Democracy is the political system in which the people are sovereign. In the famous words of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is the “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” However, recent events have shown that democracy does not always work as intended.

How do we educate about democracy?

Democracy often starts within the family, a favorable environment for expressing oneself, questioning ideas, arguing, and opposing. By telling one’s thoughts and opinions with openness, tolerance, and respect, one can forge a critical mind that is useful for understanding society. 

In the digital age, it is imperative to find new instruments, other than voting, to involve more of the people and the youth. This would also allow for more inclusive structures and institutions. However, these new institutions, such as social media, should not threaten existing institutions or interfere with freedom of expression. 

A necessary condition for practicing democracy would be social autonomy, which implies an analytical mind and a deployment of one’s individuality. Therefore, the promotion of democracy on an international level is desirable. This is why the International Day of Democracy was created.

Celebration of Democracy

Every year on September 15, people across the world celebrate the International Day of Democracy. It was established by a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly in 2007 that encourages states to enhance and reinforce democracy. 

Every year, a different facet of democracy is addressed. Previous editions of the day have focused on stable democracies, the importance of democracy to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, promoting citizen’s voice, dialogue and inclusion, accountability, and political tolerance, among others.

The International Day of Democracy allows for the redefinition of the values of democracy and for countries to align themselves with these definitions. Not all countries participate in this celebration, but it allows countries to exchange and come together for the common good. 

The emphasis of this year’s Democracy Day was on the value of media freedom. A crucial component of democracy is a vital, honest, and pluralistic media that can enlighten the public about topics of public importance. They enable the public to decide with knowledge and hold governments accountable. 

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” 

Protecting press freedom for democracy, a social challenge

Democracy’s core ideals include freedom and respect for human rights. Democracy thus develops into a conducive setting for the defense and successful fulfillment of human rights.

While the world has faced significant challenges due to the global health crisis, and the recent unrest in Ukraine reminds us that our democratic ideals are constantly in danger. Indeed, false and misleading information is on the rise, and the freedom of journalists and media professionals is constantly being threatened. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres stresses that “democracy cannot survive without a free press and freedom of expression.” 

Without interference from the UN, in the global context, the process of democracy is endangered. In this sense, the International Day of Democracy pays attention to essential pillars of sustainable democracy.

Degradation of democracy through the fragility of press freedom in the world

The fragility of freedom of expression is highlighted by UNESCO which has reported that “85 percent of the world’s population experienced a decline in press freedom in their country in the past five years.”

For example, the attack in 2015 on the journalists of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper, targets the freedom of the press. Journalists died as a result of this terrorist attack. Indeed, there is increasing assaults on media organizations both online and offline, and increasing use of defamation, cybersecurity, and hate speech laws to censor online discourse to intimidate and hinder journalists’ work. Every day, more audacious attempts by governments, individuals in positions of authority or complotist groups are made to silence journalists. UNESCO has recorded 455 journalists killed for their work or while working between 2016 and the end of 2021. 

Also, there has been an upsurge in journalists’ detentions. For instance, for the magazine “Pièces à Conviction,” Hervé Ghesquière and his colleague Stéphane Taponier made a report in the province of Kâpîssâ in Afghanistan for France 3, without escort in order to be able to interview local residents. They were taken hostage on December 30, 2009 by a group of Taliban until June 29, 2011. Reporters are endangered when they exercise their functions in countries without media freedom. 

Information can be suppressed, misinterpreted, or stopped entirely. A societal threat exists here. Journalists’ freedom of expression is increasingly being restricted, which has significant ramifications for democracy, human rights, and development. Hence, the security of the web is vital in an era of digital and technological change. 

Today journalism is not only about transmitting the information. It is fighting hate speech, promoting grassroots citizen journalism, preventing misinformation and deception, and facilitating access to information in landlocked countries. 

 Why is the International Day of Democracy important?

 Journalism is a profession in danger that must be restored. This is why the stake of this International Day of Democracy of 2022 is essential. The world we live in is based on information, research and development. It is necessary to live in a healthy environment with reliable sources of information. Society is impacted if these sources or the people who transmit the information are biased or endangered. This is why democratic values and their persistence over time and in a changing environment is a social issue. 

Is it sufficient? 

The social challenges of protecting democracy are inherent in today’s society. The issue of misleading and damaging speech is a major global challenge since freedom of expression is a core value of democracy. In the spirit of the UN, democracy provides a natural environment for the protection and realization of human rights. Therefore, great vigilance must be exercised to counter certain elements that may threaten the right to true and verified information and to the freedom of individuals. This is a good opportunity to recall the crucial role of educating people to help them develop their critical sense and better perceive the issues at stake. 
This day is necessary but certainly not sufficient to allow countries to sustain their democracies, considering the global context in which we currently live. In 2021, the level of democracy enjoyed by the average person in the world had returned to 1989. This means that the democratic gains of the last 30 years have been greatly reduced. Last year, nearly one-third of the world's population lived under authoritarian rule. And the number of countries moving toward authoritarianism is three times greater than those moving toward democracy. A day per year is not enough to solve the issues encountered by democracy. Maybe UN conventions could dedicate more time to discuss and analyze the advancement of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals to make the discussion more efficient, more impactful and more concrete.