President of the United States Joseph Biden opened the second Summit for Democracy by announcing $690 million in fresh support for democratic initiatives around the globe.
The meeting, which began on Wednesday, coincides with growing worries about democratic relapse in participating nations, including US allies Israel and India.
In an online speech to other world leaders, Biden stated that advancing democracy is “the defining issue of our century.”
Today, we can proudly state that the world’s democracies are strengthening rather than deteriorating. The world’s autocracies are deteriorating, not gaining strength, according to Biden.
“That’s a direct outcome of all of us joining together with faith in our abilities and commitment to our goals,” one person said.
The summit’s utility has been questioned by critics, who have highlighted Washington’s own tight connection with autocratic regimes.
Biden promised to put human rights at the forefront of US foreign policy early in his term, but after taking office, he followed his predecessor’s strategy of prioritizing perceived American interests over professed principles in international interactions.
The Netherlands, South Korea, Zambia, Costa Rica, and other countries are co-hosting a series of in-person and online events that make up the summit.
Taiwan is one of the 120 nations represented at the meeting, although Turkey and Hungary, both NATO allies, were not invited by the Biden administration.
“We are dedicated to promoting human rights, the rule of law, and media freedom. So, choices about whether to invite other nations to the summit were made with all these issues in mind, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the conference earlier that day, despite recent US criticism of his proposal to reform Israel’s judiciary, which detractors claim would erode the country’s commitment to democracy.
Several human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, have also charged Israel with imposing an apartheid system on Palestinians, millions of whom are denied even the most fundamental civil rights and live in occupied territory under Israeli government authority.
In the midst of “a very intense public debate,” Israel is still a “strong democracy,” according to Netanyahu, who spoke during the summit’s opening session.
Less than a week after prominent opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was kicked out of the country’s parliament, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke at the occasion.
A day after being found guilty of defamation in Gujarat, the state of Modi’s birth, for a comment made on the campaign trail in 2019 that was perceived as an affront to the prime minister, Gandhi had his parliamentary seat removed.
The event will focus on topics of “strengthening democratic resilience, encouraging respect for human rights, and advancing the fight against corruption,” according to a senior Biden administration official previewing the summit on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Biden stated that one of his top responsibilities will be to make sure that technology is used to strengthen democratic government rather than to weaken it.
The US president emphasized a decision made last week by his administration to limit the use of commercial spyware by federal organizations.
He declared that “US taxpayer monies should not encourage businesses who are willing to sell their goods to reduce human rights violations.”
The Israeli spyware company NSO Group, which has been in the forefront of international discussions about spyware abuse, was subject to sanctions from Washington in 2021.
Biden praised the “extraordinary solidarity” that democracies displayed in opposition to Russia’s “brutal war of aggression against Ukraine” in his speech on Wednesday.
China, which has recently emerged as the US’s main geopolitical foe, denounced the event and urged Washington to cease meddling in the “internal affairs” of other nations in the name of advancing democracy. Beijing, which is governed by a single party, was not invited to the celebration.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, “Despite the many issues at home, the US is hosting another ‘Summit for Democracy’ in the name of promoting democracy, an event that blatantly draws an ideological line between countries and creates division in the world.”
“The conduct undermines the principles of democracy and further exposes the US’s quest for supremacy hidden behind the mask of democracy,”
Nine Democratic members of the US House wrote to Biden on Wednesday, pleading with him to use the summit to declare support for the creation of a new US institute to enhance human rights in the nation.
Such impartial, public organizations that act as watchdogs, offer guidance to decision-makers, and look into alleged wrongdoing are present in many nations.
A US human rights center would “strengthen popular knowledge and comprehension of human rights and help to further improve compliance with our human rights commitments and obligations,” the legislators wrote in their letter to Biden.
