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Northwest Public Schools administrators eliminated its journalism program in June in what some former students and press freedom advocates call an act of censorship.

While working on the school year-ending issue of the Saga newspaper, staffers had little idea its student-written content would mark a 54-year-old publications abrupt end. The edition included student editorials on LGBTQ topics, along with a news article titled, Pride and prejudice: LGBTQIA+ on the origins of Pride Month (June) and the history of homophobia. Other articles explained registering for classes, highlighted achievements by the Future Business Leaders of America chapter and told the story of a group of siblings adoption.

Northwest Public Schools board Vice President Zach Mader said that in the past, I do think there have been talks of doing away with our newspaper if we were not going to be able to control content that we saw (as) inappropriate.

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He cautiously explained the apparent reason for the Sagas demise.

The very last issue that came out this year, there was a little bit of hostility amongst some, the school board member said. There were editorials that were essentially, I guess what I would say, LGBTQ.

On Sunday, May 22, a Northwest School District employee emailed the Grand Island Independent press and advertising teams to cancel the companys Northwest Viking Saga printing services. Notification of staff and students of the programs elimination came May 19, according to the employee. The June issue was printed on May 16.

The Northwest employee said in the email they were informed the (journalism and newspaper) program was cut because the school board and superintendent are unhappy with the last issue's editorial content.

The Saga staff was also reprimanded in April 2022 after publishing preferred pronouns and names in bylines and articles, according to students. District officials told students to use only birth names going forward.

The Saga had been published since 1968, thriving in its final year. Northwest student media, including Saga staffers, earned third place at the 2022 Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) State Journalism Championship. Individual winners included Emelia Richling, Emily Krupicka, Audrianna Wiseman, Kiera Avila and Treasure Mason.

District officials have declined to give an exact date when the decision to eliminate the program was made and why. Northwests 2021-2022 journalism teacher declined interview requests for this story.

It sounds like a ham-fisted attempt to censor students and discriminate based on disagreement with perspectives and articles that were featured in the student newspaper, surmised Sara Rips, legal counsel for ACLU of Nebraska.

Mader said of the student newspapers final issue: There (were) some things that were

The school board member paused, thinking.

He continued: If (taxpayers) read that (issue), they would have been like, Holy cow. What is going on at our school?

Dan Leiser, president of the Northwest Public Schools Board of Education, said of the stories in question, most people were upset they were written, though he didnt specify who most people consisted of.

Leiser questioned whether eliminating the paper based on editorial content in this case, the June 2022 issue mattered.

If 90% of people say the (stories) shouldnt have been written in the first place, they weren't happy with reading it in the newspaper Im not talking me, I'm talking high school students why do you think this is newsworthy?

Former Viking Sage newspaper staff members Marcus Pennell (left) and Emma Smith (right) display a pride flag outside of Northwest High School.

The freedom for print media to determine its own editorial content is constitutionally protected, a result of the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling on Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974).

The decision by the administration to eliminate the student newspaper violates students' right to free speech, unless the school can show a legitimate educational reason for removing the option to participate in a class that publishes award-winning material, said Nebraska Press Association attorney Max Kautsch.

Kautsch specializes in media law in Nebraska and Kansas.

It is hard to imagine what that legitimate reason could be, he added.

Emma Smith, Sagas assistant editor in 2022, said the staffers tried to have their fingers on the pulse of what Northwest students were talking about.

Rips said, Student journalism teaches students how to discern and investigate, build effective work based on verifiable facts, and policies.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil liberties group advocating for student free speech. Lindsie Rank, a FIRE student press counsel, said even if legal, censoring student expression will almost always run counter to democratic values.

As (Supreme Court) Justice (Stephen) Breyer pointed out, Americas public schools are the nurseries of democracy, Rank said.

Initially, Northwest Superintendent Jeff Edwards said the district was looking at some different curriculum. Edwards said principals, the director of teaching and learning and he are the primary decision makers in axing or adding classes.

Jeanette Ramsey, Northwest Public Schools director of teaching and learning, confirmed Edwardss referral, saying that yes, she was the primary curriculum decision maker, assisted by a team of people.

However, when the Sagas elimination was brought up, Ramsey said, firmly, I was not involved in that decision at all. I was zero involved in that decision.

Ramsey said the decision to end the Saga and related journalism class was made between PJ Smith, the principal, and Dr. (Jeff) Edwards, our superintendent.

Smith directed questions about the journalism programs elimination to Edwards.

The process to change programs and curriculum is not necessarily governed by administrators, said David Jespersen, communications administrator for the Nebraska Department of Education. School boards have the autonomy to exercise different procedures, Jespersen said.

Some districts are heavily involved and would need to grant approval; many districts let the superintendent handle it. As far as the state is concerned both are fine it is a local decision.

The Northwest Public Schools Board of Education had little if anything to do with the Sagas elimination, Leiser indicated.

From my standpoint, (from) a board standpoint, Dr. Edwards filled me in on the situation a little bit. He didn't tell me everything. I guess I'm trusting the way he's handling it. He's got it under control.

The front page of the June 2022 issue of the Viking Saga.

After Northwest Public Schools regular-session school board meeting on July 7, The Independent again asked Edwards why the Saga and its class had been cut. He was also for the first time presented with the alleged basis for the programs elimination: the Pride Month issue.

He repeatedly responded only that it was an administrative decision, but did not address the reason.

Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel for Student Press Law Center, said ending student newspaper programs is becoming a more common form of censorship. The center is a nonpartisan group that advocates for student journalism press freedom.

You can't censor a student newspaper you no longer have.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit has been working directly with the Sagas most recent staff on potential recourse.

By far, the number one thing that will get student media censored is a story that criticizes the school or that administrators somehow think makes them look bad, Hiestand said.

First Amendment rights in public high schools were affirmed in the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District in 1969. The school argued a 13-year-old student could not wear a black armband in protest of the Vietnam War.

In the Tinker case, the Supreme Court said that students and teachers don't lose their First Amendment and freedom of expression rights at the schoolhouse gates, said Hadar Harris, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. We believe that that should apply to student journalists as well.

In the Supreme Court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) journalism students at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Missouri, wrote stories about teen pregnancy and the impact of divorce on their peers. The principal deleted pages containing those stories prior to publication without notifying students.

Because the student newspaper was sponsored by the school, the Supreme Court ruled the principal was not violating the First Amendment.

Referring to the Hazelwood case, Harris said, The Supreme Court created a carve out of First Amendment rights, specifically applying to student journalists, which allows school administrators to censor students work for any quote-unquote, legitimate pedagogical reason.

Censorship in the name of Hazelwood is a vague standard, but it allows for a large amount of discretion by administrators who apply it rather broadly, Harris said.

But, she added, When student journalists are censored, we are teaching them that facts and truth even when they are uncomfortable are not acceptable.

On his birth certificate, former Saga staff member Marcus Pennells first name is Meghan. Marcus is a transgender man. In the June 2022 Saga, Pennell had his name reverted to Meghan in his byline.

The (name) thing was the first big blow, he said.

Pennell said he has been subject to adversity because of being transgender, but hearing directly from the school administrators was different.

It was the first time that the school had officially been, like, We don't really want you here, Pennell said of his regulated byline. You know, that was a big deal for me.

Alison Gash, an associate professor at the University of Oregon, said deadnaming calling someone by their birth name as opposed to their preferred name is a form of erasure.

Gash is an academic expert in United States courts, gender, race, sexuality, same-sex marriage, constitutional rights and public policy.

The pointed targeting of erasing somebody's pronoun, of erasing somebody's gender is erasing somebody's identity in such a hostile way, she said. It can't be read as anything but I don't value you.

Hiestand said that until recently, few controversies over using preferred names in student media have been reported to the Student Press Law Center.

The concept of banning preferred names was new to Michelle Hassler, an assistant journalism professor at UNL.

I think we're getting into some additional rights here, Hassler said, noting institutions like the Associated Press recognize the practice. Hassler is also the executive director of the Nebraska High School Press Association.

Hiestand said he was unaware of any formal U.S. Department of Education opinions concerning preferred names.

I can say with certainty there is no law that would require the use of a legal name instead of a preferred name, he added.

Emma Smith graduated in 2022. She said her class was informed the decision to ban preferred names was made by the Northwest Public Schools Board of Education.

Students, including Emma Smith, said district Policy 6391 was referenced when an administrator handed down the districts preferred name decree.

The policy advises teachers to teach only age-appropriate controversial topics, present them with objectivity (do not include your own biases) and not expect students to reach an agreement, according to documents on the district website. The documents do not define controversial.

The policy also states, Remember that the policy of the board is designed to protect you as well as your students from unfair or inconsiderate criticism whenever your students are studying a controversial subject.

The school board last reviewed and revised the policy in December of 2017. In an email, Edwards said no public records exist when asked for documentation concerning 6391s development.

The Independent submitted a series of public records requests to Northwest Public Schools in July, asking for information relating to the elimination of the journalism program and the possible reasons for its end.

In response, the district said the majority of those requests couldnt be fulfilled until Sept. 1, with costs ranging from just shy of $3,000 for an initial request and $1,140 for a narrowed-down request.

Harris seemed dubious. (SPLC is) very troubled by what's been going on in the school district, and the lack of transparency and the censorship that's taking place.

Someone in administration needs to be really clear about the reason (the Saga was eliminated)... they are getting really close to violating some First Amendment rights, Hassler said, though she said she hasnt heard an official reason for the elimination of the Saga and its related class.

Hassler said, That's even more problematic: the reasoning isn't out there.

In the realm of higher education, the same scenario would violate the First Amendment, Rank said. For high school journalists the answer isn't as clear-cut.

The FIRE attorney added that the Hazelwood ruling calls for a legitimate instructional reason for regulation.

I struggle to think of a legitimate educational reason for punishing student journalists for discussing Pride Month, but the bar can unfortunately be low, Rank said.

At this moment in our democracy, Harris said, we need people asking hard questions and reporting facts.

Rips, ACLU of Nebraskas LGBTQIA+ counsel, said simply having an environment like the Sagas newsroom can have a big impact.

Kids need to feel safe when kids are bullied knowing that the school has their back, knowing that their parents have their back can make things like that more tolerant, Rips said.

Gash said, There's a compounding effect, being a young, queer person, having to confront adults who are supposed to be on your side, in your corner, helping you to grow and develop to be a valued member of our society.

Emma Smith is firmly planted in her classmates corner.

Seeing them go through that, especially after being able to go by (preferred names)... having it taken away from them was really upsetting.

In an editorial, The Dont Say Gay bill: Making students existing controversial, Pennell wrote:

...most LGBT students are scared to even show up to class most days. If the concern was really for the quality of education for our children, why not ban all discussion (concerning sexuality) if we arent saying gay, why can we say straight?

It was printed in the final issue of the Saga.

The end of the Northwest Saga is not the first time student censorship issues have cropped u

Jessica Votipka is the education reporter at the Grand Island Independent. She can be reached at 308-381-5420.

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'Nurseries of democracy': Northwest student journalism elimination a 'Saga' - Grand Island Independent

Rusty Bowers is headed for the exit. After 18 years as an Arizona lawmaker, the past four as speaker of the states house of representatives, he has been unceremoniously shown the door by his own Republican party.

Last month he lost his bid to stay in the Arizona legislature in a primary contest in which his opponent was endorsed by Donald Trump. The rival, David Farnsworth, made an unusual pitch to voters: the 2020 presidential election had not only been stolen from Trump, he said, it was satanically snatched by the devil himself.

Bowers was ousted as punishment. The Trump acolytes who over the past two years have gained control of the states Republican party wanted revenge for the powerful testimony he gave in June to the January 6 hearings in which he revealed the pressure he was put under to overturn Arizonas election result.

