Theme:-UN Democracy Day National Session, Jaipur-2022
"लोकतंत्र का सुदृढ़ीकरण: भविष्य के संकटों के लचीलापन"
("Strengthening democratic resilience in the face of future crises")
The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has resulted in major social, political and legal challenges globally. As states around the world adopt emergency measures to address the crisis, it is critical that they continue to uphold the rule of law, protect and respect international standards and basic principles of legality, and the right to access justice, remedies and due process.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has urged governments to be transparent, responsive and accountable in their COVID-19 response and ensure that any emergency measures are legal, proportionate, necessary and non-discriminatory. “The best response is one that responds proportionately to immediate threats while protecting human rights and the rule of law,” he said.
The Secretary-General's policy brief says statesmust respect and protect, among other rights, freedom of expression and of the press, freedom of information, freedom of association and of assembly. Concerns in many countries in the context of COVID-19 include:
The crisis raises the question how best to counter harmful speech while protecting freedom of expression. Sweeping efforts to eliminate misinformation or disinformation can result in purposeful or unintentional censorship, which undermines trust. The most effective response is accurate, clear and evidence-based information from sources people trust.
Around the world civil society organizations have answered the UN's call to action to address and counteract the wide range of ways the Covid-19 crisis may impair democracy and increase authoritarianism, by: