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As Vice President Harris has said, the status of women is the status of democracy. The ability of women and girls to participate safely, freely, and equally in political life and in society is a defining feature of democracy, but this hard-won progress is increasingly fragile. Wherever women and girls are under threat, so, too, is democracy, peace, and stabilityfrom Iran, where women are courageously demanding respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms in the face of oppression; to Ukraine, where we are once more seeing rape used as a weapon in Russias brutal and unjust war; to Afghanistan, where the Taliban bars women and girlsfromattendingschool andfully participating in society.

As we face unprecedented global challenges, we must harness the full potential, participation, and leadership of women and girls. In hosting the second Summit for Democracy, the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to advancing womens political and civic participation and leadership and ensuring that they are at every table where decisions are being made. Research shows that the status of women and the stability of nations are inextricably linked, and that societies that foster gender discrimination and allow oppressive gender norms to flourish are more likely to be unstable.

Today, at the second Summit for Democracy, the Biden-Harris Administration is highlighting key actions and progress made during the intervening Year of Action.

Accelerating Womens and Girls Civic and Political Leadership under the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal. At the first Summit, President Biden established the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, a landmark set of policy and foreign assistance initiatives that increase the Administrations ongoing work to bolster democracy and defend human rights globally. Today, we are building on those efforts by:

Advancing Womens Involvement in Peace and Security Efforts. Womens participation in peace and security processesas peacekeepers, leaders, and members of the defense and security sectoris essential to global security, stability and democracy. To advance womens meaningful participation, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken the following actions:

TheGlobal Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse (Global Partnership). A commitment from the first Summit for Democracy and launched at the 66th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the Global Partnership, which currently has 12 participating governments, brings together international organizations, civil society, and the private sector to prioritize, understand, prevent, and address the growing scourge of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, which disproportionately impacts women and LGBTQI+ political and public figures, leaders, journalists and activists.

Today, alongside the release of the Global Partnerships 2023 Roadmap, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing key actions and investments to prevent and respond to technology-facilitated gender-based violence and counter its chilling effects on women leaders and democratic participation, including more than $13 million in targeted funding across USAID and the Department of State. Key actions include:

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The Status of Women is the Status of Democracy: Advancing ... - The White House

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Since 2021, the Summit for Democracy process has focused attention on how governments and non-governmental actors can work together to strengthening democratic institutions and processes, protect human rights, and advance the fight against corruption.

At the first Summit for Democracy in December 2021, representatives from governments around the world, civil society, and the private sector organized into 15 cooperative, multi-stakeholder Democracy Cohorts: platforms intended to undertake concerted action toward the implementation of Summit commitments in areas of common interest.

The 15 Democracy Cohorts focused on a range of topics, including technology, media freedom, youth engagement, financial transparency, rule of law, election integrity, and gender equality, among others. With 23 governments and 24 civil society and private sector actors co-leading these platforms, participants reflect democratic societys shared stake in advancing key facets of transparent and accountable governance.

In dialogue with civil society, the United States launched the Democracy Cohorts concept to support and monitor commitments made during the first Summit and provide additional opportunities for continued dialogue and collaboration among governments and authorities, civil society representatives, private sector leaders, philanthropic partners, and academics. While each Cohort included at least one government and one civil society co-lead, their focus, objectives, actions, and deliverables were their own to determine and execute through inclusive, multi-stakeholder collaboration with co-leads and participants. Several governments and many civic groups enthusiastically volunteered to lead and participate in the Cohorts, lending their experience and expertise to foster democratic learning.

Coming together for meaningful dialogue and collaboration, the Cohorts underscore the importance of strengthening democratic principles and participation, holding democratic governments accountable, and helping democracy deliver for its citizens. The Summit for Democracy organizers present the following summaries of each Cohorts work and outcomes for the consideration of Summit participants, who may choose to utilize identified best practices, adopt recommended commitments, collaborate with Cohorts to advance ongoing efforts, and sign on to Calls to Action or Declarations. Like other Summit participants, the U.S. government will give due consideration to Cohort recommendations and deliverables.

TheFinancial Transparency and Integritycohort,co-led by the Government of the United States, the Brookings Institution, and the Open Government Partnership, focused on concerted, collaborative actions to advance financial transparency, accountability, and integrity.

Key outcomes include:

TheInternational Cooperation for Anti-Corruptioncohort,co-led by the Government of Moldova, the Basel Institute on Governance, and Transparency International, concentrated on international cooperation in anti-corruption awareness and enforcement, with a focus on asset recovery.

Key outcomes include:

TheAnti-Corruption Policies as a Guarantee for National Security, Stability, and Sovereign Policycohort,co-led by the Government of Bulgaria, the Basel Institute on Governance, and the Center for the Study of Democracy, identified challenges and opportunities to promote anti-corruption policies and models for collective action.

