International Day of Democracy - The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

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This blog post was written by Kia Salmela.

The International Day of Democracy is yearly celebrated globally on 15 September. The purpose of the celebration is to promote the principles of democracy. This year the focus is on the importance of media freedom to democracy, peace, and delivering on the SDGs.

Democracy is crucial for the realization of human rights and vice versa. Inclusion, equality, and fair elections are topical principles to promote in the current world. Democracy is backsliding, and distrust toward democracy is increasing. Misinformation and populism are severe threats to democracy. Misinformation spreads rapidly in media, which is why this year’s theme is so vital. Free media is the cornerstone to guarantee the realization of democracy; without it, democracy cannot survive. As we see around the world, extremist parties are rising, propagating mistrust of democracy combined with racism: ideologies that oppose democracy and human rights.

Many voters are disconnecting from democracy. Younger voters are more dissatisfied and frustrated with the performance of democracy than previous generations. That is a true challenge that policymakers should address more. Youth inclusion is key for ensuring the survival of democracy. Community of Democracies report Liberal Democracy and the Path to Peace and Security shows that youth participation is one of the factors in countering extremism. We need dialogue between civil society and politicians. That is why we need days like the International Day of Democracy: to remind us that democracy is not self-evident and that we need to take care of it.

Let us unite to secure democracy and human rights of all people.