Alarm as elected dictatorships turn the screws against human rights
What you need to know:
- Even during the Cold War, the idea of freedom was the motivating factor for those who desired change. So for those of us living in pro-West countries, the idea of freedom to choose and move away from Western-imposed and supported dictators was paramount.
- In Britain, for instance, it is the unelected House of Lords that is putting the brakes on the Conservative government’s intention to limit the discretion of judges to use judicial review to challenge decisions of the state.
- Poland’s engagement in freedom stems from its recent history of domination and control first by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and then by the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1989.
For the first time in nigh a century, the concept of freedom and human rights is under it most serious attack from all corners.
From the West to countries of the former Soviet Union; from Latin America to Africa; and from Asia to Australia, regimes are turning the screws against freedom and human rights.
It has never been so intense and the paradigm of freedom as the most inalienable and aspirational right has never been so under threat.
It was the aspiration of freedom and human rights that spurred the anti-slavery and pro-independence movements across the world, even if freedom would result in poverty.
It was freedom and equal rights that moved the civil and women’s rights movements. And all these led by civil society organisations.
Even during the Cold War, the idea of freedom was the motivating factor for those who desired change. So for those of us living in pro-West countries, the idea of freedom to choose and move away from Western-imposed and supported dictators was paramount.
And for those in pro-East countries, freedom from communism and state directed conformity was the rallying cry. And again, all these initiatives were led by civil society organisations.
REVOLUTION
But today, we are witnessing efforts from across the world to amass unchecked power in the Executive.
And much of these efforts are aimed at limiting or controlling civil society organisations. This war against civil society is the frontline of this new contestation between freedom and dictatorship.
Indeed, a new phrase, “elective dictatorships” is emerging to cover those states that have elected leaders, and who think that that gives them a right to ignore everyone else, curtail fundamental freedoms, and remove all checks and balances that are fundamental to democracy.
In Britain, for instance, it is the unelected House of Lords that is putting the brakes on the Conservative government’s intention to limit the discretion of judges to use judicial review to challenge decisions of the state. And it is the same Cameron government that now seeks to limit the advocacy of civil society organisations on key issues, while it expands the role and space of for-profit lobbyists.
Across the world, regimes are working to limit the space for civil society to organise peaceful protests by making organisers personally liable for the criminal actions of others, in a bid to deter protests.
PROTESTS
Yet this inevitably leads to the rise of anonymous organisers with whom it is difficult— or impossible even— to negotiate. And of course, making peaceful protests difficult or impossible will certainly lead to other perhaps non-peaceful methods of making sure that voices are heard.
And we see this in Burkina Faso at the moment. In this global context, Poland sticks out as it remains defiantly pro freedom, pro-human rights and pro civil society. I was privileged to be in Poland last week, and the sense of commitment to freedom and human rights was uplifting.
Poland’s engagement in freedom stems from its recent history of domination and control first by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and then by the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1989.
And since liberation from the axis of the Soviet Union, Poland has made tremendous strides that we should learn from.
First, Poles refuse to forget, and their memories run deep. They have forgiven the Germans for the past, because Germany apologised. But they remain deeply suspicious of Russians and their imperial designs to this day, making this a centerpiece of their foreign policy.
Second, Poland shows us that development is best with freedom. In 1989, the per capita income in Poland was 15 times less than that of Germany. Today, it is only three times less.
Third, because of their own struggles for freedom and human rights, Poland unapologetically supports others engaged in efforts to expand democratic space, though these efforts are almost exclusively focused on countries in the former Soviet bloc.
The democratic world needs more Polands if we are to see off this challenge against the very essence of humanity, now cleverly clothed in the language of sovereignty or majority rule.
