states, ensuring freedom of expression will require repealing sedition laws and adopting moratoriums on internet shutdowns. Furthermore, governments should block the export and transfer of surveillance equipment to repressive regimes.

Most urgently, global leaders must substantially increase investments in the civil-society organizations that provide a critical check on state power. And they must commit tangible resources to human-rights defenders, local journalists, social services, and community centers.

This requires not only supporting these organizations in times of crisis, when they are already scrambling to serve their communities, but also investing in their long-term growth—which is an investment in sustaining an active citizenry prepared to confront future emergencies. For example, democratic leaders should scale up wraparound protection mechanisms that provide at-risk activists with legal, medical, psychosocial, digital-security, and relocation support services — particularly those schemes operating near where regional and national attacks on civil society are taking place. This is one of the surest ways states can support those risking their lives to defend democracy.

Lastly, leaders must unite around the common democratic cause and collaborate closely in multisector, multilateral partnerships. Across government, the philanthropic sector, the private sector, and civil society, we have an opportunity to use our unique strengths to expand civic space. After all, the best protector of civic space is more civic space—populated by engaged, connected citizens who have the resources, protections, and power to advocate for their own rights and livelihoods.

Engaged citizenship can be transformative. In Moldova and Malaysia, for example, civil-society organizations helped to overturn repressive “state of emergency” laws this year, preventing the dangerous erosion of democratic institutions. And millions of people marched in Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, forming probably the largest mass movement in US history.

Regardless of the origin of the struggle or the distance it travels, when people come together peacefully to defend their fundamental human rights, they make tremendous progress toward dignity, equity, and justice for all. From Khartoum to Kuala Lumpur, let us protect and advance that progress in word and deed, and ensure that it holds strong for the next generation. Project Syndicate

* * *

Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, is United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Darren Walker is president of the Ford Foundation. Mark Malloch-Brown is president of the Open Society Foundations.