15 September, 2020
International Democracy Day Campaign 2020
Today is #DemocracyDay2020. As of last year, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) has been ratified by 34 and signed by 46 out of 55 African States. The charter was adopted as the African Union’s main normative instrument to set standards for better governance across the continent. Despite this positive step, this year member states have placed undue restrictions on civic freedoms under the pretext of COVID-19. This is especially worrying in light of upcoming elections as accountability, transparency and free & fair elections are the foundation of any democracy.
But African human rights defenders (HRDs) are finding creative ways to defend their rights and fight for democracy. To celebrate International Democracy Day, we want to showcase the resilience of HRDs in Malawi and Tanzania as examples of #HRDs protecting democracy in Africa. Read what human rights defenders Gift Trapence and Zaituni Njovu have to say on the connection between human rights and democracy.
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- International Democracy Day
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- For nine months, HRDC led Malawians in staging mass protests to demand for electoral justice and strict observation of democratic governance. We demanded the reshuffling of the MEC and flagged some governance issues affecting the country. HRDC also highlighted long-standing social, political and economic problems in Malawi.
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- Successful democratic governance must inevitably focus on promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. For without this protection there can be no democracy in any meaningful sense
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- Democracy depends on digital security. People need to access information securely and enjoy the freedom of expression both online and offline. Zaina Foundation promoted digital rights for citizens to use the internet to receive and send information securely