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On December 9-10, 2021, President Biden will host the first of two Summits for Democracy, which will bring together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.
The Summit presents an opportunity to discuss how to strengthen democracy in times of peril and to show how democracy still works and can improve people’s lives in tangible ways. It aims to show how open, rights-respecting societies can work together to effectively tackle the challenges of our time, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and inequality.
The Summit will solicit innovative and bold commitments centered around three principal themes:
- Defending against authoritarianism
- Addressing and fighting corruption
- Advancing respect for human rights
USAID will participate in the Summit for Democracy and highlight our work that strengthens democracy and supports democratic ambitions. USAID plans to announce a bold suite of new programming at the Summit to strengthen democracy work and expose, track, and disrupt transnational corruption and mitigate its impact on democratic governance and development progress by working at the local, national, regional, and global levels.
Watch the live stream: https://www.state.gov/summit-for-democracy/
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READOUT
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Last updated: December 10, 2021
The Summit for Democracy gives us this opportunity to build a global consensus on an affirmative global vision of digital democracy. I would like, now, to announce several new initiatives that the United States intends to undertake over the coming year as part of the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal that President Biden announced yesterday.
Today, very quickly, I’d like to highlight five U.S.-led initiatives that will expand civic space, boost support for the change agents on the front lines, and show government leaders—those who respect civic space and human rights—that the United States is serious about supporting their progress.
Today, as we celebrate International Human Rights Day, the United States Agency for International Development reaffirms its commitment to a world that protects human rights, celebrates human rights defenders, and holds accountable those who abuse human rights. We also honor the bravery of activists, human rights defenders, and peaceful protestors, who promote freedom, justice, equality and equity, and the rule of law despite severe risks to their own lives, rights, and freedoms. The United States believes that human rights are essential to build a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous world.
The U.S. Agency for International Development joins with changemakers around the world to mark International Anti-Corruption Day, which coincides with the start of President Biden’s Summit for Democracy. As I said on Tuesday, “where corruption flourishes, democracy withers.” And that is why world leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector are gathering today to collectively confront the scourge of global corruption.
Today, President Biden convened the first-ever Summit for Democracy, a forum for leaders from around the world to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing democracies today. As a core U.S. Government commitment toward achieving the Summit’s objectives, President Biden announced the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, a landmark new set of policy initiatives and foreign assistance programs that will significantly expand and update the U.S. government’s work to bolster democracy and defend human rights globally.
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