Campaign for Democratic Renewal and Human Rights

The Challenge: Democracy in Decline

Increasing consensus holds that democracy is in decline globally. Elements of backsliding include progressive erosion of democratic principles, such as separation of powers, checks and balances, independence of the judiciary and equality before the law; rising perpetuation of disinformation; incremental dismantling of protections for press freedoms and weaponization of the media; and repression of vulnerable populations and minorities, including opposition members, journalists, human rights defenders and legal professionals.

As human rights abuses amass, democratic practices are abandoned, and justice retreats, parliamentarians are on the frontlines. Members of parliament (MPs) have the mandate and responsibility to stand against these dangerous trends. As representatives of the democratic branch closest to citizens, legislators can resist attacks on democracy, shape national agendas, resist executive incursions, and work with civil society to preserve civic and political space.

However, parliamentarians themselves are increasingly at risk in contexts of democratic backsliding. A recent surge of assaults to democracy and civic space often entails attacks on MPs’ physical integrity and psychological wellbeing.

The Response: The Campaign for Democratic Renewal and Human Rights

The annual Freedom House “Freedom in the World” report found 2018 to be the thirteenth consecutive year of deteriorating freedoms across the globe. The crisis has “touched all parts of the world.” Similar reports from a variety of sources reinforce “a drumbeat coming from commentators across the globe: democracy as a global phenomenon is under threat.” Recognizing the urgent menace, PGA inaugurated its Campaign for Democratic Renewal and Human Rights in November 2018.

The campaign underpins work in all of PGA’s programmatic areas and is central to the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which commits governments to providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. PGA maintains that democratic governance is both a means to this end and an end in itself. Through their representative, legislative, and oversight functions, parliamentarians are critical to achieving this objective. As the UN notes, “SDG 16 is critical for parliaments and parliaments are critical for SDG 16.”

PGA’s Democratic Renewal Campaign comprises three pillars:

Pillar I: The Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT)

In the face of the scale, complexity, and ever-evolving nature of the threats against them, MPs must now act to support democracy and one another. PGA has assembled the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT) as “first responders” in cases of urgent action. This unique cohort can respond nimbly, intervening when parliamentarians and human rights defenders are at risk.

On 22 May 2020, PGA launched the PARRT. Please contact the PGA Secretariat to nominate MPs for the PARRT or sign up for urgent action alerts.

Pillar II: The Global Parliamentary Code of Democratic Conduct

Recent years have seen a progressive deterioration in the integrity of political discourse, including a decline in the trustworthiness of information and a rise in “dangerous speech” that increases the risk of violence. PGA has developed a credible mechanism to hold parliamentarians accountable for their speech, commit themselves to demand dialogue respectful of all, and refrain from disinformation.

On 19 March 2021, during its International Council Meeting, Parliamentarians for Global Action launched the Second Pillar of the Democratic Renewal and Human Rights Campaign - the “Global Parliamentary Code of Democratic Conduct”

Pillar III: The Parliamentary Toolbox for Democracy Defense

Threats to democracy are not new, but contemporary challenges are more nuanced and complex than in previous phases of backsliding. To empower MPs in this fight, PGA is compiling existing resources and creating new tools to help parliamentarians to detect and combat the early warning signs of democratic decline and propose pro-rights alternatives.

Campaign Achievements

PGA’s Member-Parliamentarians have taken action in the following areas:

Attacks on the legislature and threats to a democratic system of checks and balances and separation of powers

PGA was among the first groups to decry recent attempts by the Malaysian government to undermine the legislature.

Persecution of parliamentarians and human rights defenders, including members of vulnerable or marginalized groups

PGA members have repeatedly raised the case of incarcerated Philippines Senator Leila de Lima through parliamentary statements, high-level meetings, and resolutions, (see here, here, here, and here) including when she recently was denied the right to participate in remote sessions.
Carla Pitiot, former MP and PGA board member from Argentina, mobilized her parliamentary colleagues to give visibility to sexism, harassment, and violence against women in Parliament. This Declaration became a global rallying cry, #NotInMyParliament.

@PGAction impulsa la campaña #NoEnMiParlamento con el objetivo de combatir el sexismo y la violencia de género en las instituciones del Poder Legislativo. pic.twitter.com/Es96dJIznY
— Carla Pitiot (@CarlabPitiot) March 21, 2019
Asambleísta Soledad Buendía, Chair of the PGA Ecuador National Group – who has documented violations to her fundamental rights of physical and psychological integrity because of her political positions – called upon authorities to respect the human rights of all legislators.
In Brazil, PGA condemned the forced exile of its National Group Chair, LGBTI rights activist Dep. Jean Wyllys.
PGA members across European Party Groups introduced a pivotal resolution condemning the gross human rights violations perpetrated in Cameroon, including politically-motivated arrests of civil society dissidents and opposition members.

Senator Leila De Lima — “I am grateful that Parliamentarians for Global Action saw through the lies of the Duterte administration and chose to support and fight for my right to fair treatment in spite of the government's effort to peddle fake news against me to taint my integrity," said PGA member and incarcerated Sen. Leila de Lima

PGA’s global network and the PGA Venezuela National Group have issued statements demanding an end to the political persecution of parliamentary opposition members by the Maduro regime (see here, here and here).

Democratic transitions and democratic crises

PGA’s active global membership base comes together in support of democratic transitions, such as issuing a statement welcoming the end of the brutal repressive 30-year regime of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (see here, here, and here).
PGA welcomed positive strides towards democracy taken in The Maldives since the elections in 2019, which led to the restoration of liberty of former PGA member and Democracy Defender Award recipient and current Minister of Human Resources, Hon. Ahmed Mahloof.
In situations of potential democratic crisis, such as Chile and Ecuador, PGA members have provided vital on-the-ground insights.

PGA brought attention to the peaceful silent marches of legal professionals in Hong Kong in support of an independent judiciary, an end to political prosecutions, and restitution of the rule of law.

Contemporary threats and the future of democratic renewal

On 30 June 2020, marking the International Day of Parliamentarianism, PGA members and founding members of the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT) reflected on how parliamentarians must face the democratic impacts of COVID-19 together.
In cooperation with the Organization of American States (OAS), PGA hosted a dialogue in February 2020 on Defending Democracy in the Digital Era and a virtual webinar in May 2020 on Political-Parliamentary Action in Times of COVID-19.

How We Work

Supported by an expert Secretariat, PGA members work together to educate, sensitize, build technical capacity, and strengthen the political will of parliamentarians to achieve campaign objectives through concrete legislative and policy initiatives. PGA works with individual parliamentarians in their national contexts through country-specific strategies, leveraging that capacity with international networking to facilitate connections among parliamentarians and build bridges with civil society, domestic and international policy-makers, and other stakeholders.

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