Human Rights and Democratic Resilience: An Analysis of Regional Human Rights Instruments as Safeguards for Democracy

Sammanfattning

Democracy is declining in several states in all regions of the world. To avoid and recover from democratic backsliding, it is important that states can maintain or improve their levels of democracy. This concept is commonly referred to as ‘democratic resilience’. Democratic backsliding has a negative impact on the ability of people to enjoy their human rights, and therefore, there must be a safety mechanism in place when a democratic government is unable to protect itself. This thesis examines to what extent the European Convention on Human Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights can work as such safety mechanisms and protect democratic resilience in their Contracting States. Democratic resilience in regional human rights instruments is influenced by many factors, such as the history and purpose behind their drafting, the scope of their human rights protection, and their jurisdiction and enforcement mechanisms. The first part of this thesis explores these aspects, analyzing how they contribute to the protection of democratic resilience in the Contracting States. For the purpose of this thesis, the concepts of democracy and democratic resilience are defined from a human rights perspective based on the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. This democratic framework focuses on the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and separation of powers, the freedoms of expression, association, and assembly, and participation in elections. The second part of this thesis examines how these features of democracy are protected in the three instruments. This section analyzes and compares the specific provisions and mechanisms within the European Convention, the American Convention, and the African Charter that are designed to uphold democratic institutions. The aim is to determine how these instruments defend democratic institutions and support democratic resilience in their respective regions. The findings reveal that all three instruments protect numerous democratic principles and contain mechanisms for protecting democratic resilience in their Contracting States. However, due to factors such as state sovereignty, influence from political fluctuations within Contracting States, and a general reluctance to take a strong stance in favor of democracy, none of the instruments fully realize their potential in promoting democratic resilience. For these instruments to function effectively as safety mechanisms for democratic resilience, both the human rights systems and their Contracting States must be willing to hold states accountable in times of democratic decline.