International Democracy Day: Date, Significance & History amid 2020 Covid spotlight

On Tuesday, September 15, International Day of Democracy will be observed around world to promote and uphold democratic principles, including respect for human rights, inclusiveness, accountability, and transparency. According to United Nations, unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has resulted in major social, political and legal challenges globally.

COVID-19: A Spotlight on Democracy

"As states around world adopt emergency measures to address crisis, it is critical that y continue to uphold rule of law, protect and respect international standards and basic principles of legality, and right to access justice, remedies and due process," UN said. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged governments to be transparent, responsive and accountable in ir COVID-19 response and ensure that any emergency measures are legal, proportionate, necessary and n-discriminatory. “ best response is one that responds proportionately to immediate threats while protecting human rights and rule of law,” he said.

UN states concerns in many countries in context of COVID-19. y are:   

• Measures to control flow of information and crackdown on freedom of expression and press freedom against an existing background of shrinking civic .
• Arrest, detention, prosecution or persecution of political opponents, journalists, doctors and healthcare workers, activists and ors for allegedly spreading “fake news”.
• Aggressive cyber-policing and increased online surveillance.
• Postponement of elections is raising serious constitutional issues in some cases and may lead to rising tensions.

International Day of Democracy 2019 me

me of International Day of Democracy in 2019 was Participation. In a mess. last year, United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted  importance of democracy by saying that is about people. "It is built on inclusion, equal treatment and participation, and it is a fundamental building block for peace, sustainable development and human rights," he said.

History & Background of International Democracy Day

United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a resolution on vember 8, 2007, that September 15 of each year would be observed as International Day of Democracy. ir goal for this day is to promote government’s role in maintaining open democracy among all member nations of UN Charter and to celebrate system of values democracy promotes, giving citizens power to make decisions regarding all aspects of ir lives.

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In ir efforts to advocate for democratic societies around world, UN serves a variety of purposes including monitoring elections, working to strengn democratic institutions and accountability, and assisting nations recovering from conflict to create ir own constitution.

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(Im credits: Representative/PTI)