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Populism - How strong are Europe's checks and balances? This is the fourth annual report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. As with previous reports, the five chapters look at the key building blocks of democratic security: efficient, impartial and independent judiciaries; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly and freedom of association; democratic institutions; and inclusive societies. The report’s analysis of Council of Europe member states’ strengths and weaknesses in these areas can be used to assess their resilience to the challenges posed by populism.
Democratic security is an old idea, based on the argument that democracies rarely, if ever, go to war with each other. Democratic practices equally protect states from internal strife. Democratic security is a responsibility which all nations share. This second annual report on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe assesses the capacities of the member states to guarantee and enhance democratic security within their borders and, collectively, across the continent. It measures the extent to which the Council of Europe’s 47 member states are able to make the five pillars of democratic security a reality, namely: an efficient and independent judiciary, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, the functioning of democratic institutions, and inclusive society and democratic citizenship. The report also draws on the Council of Europe’s capacity to monitor and evaluate performance in terms of democracy, human rights and rule of law and to identify remedies for shortcomings and provide assistance in their implementation.
Democracy is in distress! The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has highlighted a “clear and worrying degree of democratic backsliding” in her latest annual report on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law across the continent. “In many cases, the problems we are seeing predate the coronavirus pandemic but there is no doubt that legitimate actions taken by national authorities in response to Covid-19 have compounded the situation. The danger is that our democratic culture will not fully recover,” said the Secretary General. “Our member states now face a choice. They can continue to permit or facilitate this democratic backsliding or they can work together to reverse this trend, to reinforce and renew European democracy and to create an environment in which human rights and the rule of law flourish. “This is the right option for the 830 million people who live in the Council of Europe area.” Based on the findings of different Council of Europe bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights, the Secretary General’s report assesses recent developments in areas including political institutions and judicial independence, freedom of expression and association, human dignity, anti-discrimination and democratic participation. The report encourages member states to use existing and future Council of Europe mechanisms to address many of the challenges identified, on the basis of the following key principles: - National authorities should return to fundamental democratic principles and recommit to Council of Europe legal standards, including the implementation of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights; - Member states should fully embrace the multilateralism embodied by the Council of Europe for more than 70 years; - Covid-related restrictions and measures must not only be necessary and proportionate, but also limited in duration; - National authorities should embrace democratic culture, recognising where their words, activities or legislation have diminished that culture by reducing civic space, by intimidating or preventing individuals, organisations and NGOs from exercising their freedom of speech or assembly, or by excluding people from participating fully in society.
"This is the fourth annual report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. As with previous reports, the five chapters look at the key building blocks of democratic security: efficient, impartial and independent judiciaries; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly and freedom of association; democratic institutions; and inclusive societies. The report's analysis of Council of Europe member states' strengths and weaknesses in these areas can be used to assess their resilience to the challenges posed by populism."--Document home page.
Human rights, democracy and the rule of law depend on the institutions that give them form. But for populists, who invoke the proclaimed "will of the people", these institutional checks and balances on power are often seen as an obstacle that should be subverted. This is the fifth annual report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. As with previous reports, the five chapters look at the key building blocks of democratic security: efficient, impartial and independent judiciaries; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly and freedom of association; democratic institutions; and inclusive societies.