URG recognises that the international human rights treaties and mechanisms offer a clear strategic advantage to democratic States as they look to reinvigorate democracy at home and push back against autocracy abroad.
This programme builds on several country case studies to show how adherence to international human rights standards has been leveraged as key building blocks in constructing new and stable democracies; how steps taken to ‘chip away’ at fundamental human rights undermine the foundations of democracy; and how non-democracies are incapable of delivering the full enjoyment of human rights to their people.
The programme also aims to use these ideas and arguments to mobilise concerted action at the Council, including through widening the group of leaders of this initiative (in particular, to include developing country democracies), aligning similar initiatives, further joint statements, Council resolutions, and steps to mobilise the UN human rights mechanisms to support democracy.
