Biden starts democracy summit with $690 million pledge for programs
WORLD 29 March 2023 - 20:25
President Joe Biden is opening his second Summit for Democracy with a pledge for the US to spend $690 million bolstering democracy programs around the globe.
The Biden administration wants to use the two-day summit beginning on March 29 to zero in on making “technology work for and not against democracy,” according to a senior administration official. Some 120 global leaders have been invited to participate, AP reports.
Biden frequently speaks of the US and like-minded allies being at a critical moment in which democracies need to demonstrate they can out-deliver autocracies. The summits, something Biden promised as a Democratic 2020 presidential candidate, have become an important piece of his administration’s effort to try to build deeper alliances and nudge autocratic-leaning nations toward at least modest reforms.
“Strengthening transparent, accountable governance rooted in the consent of the governed is a fundamental imperative of our time,” Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a joint statement at the opening of the summit.
The new funding will focus on programs that support free and independent media, combat corruption, bolster human rights, advance technology that improves democracy, and support free and fair elections.
The official, who previewed the summit on the condition of anonymity, said the administration has also come to an agreement with 10 other nations on guiding principles for how the governments should use surveillance technology.
The surveillance tech agreement comes after Biden signed an executive order earlier this week restricting the US government’s use of commercial spyware tools that have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world.
The world has had a tumultuous 15 months since Biden’s first democracy summit in December 2021. Countries emerged from the coronavirus pandemic, and Russia launched its war in Ukraine, the largest-scale war in Europe since World War II. Biden has also tangled with Beijing, speaking out repeatedly about China’s military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Russian invasion was a jolting moment for the world’s democracies.
“Since the last summit for democracy two years ago, the world has changed dramatically,” Rutte said. “For decades, the idea of war in Europe seemed unthinkable. But we were wrong as Russia’s brutalization of Ukraine has shown we cannot assume that democracy, freedom and security are givens, that they are eternal.”
Kenyan President William Ruto said that democracy building was essential to developing nations’ growth. Ruto was the winner last year of the country’s close presidential race in which opposition candidate Raila Odinga had alleged irregularities, but Kenya’s Supreme Court unanimously rejected the challenges.
“This is our path to sustainable development,” Ruto said.
The US hosted the last summit on its own. This time, it recruited four co-hosts — Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia — after ambassadors from China and Russia criticized the first summit and accused Biden of causing a global divide with a Cold War mentality.
Still, some countries would rather not get between Washington and Beijing.
Pakistan announced, as it did in 2021, that it received an invitation but would skip the summit, a move seen in part as an effort by the impoverished Islamic nation to assuage longtime ally China, which was not invited.
The Biden administration has also expanded its invitation list. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Gambia, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Lichtenstein, Mauritania, Mozambique and Tanzania were extended invitations to this year’s summit after being left off the list in 2021.
The first day of the summit was convened in a virtual format and will be followed on Thursday by hybrid gatherings in each of the host countries, with representatives from government, civil society and the private sector participating.
Costa Rica will focus on the role of youth in democratic systems. The Dutch are taking on media freedom. South Korea is looking at corruption. Zambia is centering on free and fair elections
The US is no stranger to the challenges facing democracies, including deep polarization and pervasive misinformation.
Lies spread about the 2020 presidential election by then-President Donald Trump and his supporters have convinced a majority of Republicans that Biden was not legitimately elected, normalized harassment and death threats against election officials, and been used to justify efforts in Republican-controlled legislatures to adopt new voting restrictions.
Later this year, the US Supreme Court will rule in a racial gerrymandering case from Alabama that voting rights advocates fear could virtually dismantle the nearly 60-year-old Voting Rights Act. Congressional efforts to shore up that federal law and increase voting access have failed.
Biden came into office vowing that human rights and democracy would play significant roles in his approach to foreign policy. But he’s faced criticism from some human rights activists for being too soft on Saudi Arabia and Egypt over their human rights records. The administration sees both nations as important partners in bringing stability to the Middle East.
More recently, Biden administration officials have been at odds with close Mideast ally Israel, as conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to push forward a far-reaching judicial overhaul that the administration worries will diminish Israel’s democracy.
Netanyahu in remarks at the summit’s opening session said Israel remained a “robust democracy” in the midst of “a very intensive public debate.”
“Democracy means the will of the people as expressed by a majority, and it also means protection of civil rights, individual rights. It’s the balance between the two,” he said.
Marti Flacks, the director of the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said “there’s been a disconnect” between the Biden administration’s messaging and actions on human rights. The administration may get higher marks from allies for how it has approached stresses on democracy at home.
“The fact that the Biden administration has been very open and transparent about the challenges that the US is facing domestically on the democracy front has increased their credibility on these issues externally,” Flacks said. “Because one of the big questions that I think they faced coming in is how can you begin to talk about human rights and democracy overseas if you can’t address those problems here at home.”