This is a very Arizonan story. But it is also an American story that carries an ominous warning for the entire nation.

Six hours after the Guardian interviewed Bowers, Liz Cheney was similarly ousted in a primary for her congressional seat in Wyoming. The formerly third most powerful Republican leader in the US Congress had been punished too.

In Bowerss case, his assailants in the Arizona Republican party wanted to punish him because he had steadfastly refused to do their, and Trumps, bidding. He had declined to use his power as leader of the house to invoke an arcane Arizonan law whose text has never been found that would allow the legislature to cast out the will of 3.4 million voters who had handed victory to Joe Biden and switch the outcome unilaterally to Trump.

Bowers has a word for that kind of thinking. The thought that if you dont do what we like, then we will just get rid of you and march on and do it ourselves that to me is fascism.

Come January, Bowers will no longer be an Arizona politician. He can now speak his mind. He did just that, for more than two hours in an interview with the Guardian this week.

He spoke his mind about the phone conversations he had with Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani at the height of the stolen election mayhem in 2020. He spoke about the clown circus of Trump loyalists who tried to bully him into subverting the election, and about the emotional violence that has been embraced by increasingly powerful sections of the Republican party in Arizona and nationally.

He spoke his mind too about the very real danger facing democracy in America today to his astonishment, at the hands of his own party.

The constitution is hanging by a thread, he told me. The funny thing is, I always thought it would be the other guys. And its my side. That just rips at my heart: that we would be the people who would surrender the constitution in order to win an election. That just blows my mind.

Bowers will talk about all that, and much more. But first, he wants to show me around his spiritual home. He arranged to meet me at his familys ranch, so you can see a bit of why I think the way I do.

The ranch is nestled in a hollow among desert hills about 90 minutes drive east of Phoenix, at the end of five miles of dramatically snaking dirt road. Fifteen months ago a wildfire swept through the area, destroying majestic cottonwoods and sycamores and sending flames high up above the hills. The main house came within 10 feet of being destroyed and his art studio, replete with many of his landscape paintings and a large portion of his legislative papers, was burnt to ashes.

I ask him what this extraordinarily beautiful and harsh landscape reveals about his political character. Well, Im not a man of means, he said. We pay for things as we go. We are compelled to work, to do things with our hands. That gives you a different appreciation of life. Things have a bigger meaning.

Bowers said that his core values were instilled in him as a child growing up within a conservative Republican tradition. He is the father of seven children, one of whom, Kacey, died last year. Family, faith, community these are values at a very core level. You dont survive out here, on land like this, alone.

A fourth-generation Arizonan, Bowers, 69, grew up within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon church. His faith, along with his other great passion for art he is a painter and sculptor is visible all around. The front of the main house is lined with three large bronzes depicting the epic 1,100-mile journey across America that the Mormons undertook in 1846-47.

From the beginning, conservatism and the Republican party were interchangeable for Bowers. Belief in God, that you should be held accountable for how you treat other people, those were very conservative thoughts and the bedrock of my politics.

He identifies as pro-life, sees the US constitution as being inspired by God, and voted for Trump in the 2020 election. I campaigned for Trump, I went to his rallies, I stood up on the stage with him, he said.

Somewhere along the line, though, things started to come unstuck. A rift opened up between his old-school Republican values and those of a new cadre of activists who were energized by Trump and his embrace of conspiracy theories and strongman politics.

In hindsight, Bowers now recognizes that the opening shots of the conflict were fired not around the 2020 presidential election but earlier in the year, in the initial days of Covid. Trump-fanatical Republicans in the Arizona house displayed in their anti-mask antics the same disdain for the rules, the same bullying style, that was later to erupt in the stolen election furor.

It was like a prep show, he said.

Then came the first signs of Trumps refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 election. Bowers himself always expected that the presidential race in Arizona would be close. We were very much aware that a demographic of women, 18 to 40, college-educated, professional, with small children, were not voting for Donald Trump, he said.

