On International Day of Parliamentarianism, PGA Members and Founding Members of the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team Reflect on How Parliamentarians Must Face the Democratic Impacts Of Covid-19 Together
by Mr. Anders Österberg, MP (Sweden), and Hon. Dorcas Sibanda, MP (Zimbabwe)
“Now more than ever,” “uncertain times,” “we are all in this together” – we have heard these refrains time and again over the past months characterized by the novel Coronavirus pandemic, as the world grapples with an unprecedented threat that neither respects borders nor defers to politics. As hackneyed as these phrases may seem, they have special resonance and relevance for us, members of parliament (MPs), elected by the people and entrusted with their representation. On the International Day of Parliamentarianism, we recall that as parliamentarians, we have a vital role to play during this pandemic, which poses a global threat not only to public health, but to democracy, and which can only be effectively countered with a global response.
In recent years, there has been growing awareness that democracy is in decline worldwide. Symptoms include the progressive erosion of such principles 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; weaponization of the press and social media; and repression of vulnerable populations and minorities in many countries. The COVID-19 pandemic epitomizes many of these dangerous trends. This crisis starkly underscores the inequities in our societies and vulnerabilities in our governments.
For these reasons, PGA was honored to join more than 500 political, civil leaders, Nobel Laureates and pro-democracy institutions in an open letter to defend democracy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some governments want to misuse the crisis and rule by decree without parliamentary oversight. It [is] important that the principle of parliamentary democracy is upheld. Ms. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria), PGA Executive Committee Member
While healthcare workers, medical professionals, researchers, and scientists tirelessly battle one contagion, we as parliamentarians must take-up the fight against the other. As elected representatives, we serve as an essential bridge between government and the people; we demand and oversee prompt and effective action from national executives and the international community. Above all, we have the ability to diagnose and begin to address the causes and effects of democratic backsliding that may linger long after a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus is found.
In several respects, the pandemic is both a crucible and litmus test for our democracies. As the largest parliamentary network of legislators from every geographic region and ideological orientation, we and our fellow members of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), are accustomed to tackling global challenges beyond any of our individual capacities. The global public health, socio-economic – and in some cases, political – effects of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have made PGA’s work more critical than ever. The crisis embodies the need for the kind of collective action that has animated PGA across its more than 40-year history.This is why we are honored to serve as founding members of the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT) launched by PGA this month to step-in as “first responders” in cases of urgent action. We and our fellow inaugural members of this unique cohort of democracy and human rights champions have committed to act when parliamentarians are at risk.
In the face of the scale, complexity, and ever-evolving nature of the threats against democratic institutions and principle, parliamentarians must now take action to support democracy and one another. This moment enables us to find connection when so many are isolated and empowers us to take action where we may feel helpless. All legislators worldwide have the ability – and the responsibility – to defend democracy and human rights at this time. We write to share with our peers concrete ways and means to contribute to this essential task.
Support separation of power and checks and balances through legislative autonomy and judicial independence.
Despite technical complexity and the inevitable issue of asymmetrical access to technology, the necessity to adapt has sparked innovation that may be sustained after the current health crisis has abated (seethe Inter-Parliamentary Union guidance note on running parliaments during pandemic), see also the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Toolkit on Delivering Democracy During CoVID-19).
Many parliaments have moved online and courts worldwide experiment with new modalities and many make genuine efforts to meet the challenge of upholding rights to due process and fair trials in this new reality. However, in other circumstances, the virus has been manipulated by opportunistic authoritarians and autocrats who have used the novel coronavirus as a scapegoat for efforts to undermine democratic institutions, further consolidate executive power, stifle opposition, and quell dissent. Human rights organizations, researchers, and practitioners all have sounded the alarm that the pandemic may accelerate democratic backsliding, with cancelled elections, sidelining of parliaments, and power grabs by the executive in numerous countries. Legislative oversight of the executive is especially important in states of emergency, which increase executive powers – and opportunities for abuse. The Venice Commission (a respected body of constitutional law experts from Council of Europe Member States) underlines the importance of the continuation of parliamentary life during the state of emergency and underscores that parliamentary oversight of the executive as is paramount for the realization of the principles of rule of law and democracy.