Following his appearance at the plenary session of the summit, Biden will host President Alberto Fernández of Argentina for talks in the Oval Office.
Fernández, who was also taking part in the summit, is looking for backing from Biden as his country tries to renegotiate the country’s $44 billion lending program with the International Monetary Fund.
Argentina is asking the IMF to revise its requirements for release of the latest installment of the deal, arguing that it has been negatively impacted by a drought and by higher energy prices caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Caliber.Az
1
|
High time to declare US ambassador persona non grata Mr. Libby, take your suitcase and leave for Washington
05 May 2024 - 12:06
|
2
|
Factory burst into flames in Germany PHOTO / VIDEO
03 May 2024 - 16:19
|
3
|
Profiling Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan – Tavush region protest leader
03 May 2024 - 17:20
|
4
|
Will Azerbaijan's diplomatic efforts bring change? UNESCO's crucial crossroad
03 May 2024 - 17:13
|
5
|
What to expect from China’s stance on Palestine? A long track of mediation
04 May 2024 - 10:28
|
Despite F-16 deal, Türkiye wants Eurofighter, too
06 May 2024 - 06:02
AI could drive natural gas boom as power companies face surging electricity demand
06 May 2024 - 04:03
World’s first fully electric robot boasts 550 trillion ops
06 May 2024 - 02:04
Battle of Britain Memorial up for tourism award
06 May 2024 - 00:04
Ukraine marks its third Easter at war under fire from Russian drones
05 May 2024 - 22:00
Chinese president visiting Europe for first time in five years
goodwill tour to be uphill struggle05 May 2024 - 20:03
Hamas, Hezbollah launch about 30 missiles at Israel
05 May 2024 - 18:02
EU at risk of "implosion" as far-right seeks scapegoats, minister warns
05 May 2024 - 17:45
West destabilising situation in Georgia
Security, impunity for (foreign) agents05 May 2024 - 17:28
FT: Russia plotting sabotage across Europe
05 May 2024 - 17:23
Finland plans to build explosives factory
05 May 2024 - 17:04
Ukraine requests emergency energy from Poland, Romania
05 May 2024 - 16:43
Netanyahu government votes to close Al Jazeera channel in Israel
05 May 2024 - 16:24
UN assistant secretary-general to visit Armenia's border with Azerbaijan
05 May 2024 - 16:05
NATO's secret red lines: Alliance prepared to act if third party intervenes in Ukraine conflict
05 May 2024 - 15:46
Albanian-Udi community to celebrate Easter in ancestors’ churches in Karabakh
05 May 2024 - 15:29
Media: Still no deal in Israel-Hamas truce talks
Cairo meeting results05 May 2024 - 15:13
Armenian priests, peddling false narratives
Unmasking revanchist rhetoric05 May 2024 - 14:57
US official: Defence pact with Saudi Arabia impossible without Israel deal
05 May 2024 - 14:54
Bondholders to push Ukraine to resume debt payments
05 May 2024 - 14:36
Cuba abolishes visa regime for Chinese citizens
05 May 2024 - 14:17
S. Korea to participate in US-led cyber exercise this week
05 May 2024 - 13:58
French president favours continued dialogue with Russia amid tensions in Ukraine
05 May 2024 - 13:40
Three New York synagogues, Brooklyn Museum targeted in bomb threats
False alarm05 May 2024 - 13:21
Pro-Palestine rallies sweep across European cities amid Gaza onslaught
05 May 2024 - 13:02
Azerbaijan, Bangladesh discuss opportunities for cooperation in healthcare
PHOTO05 May 2024 - 12:44
Azerbaijan, Gambia cancel visa regime for diplomatic passport holders
PHOTO05 May 2024 - 12:27
France prepares for cyberattacks from Russia during Paris Olympic Games
05 May 2024 - 12:08
High time to declare US ambassador persona non grata
Mr. Libby, take your suitcase and leave for Washington05 May 2024 - 12:06
Hamas reveals plans for negotiations with Israel
05 May 2024 - 11:49
Azerbaijan, Morocco cancel visa regime
05 May 2024 - 11:32
Double standards and Michel's confession
Europe's hypocrisy05 May 2024 - 11:18
Russian troops take control of Ukraine's largest fortification in Krasnohorivka
05 May 2024 - 11:16
Azerbaijan, Somalia discuss issues of mutual cooperation
PHOTO05 May 2024 - 10:55
Georgia interested in cooperation on Green Corridor project, PM says
05 May 2024 - 10:39
Armenians protesting against delimitation of border with Azerbaijan reach Ijevan town
05 May 2024 - 10:18
World-renowned photojournalist plans to publish new books on his Karabakh journey
05 May 2024 - 10:01
Azerbaijani minister: Zangezur corridor to be beneficial for all countries in South Caucasus
05 May 2024 - 09:46
Azerbaijan to host 16th OIC Islamic Summit
05 May 2024 - 09:30
OIC urges Armenia to fulfill its commitments
05 May 2024 - 09:08