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16th September 2022 (8 Topics)

International Day of Democracy 2022

Context

September 15th is celebrated annually across the world as International Day of Democracy.

About

International Day of Democracy:

  • The day is observed globally to mark the importance of democracy and create awareness among people about democratic rights.
  • The ideal of democracy can only be realised as a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere with full participation, cooperation, and support of the international community, civil society, national governing bodies, and individuals.
  • According to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. 
  • The International Day of Democracy has been established to create awareness among people so that they understand the importance of protection and effective realization of human rights.
  • History: The International Day of Democracy was established after a resolution was passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007. 
    • According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the resolution was geared toward strengthening and consolidating democracy.
    • The International Day of Democracy was first celebrated in 2008 and since then, numerous parliamentary events have been organised worldwide.
  • Theme: The theme for International Day of Democracy 2022 is “the importance of media freedom to democracy, peace, and delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals”.

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU):

  • IPU is global inter-parliamentary institution.
  • It was established in 1889 and was the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations.
  • It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Its initial objective was arbitration of conflicts.
  • It played important role in setting up Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
  • Over time, its mission has evolved towards promotion of democracy and inter-parliamentary dialogue.
  • It has worked for establishment of institutions at inter-governmental level, including UN.
  • Initially, IPU was for individual parliamentarians, but has since transformed into international organization of parliaments of sovereign states.
  • The national parliaments of 178 countries are its members and 14 regional parliamentary assemblies are its associate members.
  • The IPU has permanent observer status at UNGA.
  • Slogan of IPU is “For democracy. For everyone.”

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