When the results were confirmed, and Biden had won by 10,457 votes, the slimmest margin of any state, Bowers was unsurprised. But such was the brouhaha as armed Trump supporters protested outside counting centers in Maricopa county demanding audits that he decided to take a look for himself.

He gathered a group of trusted lawyers and went to investigate the counting process close up. I saw incredible amounts of protocols that were followed and signed off by volunteers Democrats, Republicans, independents. Yes, Republicans for crying out loud! And they did it by the book.

On 22 November 2020, two weeks after Biden had been declared the next president of the United States, Bowers received a call from the White House. Trump and Giuliani were on the line.

After exchanging niceties, they got down to business. Giuliani said they had found 200,000 illegal immigrants and 6,000 dead people who had voted in Arizona. We need to fix that, Giuliani told him, cajoling him to call a special committee of the Arizona legislature to look into the supposed fraud.

Bowers remembers vividly how Trump and Giuliani played good cop and bad cop on that call. Trump, you know, he wasnt angry. He wasnt threatening. He never said to me, Im going to get you if you dont do this. Giuliani, he was the bulldog.

In return, Bowers was polite but firm. He told the duo that they had to provide hard evidence. I said, Im not doing anything like this until you bring me something. Lets see it. Im not going to have circus time at the house of representatives.

Thats when Trump and Giuliani unveiled their second, even more incendiary, proposal. They had heard that there was an arcane Arizona law that would allow the Republican-controlled legislature under Bowers to throw out Bidens electors and send Trump alternatives to Congress in their place.

It took a moment for the penny to drop. Bowers was being asked to overturn the election through diktat.

Im not a professor of constitutional law, but I get the idea. They want me to throw out the vote of my own people, he recalls thinking. I said, Oh, wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. So now, youre asking me to overthrow the vote of the people of Arizona?

Bowerss response to the good cop, bad cop routine was categoric. He told them: I took an oath to the American constitution, the state constitution and its laws. Which one of those am I supposed to break?

It didnt stop there. Bowers was pounded by wave after wave of demands that he subvert the election, some coming from the White House, some from America First politicians closer to home.

The speaker continued to be lobbied right up to the eve of January 6 when John Eastman, the conservative law professor advising Trump on his attempted electoral coup, rang him and exhorted him to decertify the electors. Just do it and let the courts figure it all out, Eastman said.

Bowers was direct on that occasion too. No, he said.

As January 6 approached, and the cries of stolen election reached fever pitch, the attacks on Bowers became personal. A Trump train of angry fanatics blaring their horns in pickup trucks festooned with Maga flags turned up at his home in Mesa, some bearing digital boards proclaiming him to be a pedophile.

To protect his family, he would step outside the house and confront the protesters. One man had three bars on his chest, signalling he was a member of the far-right militia group the Three Percenters. The man was screaming obscenities and carrying a pistol. I had to get as close to him as I could to defend myself if he went for the gun.

The worst of it was that during several of these menacing protests, his daughter Kacey was inside the house mortally ill in bed with liver failure. She would say, What are they doing out there? She was emotional. She told me, Im going to die. I said, Honey, youre not going to die. So she had feelings, we were trying to keep her positive.

Kacey Bowers did die, on 28 January, three weeks after the insurrection at the US Capitol.

I asked Bowers whether, through all this, he had ever doubted his strength to stand up to the onslaught. Were his values tested?

I never had the thought of giving up, he said. No way. I dont like bullies. Thats one constant in my life: I. Do. Not. Like. Bullies.

In July, the executive committee of the Arizona Republican party censured Bowers. Its chairwoman, Kelli Ward, a Trump devotee, said that he was no longer a Republican in good standing.

Then on 2 August, Bowers was effectively turfed out of the Arizona legislature when he was defeated in the primary by the Satan-evoking Farnsworth. That same night, the slate of election deniers standing for statewide positions won a clean sweep.

Republican nominations for governor, a US Senate seat, state attorney general and secretary of state all went to enthusiastic backers of Trump and his 2020 attempted coup. They included Mark Finchem, who was present at the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 and who continues to try to decertify Bidens presidency to this day.

Finchem is now the Republican candidate for secretary of state. Should he win in November, he would be in charge of Arizonas election administration through the 2024 presidential contest, in which Trump has indicated he is likely to be competing.

The ascent of election deniers across the board marks the final transformation of the Republican party in the state. Trumps grip is now complete; the strain of constitutional conservatism epitomized by Bowers is in the wilderness.

I think its a shame, was his rueful reflection on that transition. The suite of candidates that we now have representing what used to be a principled party is just like, wow Its like being the first colonizer on Jupiter.

In February, a mega election integrity bill was introduced into the Arizona legislature that was the culmination of the anti-democratic drift of the party. House bill 2596 would have given the Republican-controlled legislature the power to reject any election result that the majority group didnt like.

Bowers resoundingly killed off that bill by sending it to languish not in just one house committee, but in all 12 of them. I was trying to send a definitive message: this is hogwash. Taking away the fundamental right to vote, the idea that the legislature could nullify your election, thats not conservative. Thats fascist. And Im not a fascist.

Bowers said he remains optimistic that the party will one day find its way back on to the rails. He draws succor from the many people who have come up to him since his defeat telling him quietly, so that nobody can hear that they admire him and back him.

Its not like Im alone in the wilderness. Theres a lot of people from all over the United States thanking me.

But for now, he accepts that things are likely to get much worse before they get better. I ask him, at this moment, is the Republican party in Arizona lost?

Yeah, he said. Theyve invented a new way. Its a party that doesnt have any thought. Its all emotional, its all revenge. Its all anger. Thats all it is.

He held the thumb and digit finger of his right hand so close together that they were almost touching. The veneer of civilization is this thin, he said. It still exists I havent been hanged yet. But holy moly, this is just crazy. The place has lost its mind.

This article was amended on 24 August 2022. The primary in which Bowers was defeated by Farnsworth was held on 2 August, not 28 July as an earlier version said.

Read the original post:
Ousted Republican reflects on Trump, democracy and America: The place has lost its mind - The Guardian US

Lots of things are broken right now in U.S. politics. The good news is that theres new evidence that one important thing is working just fine: When bad things happen, presidents get less popular. And when good things happen? Their approval ratings improve.

Six weeks ago, President Joe Bidens approval ratings were falling rapidly. That continued into July, eventually reaching a low point of 37.5 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight. Hes recovered a fair amount, gaining three percentage points over the last 30 days.

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Look! It's a sign democracy isn't totally broken - Grand Haven Tribune

For the next six weeks, the Smithsonians traveling exhibit Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is free at the Pascagoula High School Performing Arts Center.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Pascagoula-Gautier School District hosted tonights grand opening and ribbon cutting for the exhibit.

In addition to the replica Washington D.C. Smithsonian exhibit, a local exhibit outlines the history of voting on Mississippis Gulf Coast.

Over a year of work went into the collaborative effort of local historians and community members to include voter registration books and video interviews of local residents who remember the first time they were able to vote at the age of 18.

Families can visit the exhibit for free throughout September 20th Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with extended hours on Tuesdays. Pascagoula Negro/Carver HS Alumni Association President Jackie Elly said, So many people dont know about what happened and when it happened and when they come and look at this exhibit its a learning process. The history books dont tell the story, but a story is being told and its live, its real, it happened, and its going to continue to happen.

Representative Jeramey Anderson spoke about the importance of voting and power of letting your voice be heard.

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Grand opening of Voices and Votes: Democracy in America exhibit - WXXV News 25

Democracy is a core value of the United Nations. The UN supports democracy by promoting human rights, development, and peace and security. In the 75 years since the UN Charter was signed, the UN has done more to support democracy around the world than any other global organization. The UN promotes good governance, monitors elections, supports the civil society to strengthen democratic institutions and accountability, ensures self-determination in decolonized countries, and assists in the drafting of new constitutions in post-conflict nations.

United Nations activities in support of democracy are carried out through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), the Department of Peace Operations (DPO), the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), among others.

When the founders of the United Nations drafted theUnited Nations Charter, they did not mention the word democracy. In 1945, many of the UN Member States did not endorse democracy as a system, or didnt practice it. Yet, the opening words of the Charter, We the Peoples, reflect the fundamental principle of democracy - that the will of the people is the source of legitimacy of sovereign states and, therefore, of the United Nations as a whole.

The UN does not advocate for a specific model of government but promotes democratic governance as a set of values and principles that should be followed for greater participation, equality, security and human development. Democracy provides an environment that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in which the freely expressed will of people is exercised. People have a say in decisions and can hold decision-makers to account. Women and men have equal rights and all people are free from discrimination.

These values are embodied in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. It projects the concept of democracy by stating the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government.The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsdevelops them even further and lays down the legal basis for the principles of democracy in international law. It covers, for instance, freedom of expression, the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to freedom of association with others. TheConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Womenstipulates that its 189 contracting parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that women can vote and stand for elections, and participate in public life and decision-making, including at the international level.

Since 1988, theGeneral Assemblyhas adopted at least one resolution annually dealing with some aspect of democracy. In 2015, world leaders committed in the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developmentto a world in which democracy, good governance and the rule of law as well as an enabling environment at national and international levels, are essential for sustainable development. The Agenda reaffirmed commitments that were made earlier at theWorld Summitin 2005 and in theMillennium Declaration.

The values of freedom, respect for human rights and the principle of holding periodic and genuine elections by universal suffrage are essential elements of democracy. In turn, democracy provides an environment for the protection and effective realization of human rights.

For several years, the UN General Assembly and the former Commission on Human Rights endeavoured to draw on international human rights instruments to promote a common understanding of the principles and values of democracy. As a result, in 2000, the Commission recommended a series of legislative, institutional and practical measures to consolidate democracy. Moreover, in 2002, the Commission declared the following as essential elements of democracy:

Since its establishment in 2006, theHuman Rights Council(successor to the Commission) has adopted several resolutions highlighting the interdependent and mutually reinforcing relationship between democracy and human rights. Recent examples include resolutions19/36and28/14on Human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Democracy deficits, weak institutions and poor governance impose persistent challenges. The OHCHR and UNDP address these challenges through their advisory services and programmes. In transitional democracies and countries emerging from conflict, OHCHR assists to build strong and independent judiciary systems, parliaments, human rights institutions, and vibrant civil societies. UNDP assists governments in strengthening their public institutions, to help countries fight corruption and support inclusive participation to ensure that no one is left behind. Every year, UNDP invests, on average, US$565 million to support inclusive governance and development at the local level.

OHCHR collaborates with national governments and other actors to rebuild public confidence and restore peace and the rule of law in post-conflict nations and transitional democracies. OHCHR has actively supported transitional justice programmes in more than 20 countries around the world over the past 15 years. OHCHR tries to ensure that human rights and transitional justice considerations are reflected in peace agreements and it supports the establishment of truth-seeking processes, judicial accountability mechanisms, and reparations programmes.

OHCHR works to guide national and regional efforts and to facilitate the discussion on democracy and human rights. In 2012, the Human Rights Council adopted aresolutiontitled Human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which reaffirmed that democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms were interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Further, OHCHR published astudyon challenges, lessons learned and best practices in securing democracy and the rule of law from a human rights perspective, and also organized a panel discussion on these issues.

In 2015, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 28/14, which established aforum on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to these areas. OHCHR also works to underline the close relationship between human rights and democracy within the United Nations system and partners with democracy-promoting organizations such as lOrganisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The UN is a trusted impartial actor providing electoral assistance to approximately 60 countries each year, either at the request of Member States or based on a Security Council or General Assembly mandate. The assistance includes advisory services, logistics, training, civic education, computer applications and short-term observation. The UN also strives to build capacity regarding the overall political environment. This involves working with voters, the media, political parties, civil society, as well as the parliament and the judiciary.

The electoral assistance helps Member States to hold periodic, inclusive, transparent and credible elections and to establish nationally sustainable electoral processes. UN electoral assistance has been a crucial and successful component in peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and in establishing and deepening democratic governance.

The electoral assistance involves several programmes, funds, agencies and departments. TheUnder-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairsis the UN Focal Point for Electoral Assistance. TheElectoral Assistance Divisionwithin the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) assesses electoral needs, develops electoral policy, and maintains institutional memory. TheUnited Nations Development Programme(UNDP) provides technical assistance, and fosters the participation of women, the youth and other underrepresented groups in elections. It also coordinates donor support. In peacekeeping or post-conflict environments, military and police components of peacekeeping missions support national law enforcement agencies in securing elections. The UN also partners with other regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations involved in electoral assistance.

TheUnited Nations Democracy Fund(UNDEF) funds projects that empower civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. Currently, for example, UNDEF finances projects to mobilize the youth for elections in Cte d'Ivoire, to engage men in promoting gender equality in Palestine, and to build a platform for citizen advocacy in elections in Brazil. Most of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations in countries in both the transition and consolidation phases of democratisation.

Since its creation in 2005, UNDEF has supported more than 800 projects in more than 130 countries, with a total amount of almost 210 million dollars. Applicants can request a grant between 100,000 US dollars and 300,000 US dollars. The Fund depends entirely on voluntary contributions from Member States. So far, it has been supported by over 40 Governments. Thebiggest donorsare the United States and India. External evaluations of completed projects are available on theUNDEF website.

Democracy needs women to be truly democratic, and women need democracy if they are to change the systems and laws that exclude them. The role of women in democratic processes is emphasized in theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Womenand in the2011 General Assembly resolution on Womens Political Participation.

Despite these normative advances, and as universal as these goals are, they nevertheless remain elusive for many women. Progress has been too slow in increasing numbers of women in representative. In 2021, just 25 per cent of national parliamentarians were women, a slow increase from 14 per cent in 2000. Women are also poorly represented in local decision-making bodies, whether as mayors or local council members. Political parties and electoral commissions often lack the capacity to ensure that womens interests are articulated and addressed.

The UN supports women's political participation. In July 2010, the UN General Assembly createdUN Women, mandated to coordinate the gender mainstreaming work of the UN System. In doing so, UN Member States took a historic step in accelerating the Organizations goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The UNs approach to support womens effective political participation is to make local and national elections free and fair for women, to support womens civil society organizations, to build accountability for womens rights in public institutions, and to support women political leaders.

More than forty percent of the global population is younger than 25. The youth faces huge challenges, such as climate change, unemployment, inequalities and exclusion. Many migrate in response. Meanwhile, young people connect and give voice to issues that matter. They use new media to fight injustice, discrimination, and human rights abuses; and take action for what they believe in. Young people also have an eloquent voice that resonates deeply with their own generation from Malala Yousafzai on the universal right to education, to Greta Thunberg on leading the fight against climate change.

The Secretary-General made working with and for young people one of his top priorities. He appointed the first Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, mandated with the task of developing a UN Youth Strategy. The UN General Assembly in March 2015 adopted Education for Democracy, a resolution encouraging all UN entities to use education to promote peace, human rights, and democracy. The resolution encourages Member States to integrate education for democracy into their education standards.

DESAsWorld Youth Reportaddresses key areas of youth development around the world. Another platform for the youth is theECOSOC Youth Forum, where young people can voice their needs and concerns through informal dialogue with other stakeholders. The Forum represents the most institutionalized venue for youth participation in UN deliberations and is an important vehicle to mobilize young people for implementing the 2030 Agenda.

The General Assembly proclaimed 15 September as theInternational Day of Democracy. The observance provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. Only with the full support of the international community, national governing bodies, civil society and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be realised to the benefit of all and everywhere.

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Democracy | United Nations