A panel discussion focusing on the human rights of parliamentarians and the various violations they are sometimes subjected to was held at the US Congress on 18 September 2008 as a joint endeavour of the IPU, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the House Democracy Assistance Commission. As the title suggests, the panel explored the link between democracy and human rights, and particularly the right of elected representatives to express their views freely and without fear. It also examined how parliamentary solidarity and diplomacy can be mobilized in support of democracy.

Coming on the heels of the first International Day of Democracy, celebrated on 15 September, the panel provided an opportunity for the US Congress to pay tribute to the new International Day. Members of parliament from Afghanistan, Liberia, Timor-Leste and Haiti were among the participants. A video message sent by former US President Jimmy Carter - in which, among other things, he saluted the IPU and its Universal Declaration of Democracy - provided one of the highlights.

Some of the salient points of the event included:

• Pro-active diplomacy is needed at the first sign that democracy is under attack in a country. Governments that abuse their authority must be made aware immediately that their actions will not go unsanctioned.
• Parliaments must act as human rights watchdogs and whistleblowers on the international scene. They must help raise the bar of what is acceptable conduct in the way governments treat their political opponents.
• Democracy is a slow process that must be adapted to each country’s political history and practical circumstances. There is no universal formula. The key to success in all cases is parliamentary oversight. This is also important to build people’s trust in the democratic process.
• It is not only undemocratic regimes that violate the rights of parliamentarians. Terrorism can be an even greater threat to democracy in certain countries. Members of parliament have been killed by terrorists seeking to destabilize the democratic process to their advantage.
• Human rights education should be a mainstay of all democracies. It is particularly important in new democracies where people may not fully understand the choices they are facing, as in the case of a new constitution.
• Democracies must guard against increasing economic and social inequalities; yet they must protect minority rights and accept the ethnic and linguistic differences in their midst.

IPU Secretary General Anders Johnsson moderated the discussion and gave a presentation on the work of the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. In his closing remarks, he invited participants to be vigilant, but also to look at the bright side of the picture. Democracy had made huge strides in just twenty years, he said, especially in Africa. Several countries that until recently had been thought of as lost cases were currently undergoing a true democratic renaissance.

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