The contagion of the coronavirus was accompanied by another contagion – the spread of populism. Baroness Helena Kennedy, PGA Member and Founding Member of the PARRT (UK House of Lords)
This troubling phenomenon has touched every region. For example, as reported by Human Rights Watch, “South-east Asian governments are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to crack down on critics. The governments of Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar are all taking actions against their critics.” Some of these measures have targeted specific legislators, such as PGA’s previous call to action in response to the purposeful exclusion of PGA Member Senator Leila de Lima from remote legislative sessions in The Philippines. Others have used the health emergency to justify deliberate degradation of the legislature as an institution, as was recently the case in Malaysia, where the parliamentary session was reduced to a one-day audience for the King’s speech, with no room for discussion nor legislative activity. PGA highlighted the Malaysian situation in an Urgent Action Alert concerning the formation of a “backdoor” government in February 2020 that reversed democratic elections of May 2018 and has not yet received a vote of confidence from Parliament. Similar dynamics are playing out in countries in Africa, The Americas, and Europe, where some autocratic executives have demonstrated disdain for both the legislature and judiciary.
Amid these attacks, parliamentarians must come together to affirm the centrality of the legislature as the indispensable institution and preserve the independence of the judiciary as a sine qua non for the rule of law (parliamentarians and allies can support our statement on Malaysia).
Act to protect women and girls, LGBTI individuals, and marginalized populations.
PGA has previously noted that, as the global health crisis unfolds, amplifying the inequality in our communities, it exposes the most vulnerable to even more marginalization. Women and girls are at increasing risk of gender-based violence, lack of access to reproductive and sexual healthcare, losing formal or informal employment and limited access to online schooling. With girls out of school, they could also be at greater risk of early marriage. Additionally, care-giving roles of women and girls in the home, where such responsibilities disproportionately fall on them, put added strain on their professional life, and, as a majority proportion of the health workforce, places them at greater risk of infection.
Similarly, LGBTI people are especially vulnerable, as many fear approaching public health services due to stigma and discrimination, even when COVID-19 represents a greater risk to persons living with compromised immune systems, particularly persons living with HIV/AIDS, as well as older persons. Those who already faced barriers in accessing healthcare will likely see those barriers increase both by their lack of economic means and the stigma associated with their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Quarantines and social-distancing policies may also force many LGBTI youth to remain in hostile environments. Beyond these inherent challenges, the inability to mount public protests and distraction over COVID-19 has enabled particularly egregious targeting of LGBTI citizens, such as in Hungary where new legislation ending legal recognition for transgender and intersex individuals has been roundly condemned by human rights groups and the European Parliament.
Finally, racial and ethnic minorities, indigenous populations, and individuals living in poverty may be further at-risk during this time. In Brazil, decades of chronic public neglect have led observers to caution of a risk of genocide against indigenous peoples. In countries including the United States, both the direct health impacts and attempts to enforce responsive policies have disproportionately affected racial minorities and low-income individuals. In India, where a hastily announced lockdown with little infrastructural support or preparations, has had devastating impact on the country’s neediest citizens.
It is vitally important that in making policy and overseeing the Executive, parliamentarians are alert to these dynamics. PGA has offered guidance for parliamentarians to mitigate the impact on women, girls, and LGBTI individuals. On the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), PGA also called to break the silence about LGBTI people.
Be alert to attempts to curtail civil and political rights, including freedoms of expression.
The COVID-19 pandemic touches every corner of our globe and demands serious governmental response. Such responses can potentially include curtailments of human rights and liberties we may ordinarily take for granted. According to the International Center for Not for Profit Law (ICNL), the current crisis has provoked 86 countries to declare states of emergency, 32 to take measures that affect expression, and 12 to enact measures that affect assembly. Both the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have offered guidance on respecting human rights during the pandemic that may be helpful for parliamentarians in discerning the distinction between permissible derogations and unacceptable/unlawful attacks on human rights.
The fundamental rights to movement, expression, and assembly are protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as under customary international law, which binds us all, regardless of treaty obligations. The current global health crisis can justify restrictions on movement and assembly, but we should also be especially vigilant in cases where freedoms of expression are threatened, as the coronavirus has been accused of helping support a “censorship pandemic,” with authoritarian leaders cracking down on speech under the guise of stemming dissemination of “fake news.”
