9-10 December 2021
Summit for Democracy
9-10 December 2021
Summit for Democracy
*This site is not an official US Government website
This site is intended for and managed by civil society to share priorities, events, resources and information about high-level negotiations, steering committee group discussions and commitments made by invited governments. Explore further to see how you can contribute to making this platform a success by sharing your resources, events and news around the summit and beyond.
On December 9-10, 2021, the US will host a virtual Summit for Democracy for leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector. The summit will focus on challenges and opportunities facing democracies and will provide a platform for leaders to make both individual and collective commitments to defend democracy and human rights around the world. Approximately one year after the December 2021 Summit, a second summit will take stock of the progress made and forge a common path ahead.
Invited governments to the US Summit for Democracy in December 2021 are being asked to develop commitments focused on strengthening their own democracies in three areas – fighting corruption, countering authoritarianism and promoting human rights.
Only a small number of invited governments have engaged domestic or international civil society on what those commitments might be. This means the commitments are less likely to be representative of what citizens in invited countries feel should be the priorities for strengthening their democracies.
In the period between the first Summit for Democracy (virtual Dec 9-10 2021) and the second Summit for Democracy (in person TBD late 2022) – one key strategy for increasing the impact of these events will be civil society engagement on what governments are committing to and how they can deliver on those commitments.
LATEST NEWS
EVENTS
30 November 2021 09:00 - 10:30
Political Exiles From Autocracies as Citizens in Democracies and as Transnational Actors
Virtual Event | Organised by American Russian-speaking Association for Civil & Human Rights | Held in United States - Estonia in EnglishContact details: [email protected]
Advancing respect for human rights
Register here
A number of political exiles from authoritarian regimes played prominent roles in modern history of international relations and often in two countries at once. They served as the voices for the unjustly persecuted and those denied a platform in their native countries; they helped foster democratic debate on foreign policy in their adopted Western countries; they also educated, directly and indirectly, the public in both countries on their respective political cultures and the challenges they faced. What constructive roles are being, and can be, played today by political exiles from autocracies in our times? What kinds of support they can provide to civil societies in their native countries, including at the grassroots level? And as new citizens in democracies, how can they help their new home countries defend against authoritarianism? We will consider some of these topics at the roundtable sponsored by American Russian-speaking Association for Civil & Human Rights, in collaboration with Svoboda Alliance SA (Australia) and other international partners.
2 December 2021 09:00 - 11:00
Curbing Authoritarianism through Strong Legislatures and the Defense of Democratic Institutions and Principles
Virtual Event | Organised by House Democracy Partnership | Held in inContact details: [email protected]
Defending against authoritarianism
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Political actors across the globe are increasingly turning to authoritarian tactics to advance their interests, including through populist campaigns that disregard the role of representative institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the adoption of authoritarian methods, with executives using command and control measures to justify civilian safety. Technology, despite having the potential to better link people to their representatives, has compounded these challenges by enabling a form of “techno-authoritarianism” that projects its malign influence abroad. This session will discuss these troubling trends, while outlining specific steps that have been and can be taken globally to curb authoritarianism through legislative oversight and other methods. Discussions will also turn to the need for a specific focus to defend against digital threats, misinformation, and digitally-enabled authoritarianism.
RESOURCES
There is just one month to go before two back-to-back summits focused on open government and democracy close out 2021. The Open Government Partnership (OGP) [...]
Preventing corruption in the extractive sector and energy transition deserves attention from Summit for Democracy participants. A group of leading NGOs have proposed 5 priorities [...]
The United States has demonstrated great leadership in passing and continuing to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the principal legal instrument aimed squarely [...]
📢It's arrived! Our latest newsletter focussing on promoting #integrity #humanrights in infrastructure at key events & in #BuildBackBetter.
#Summit4Democracy #InfraTech #C20Summit2021 #civicengagement #G7 #G20
https://mailchi.mp/a218b1794d8f/cost-newsletter-november
[email protected] of @CarnegieEndow shows #summit4democracy members like #Angola and #Zambia joined after positive steps towards democracy. What will be the implications of the involvement of such traditionally autocratic states?
http://ow.ly/mT4b50GVXrm
Have you registered for #360StratCom yet? StratCom will complement the @WhiteHouse's #summit4democracy and lay a foundation for conversations on tech and its impact on democratic trends, alongside other urgent issues centered at the Summit. RSVP now! https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/digital-forensic-research-lab/360stratcom/360-stratcom-2021/