Curtis Ward | Preserving democracy, rights and freedoms

My concern about preserving democracy is fundamental to the freedoms and the rights to which all of humanity is entitled. The freedoms and rights I wish for all are only possible in democratic systems of government. Please do not confuse possibility with realisation. There are complexities in all societies which are determinants of the realisation of promises and expectations of a democratic system. But no other system of political governance offers more possibilities to fulfilment of full freedoms and basic rights, including human rights.

Wars have been fought for these rights and freedoms, and peoples of many nations have fought and died to preserve the freedoms they already have, or to gain hoped-for freedoms. Peace and justice will not prevail where freedoms and rights are suppressed or denied.

What are these rights and freedoms, and why are they so important in human existence? It’s befuddling that many who enjoy these rights and freedoms take them for granted. It is even more concerning that most do not recognise the threats to them.

CANNOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

These rights and freedoms, collectively and individually, which are only possible in a democratic form of governance, create responsibilities of states to protect their citizens from abuse, and the expectation of equal protection under law, in a system in which justice and rule of law are guaranteed. These rights and freedoms cannot be taken for granted, and must be defended and always protected and at all costs. The democracy dividend is a guarantee of the most basic freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association, freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of religion, freedom to petition government, freedom from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, social and economic class, or sexual orientation. Democracy means inclusiveness.

Within these freedoms are the rights to equal justice, the protection of basic human rights of all citizens, and human security in all its forms – access to quality education, access to adequate healthcare, access to dignified housing and living environment, food security, guarantee of personal safety, and provision of equal opportunity for social upliftment.

DYING TO PRESERVE DEMOCRACY

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), addressing the US Congress on January 6, 1941, declared the defence of the four most basic freedoms as reasons for the US’ entry into WWII, to stop Hitler’s autocratic tyranny. Defending the same basic freedoms resonates today as challenges to democracies, freedoms and protection of human rights intensify around the world. The urgency to defend democracy became a sobering reality, as a global audience watching in real time saw thousands of insurrectionists inspired by America’s 45th president, on January 6, 2021, exactly 80 years after FDR’s speech, attempt to destroy the democratic foundation of the world’s strongest democracy.

These are the freedoms the people of Ukraine are now dying for. As patriots, they bravely defend newly won freedoms guaranteed by their nascent democracy against the invasion of their country by a tyrannical, autocratic Russian regime.

CREEPING AUTOCRACY

Denying democracy and the rights and freedoms of a people are not usually the result of a single cataclysmic event in a nation’s history. Incremental erosion of democratic institutions and core principles of law and order, and good governance, often seemingly inconsequential in isolation, are signs of creeping autocracy. This dangerous threat is accumulative and transformative to a point of no return. At that point, no amount of peaceful political protest will reverse this trend, and the only option to reclaim and restore democracy may be violent struggle.

The quest for individual or collective power by individuals or groups has been the bane of societies since the beginning of time. Wars among and between nations, internal and international conflicts, political and other forms of domination, comprise the history of mankind. At the same time, I can find no reference of people in any nation freely choosing to replace a democratic system with an autocratic system. Rather, history is replete with examples of peoples everywhere and throughout human existence passionately seeking to replace authoritarian, dictatorial, and autocratic systems with democracy and the rights and freedoms offered by democratic systems of government.

AUTOCRACY IN THE AMERICAS

We don’t have to go outside the Americas to see the gradual erosion of rights and freedoms reaching critical junctures in a country’s history. A point where a free and fair political process is no longer guaranteed; where fraudulent election processes and restrictions on freedom of assembly and protest are employed by authoritarian leaders and governments to perpetuate their power. A point where a frustrated populace expresses their rejection of undemocratic governance by mass demonstrations against the authoritarian regime, and sometimes violent demonstrations in response to state violence deployed against them. Protesting civilians are often killed in the streets by agents of the state, and hundreds are detained and incarcerated for long periods of time without due process.

The recent political histories of Venezuela and Nicaragua are warnings to be heeded. The impending elections in Venezuela in 2024 offer no real hope for political change. In 2022, the people of Brazil rejected Jair Bolsonaro, in a resounding reversal of autocracy. But, across the Americas, including countries of the Caribbean, challenges to the nascent democracies of the region are increasing. Autocratic tendencies are mistakenly conflated with strong leadership. And citizen apathy and acquiescence are contributing to poor governance.

STRONG-ARMING AS FAILED STATE

Denial of due process in dealing with gang violence in El Salvador, though popular in the short term to quell the high crime rate, is a sign of erosion of democracy in that country. The frequent use of states of emergency (SOEs) in any country as a primary crime-fighting tool without vigorously enforced constraints by independent courts that are prepared to protect, in real time, the rights of all citizens, is troubling. The Jamaican Government’s frequent use of SOEs as its primary crime-fighting strategy has raised political, civic, and legal challenges. Yet, these challenges have proven to be ineffective so far.

While SOEs appear to provide temporary respite from uncontrolled criminal activities, the conditions conducive to gang recruitment and criminal activities require medium- to long-term social, economic, civic, and political intervention which would create an environment of human security across all sectors. We all know this truth, yet the Government fails to provide adequate resources for effective programme implementation.

CITIZEN APATHY ENDANGERS DEMOCRACY

Democracy is under threat around the world. All democratic systems are vulnerable. Citizen apathy in the face of these threats is as dangerous as the threats themselves. Civil society appears constrained and, with very few exceptions, lacks robust, consistent advocacy for people’s rights and freedoms. Defence of democracy requires all of us to be perpetually vigilant and proactive. Democracy gives us the tools we need, which we will lose if not used to preserve them.

Lack of transparency and impunity for corrupt practices hasten democracy’s decline. Free and fair elections to choose a government representative of the people’s interests, and rejecting political leaders who are focused on their own aggrandisement, enrichment, and power are fundamental to preserving a democratic system of government. There is no reasonable excuse for voter apathy. Failure to participate in the electoral process, failure to participate in selecting the best available leadership, is a sign of irresponsible citizenry which contributes to the erosion of democracy. Failure to vote contributes to a lack of good governance.

Remember, also, that history is replete with examples of autocrats being elected. Voting wisely in 2024 means choosing defenders of democracy and rejecting wannabe autocrats. Don’t wait until you are forced to make the ultimate sacrifice to preserve your freedoms.

Curtis Ward is a former ambassador of Jamaica to the United Nations with special responsibility for Security Council affairs. He is an attorney and international consultant on geopolitical and international security issues, and is an anti-corruption advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.