Photo: Ted Eytan / Creative Commons
Defending rights in unequal democracies: an analysis of the links between systemic discrimination and democratic backsliding
Held during the 20th anniversary of the Human Rights Council, this event highlights the importance of meaningful engagement and participation of activists and communities fighting multiple and intersecting forms of oppression and operating in contexts where democratic institutions are weakening or under threat.
In the context of rising authoritarianism, how do human rights defenders live, resist and thrive? What lessons can we draw from racial justice movements and historically marginalised and excluded communities? What strategies of resistance by historically marginalised groups might prove useful in the context of a democratic backslide?
This timely discussion brings together speakers from across the globe to examine the interconnectedness between the lived experiences of historically marginalised and othered communities (among them movements for racial justice, and movements for the rights of young people, and the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons) and authoritarian practices. Across many contexts, authoritarian governments rely on or reinforce historical inequalities, and those same inequalities in turn enable or thrive under authoritarian contexts. Such power is frequently consolidated through narratives of exclusion and the weaponising of difference — based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, and more. In many instances, the tools used against historically discriminated groups and by authoritarian governments are the same: mass surveillance, the militarisation of police, restrictive environment for the press, erasure of history, selective application of law and justice, and more.
Held during the 20th anniversary of the Human Rights Council, this event highlights the importance of meaningful engagement and participation of activists and communities fighting multiple and intersecting forms of oppression and operating in contexts where democratic institutions are weakening or under threat.
Panelists:
- Amity Dimock, Daunte and Kobe No More Names Initiative - United States
- Natasha Koskei, Kenya Ni Mimi Campaign - Kenya
- Manisha Meem Nipun, Pathchola Foundation for LGBTIQAPH+ & Sex Workers Rights - Bangladesh
- Jeremías Pérez, Diáspora Africana de la Argentina (DIAFAR) - Argentina
Moderator: Lamar Bailey Karamañites, ISHR