PGA’s vision is to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, sustainable and democratic world.
PGA’s vision is to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, sustainable and democratic world.
Increasing consensus holds that democracy is in decline globally. Elements of backsliding include progressive erosion of democratic principles, such as separation of powers, checks and balances, independence of the judiciary and equality before the law; rising perpetuation of disinformation; incremental dismantling of protections for press freedoms and weaponization of the media; and repression of vulnerable populations and minorities, including opposition members, journalists, human rights defenders and legal professionals.
As human rights abuses amass, democratic practices are abandoned, and justice retreats, parliamentarians are on the frontlines. Members of parliament (MPs) have the mandate and responsibility to stand against these dangerous trends. As representatives of the democratic branch closest to citizens, legislators can resist attacks on democracy, shape national agendas, resist executive incursions, and work with civil society to preserve civic and political space.
However, parliamentarians themselves are increasingly at risk in contexts of democratic backsliding. A recent surge of assaults to democracy and civic space often entails attacks on MPs’ physical integrity and psychological wellbeing.
The annual Freedom House “Freedom in the World” report found 2018 to be the thirteenth consecutive year of deteriorating freedoms across the globe. The crisis has “touched all parts of the world.” Similar reports from a variety of sources reinforce “a drumbeat coming from commentators across the globe: democracy as a global phenomenon is under threat.” Recognizing the urgent menace, PGA inaugurated its Campaign for Democratic Renewal and Human Rights in November 2018.
The campaign underpins work in all of PGA’s programmatic areas and is central to the realization of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which commits governments to providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. PGA maintains that democratic governance is both a means to this end and an end in itself. Through their representative, legislative, and oversight functions, parliamentarians are critical to achieving this objective. As the UN notes, “SDG 16 is critical for parliaments and parliaments are critical for SDG 16.”
In the face of the scale, complexity, and ever-evolving nature of the threats against them, MPs must now act to support democracy and one another. PGA has assembled the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT) as “first responders” in cases of urgent action. This unique cohort can respond nimbly, intervening when parliamentarians and human rights defenders are at risk.
On 22 May 2020, PGA launched the PARRT. Please contact the PGA Secretariat to nominate MPs for the PARRT or sign up for urgent action alerts.
Recent years have seen a progressive deterioration in the integrity of political discourse, including a decline in the trustworthiness of information and a rise in “dangerous speech” that increases the risk of violence. PGA has developed a credible mechanism to hold parliamentarians accountable for their speech, commit themselves to demand dialogue respectful of all, and refrain from disinformation.
On 19 March 2021, during its International Council Meeting, Parliamentarians for Global Action launched the Second Pillar of the Democratic Renewal and Human Rights Campaign - the “Global Parliamentary Code of Democratic Conduct”
Threats to democracy are not new, but contemporary challenges are more nuanced and complex than in previous phases of backsliding. To empower MPs in this fight, PGA is compiling existing resources and creating new tools to help parliamentarians to detect and combat the early warning signs of democratic decline and propose pro-rights alternatives.
Download the Campaign One-Pager »
PGA’s Member-Parliamentarians have taken action in the following areas:
@PGAction impulsa la campaña #NoEnMiParlamento con el objetivo de combatir el sexismo y la violencia de género en las instituciones del Poder Legislativo. pic.twitter.com/Es96dJIznY
— Carla Pitiot (@CarlabPitiot) March 21, 2019
Supported by an expert Secretariat, PGA members work together to educate, sensitize, build technical capacity, and strengthen the political will of parliamentarians to achieve campaign objectives through concrete legislative and policy initiatives. PGA works with individual parliamentarians in their national contexts through country-specific strategies, leveraging that capacity with international networking to facilitate connections among parliamentarians and build bridges with civil society, domestic and international policy-makers, and other stakeholders.
To build peaceful, just, inclusive and sustainable societies, women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential.
PGA’s Board Member and Chair of the Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT) was verbally and physically assaulted while on her way to the People’s Majlis (Maldivian Parliament).
This new chapter in Armenia’s history reinforces the system of the Rome Statute and safeguards accountability at the global level.
