Defending rights in unequal democracies

On 18 June, as part of the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and marking the HRC’s 20th anniversary, ISHR, together with the Kenya Ni Mimi campaign, the Kobe and Dante No More Names Initiative, DIAFAR, and the Patchola Foundation, organised a side event examining the links between the experiences of historically marginalised communities and authoritarian practices. Representatives from Germany, Belgium, the European Union, China, Serbia, Spain, Cyprus, Norway, Afghanistan, and the Council of Europe attended alongside NGOs and other participants. 

The event, entitled Defending Rights in Unequal Democracies: An analysis of the links between systemic discrimination and democratic backsliding, , featured interventions from Natasha Koskei, Amity Dimock (Kobe and Dante No More Names Initiative), Jeremias Perez (DIAFAR), and Manisha Meen Nipun (Patchola Foundation), and was moderated by Lamar Bailey Karamañites of ISHR’s Racial Justice Programme.

The session began with an analysis of how democratic erosion manifests itself globally, accompanied by a strong call for power and justice. The speakers described a systematic pattern whereby states deny the existence of racism, whilst redefining human rights as an ‘ideology’ rather than a legal obligation. As Jeremias Pérez put it: ‘What does not exist has no rights’. When a state declares that human rights are an ideology rather than a legal obligation, and uses the public media to ridicule activism, it is telling people to their faces that legal protection has ended. 

The speakers argued that communities that have historically been oppressed are best placed to identify democratic erosion before it takes hold. It is they who sound the alarm when the institutions and systems they rely on begin to go off the rails. As Amity Dimock pointed out: ‘By the time democratic erosion becomes evident to everyone, it has usually already been evident to marginalised communities for years.’

Drawing on their own experience, the advocates noted that authoritarian tactics, such as the criminalisation of dissent, mass surveillance, militarised policing, attacks on gender and racial movements, the shrinking of civic space, funding cuts, and hate speech and exclusion are often first tested on historically marginalised communities, including people of African descent and the LGBTQI+ community. When members of a minority group are targeted by the police, when a society normalises unequal treatment under the law, discrimination becomes the norm. When people are afraid to speak openly about their identity and when hate speech becomes commonplace, society is already on the wrong track. 

That is why it is essential to listen to those most affected. As Amity Dimock highlighted during the session, the people closest to the problem are also the closest to the solution. With this in mind, the speakers set out a series of concrete actions aimed at state actors, NGOs and advocates alike:

• It is not enough simply to document the harm, the international community must drive the implementation of recommendations and ensure accountability.
• Activists need direct access to international mechanisms when they are persecuted for criticising injustices.
• Focus on structural violations and the concentration of power, asking: ‘Who has violated which structures?’ and ‘Who benefits from public institutions?’
• Create a specific space for marginalised communities (for example, LGBTQI+ people and sex workers) to raise their concerns, not only during their participation in democratic processes, but also with regard to the accessibility and adequacy of public services.

Beyond these measures, speakers pointed to two broader courses of action: supporting those being excluded, since protecting people at the margins is, in itself, a way of protecting democracy, and investing in those who defend it. For UN representatives, this means building meaningful relationships and coalitions; for States, paying UN contributions on time and addressing the root causes of structural oppression; and for everyone, making space for defenders to speak and committing the time and resources this requires.

Ultimately, dignity is non-negotiable and participation in societal processes guarantees this dignity. As speakers stressed, inclusivity leads to strong civil spaces and protects human rights, and building that inclusive democracy takes more than reform, it takes imagination.

As Natasha Koskei put it: ‘The task is not reform, it is imagination. And my generation is already testing the alternative: a budget drawn up for citizens, not for creditors; security that protects rather than represses; politics centred on issues, not on factions; communities that are masters of their own stories; and care treated as infrastructure, not as charity. None of this is utopian; we have already prototyped it in the way we organise ourselves.”