Above all, the 173 States Parties to the ICCPR have affirmed that there are certain rights that can never be derogated, such as the rights to life and freedom from torture or slavery. Thus, extrajudicial killings in the name of the “health of the nation,” such as alleged to have occurred in The Philippines, can never be tolerated. Reports of the use of force against violators of social distancing protocols by police/military in some countries, including Kenya and Nigeria, are also deeply concerning
As representatives of our constituents, we can make a significant contribution at this time by helping monitor and report on the impact of the pandemic on democracy and human rights in your country. you are closest to the people and can provide “eyes and ears on-the-ground,” sharing valuable observations and experience – both positive and negative.
Debunk disinformation and deepen understanding.
The pandemic of coronavirus has been widely deemed to have been accompanied by an “infodemic” of disinformation. This includes denial, silencing, and attempts to manipulate discourse for personal gain. Deniers of the severity of the coronavirus include autocratic leaders acting in spite of the advice of experts and often over the will of the legislature. From Belarus’s President Lukashenko touting vodka, hockey, and saunas as cures for the virus and refusal to enact any preventative measures to Brazil’s President Bolsonaro proceeding with large-scale anti-democratic rallies and continued diminution of the virus’s impact, the unchecked untruths are having an incalculable impact.
What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer. Hannah Arendt
In Hungary, where Freedom House has averred that Prime Minister Orban has "dropped any pretense of respecting democratic institutions," the “Coronavirus Law” (with no sunset clause) includes a revision to the criminal code allowing for up to five years in prison for those who spread "fake news" about the pandemic. Critics warned this could be used to punish those who criticize the government's coronavirus response and have already police invoked the law to detain citizens for "scaremongering" in Facebook posts that criticized the government.
Lastly, there are governments that have tried to deflect responsibility or score geopolitical points against rivals by espousing encouraging alternative theories about the virus’s origins in a “blame game.” We have seen this in Russian attempts to enlist its allies to proliferate false claims of the contagion’s emanation in Georgia, as well as the ongoing warring narratives perpetuated by the United States and China.
As representatives of the people, we must recognize our particular responsibility to stay informed and conscientious in our discourse and vigilant to contribute to awareness raising and rejection of disinformation. To this end, PGA has curated a compendium of resources on the democratic impacts of COVID-19 specifically for parliamentarians:.
In closing, we write as two parliamentarians from very different contexts, continents, and cultures. We represent governing and opposition parties, and took different paths to politics. What we share with one another and our fellow PGA members is our drive for public service, commitment to democracy and human rights, and sense of responsibility to uphold our mandate. Because whether in Harare or Stockholm, we are indeed all in this together.
Mr. Anders Österberg, MP, is a Swedish social democratic politician and has been an elected member of the Riksdag (Parliament) since 2015, representing the 202 constituency in Stockholm. He is a deputy member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which prepares matters concerning the state’s relationship and agreements with other states, as well as international organizations. The committee also handles Swedish aid for the development of other countries. Mr. Österberg is one of the few MPs in Sweden who has been vocal in decrying human rights abuses committed in Ethiopia. Mr. Österberg previously was the Chairman of the Labour Movement for Children and Youth Organization “Young Eagles” and served at the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League (SSU) Federal Board. He currently is the Social Democrats’ aid policy spokesperson.
Hon. Dorcas Sibanda, MP, entered into politics in 2000 and has been in the Zimbabwean Parliament for three terms spanning almost 12 years. She sits on the Defense, Home Affairs, and Security Service Committee and the Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. She also is the Chair of the PGA Zimbabwe National Group. Hon. Sibanda advocates for human rights, women/children’s rights, and equal opportunities for LGBTI persons. She also promotes the abolition of the death penalty in her country and worldwide.
Mr. Österberg and Hon. Sibanda are members of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), the largest network of individual parliamentarians, and founding members of the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT).
PGA’s Democratic Renewal & Human Rights Campaign is generously supported by Global Affairs Canada (GAC). For more information on the campaign and PARRT, please contact