Key outcomes include:

TheMedia Freedomcohort,co-led by the Government of Canada, the Government of the Netherlands, and Internews, reviewed progress and concrete action toward the first Summits commitments and encouraged new, innovative, and measurable commitments to advance media freedom around the world.

Key outcomes include:

TheInformation Integritycohort,co-led by the Government of Canada, the Government of Latvia, and the Alliance for Securing Democracy, highlighted and amplified best practices to strengthen a healthy information ecosystem.

Key outcomes include:

TheRule of Law and People-Centered Justicecohort,co-led by the Government of the Dominican Republic; the Government of Kosovo; the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative; Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies; Transparency International; and the World Justice Project, engaged interested stakeholders to participate in global rule of law and access to justice processes, such as facilitating cooperating with the Justice Action Coalition, as an opportunity to share achievements and challenges for rule of law and justice reforms.

Key outcomes include:

TheDeliberative Democracy and Citizens Assembliescohort,co-led by the Government of Ireland, the European Commission, and the newDemocracy Foundation, focused on providing citizens with a meaningful role in public decision-making through citizens assemblies by bringing together community representatives.

Key outcomes include:

TheElection Integritycohort,co-led by the Government of Greece, the Government of India, the Government of Mauritius, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, concentrated on opportunities for training and capacity building programs and technical consultancies in support of election management bodies (EMBs) and electoral authorities (EAs) globally.

Key outcomes include:

TheLaborcohort,co-led by the United States and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), helped to inform the commitments and reforms that governments may choose to make, and fostered diplomatic engagement around labor priorities that emerge from theMultilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment, and Rights(M-POWER) initiative, which the U.S. government announced at the first Summit for Democracy to advance workplace democracy and support trade union rights in the global economy.

Key outcomes include:

TheCivic Spacecohort, co-led by the Government of the Czech Republic, the Government of Norway, and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, focused on supporting and protecting civil society actors and promoting civic space to ensure open and inclusive democracy.

Key outcomes include:

TheResisting Authoritarian Pressurecohort,co-led by the Government of Lithuania, Freedom House, and the Alliance of Democracies, focused on raising awareness and generating action on the cost of political imprisonment, aiding pro-democracy and human rights defenders from non-democracies, and building resilience to authoritarian coercion.

Key outcomes include:

TheTechnology for Democracycohort,co-led by the Government of Estonia, the Government of the United Kingdom, and Access Now, promoted the development, use, and governance of digital technologies to strengthen democracies and enhance the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It aimed to ensure that digital technologies are developed and deployed in a responsible, secure, and rights-respecting manner.

Key outcomes include:

The Gender Equality as a Prerequisite for Democracy cohort, co-led by the Government of Romania, the Government of Sweden, Georgetown Universitys Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, and International IDEA, emphasized the connection between gender equality and democracy and developed policy recommendations to bolster womens participation in and contributions to democracy. Key outcomes include:

TheInclusive Democracycohort,co-led by the Government of Spain, Comit Espaol de Representantes de Personas con Discapacidad, and Fundacin Tringulo, concentrated on creating more inclusive democracies through the full participation of the most vulnerable groups.

Key outcomes include:

The Youth Political and Civic Engagement cohort, co-led by the Government of Ghana, the Government of Nepal, the European Commission, AfricTivistes, the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), and the European Youth Democracy Network (EDYN), explored ways to implement Summit commitments on youth political and civic engagement. Key outcomes include:

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Summit for Democracy: Democracy Cohort Outcomes - United ... - Department of State

Data: U.S. State Department; Map: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals

President Biden declared at this week's Summit for Democracy that the tide is turning in the global struggle between democracies and autocracies.

Driving the news: In drawing up invitations, though, Biden had to make some awkward calls as to which countries fall on which side.

Flashback: Biden set himself up for a headache when he raised the idea of a democracy summit on the 2020 campaign trail.

Yes, but: Sensitive to the perception that the U.S. is holding itself up as a lone paragon of democracy, the administration invited Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia to co-host the mostly virtual event.

No leader is going to fundamentally change their behavior just to earn an invitation to a virtual summit, but the gatherings could provide a useful platform for civil society, says Marti Flacks, director of the human rights initiative at CSIS.

The bottom line: While the pros and cons of holding these summits are much debated, Bidens broader claim about the global democratic trajectory isnt unfounded. In its annual report on the state of global democracy, Freedom House described 2022 as a possible turning point.

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Who's in and who's out at Biden's democracy summit - Axios

As I sat down to start working on this column I looked at the calendar on my computer and saw that May 1, 2023, will fall on a Monday. I also learned that May 1 will be the first day of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. What the good folks at Apple failed to note is May 1 is Law Day. Readers who have followed this column likely recall that I write about it most every year. This year is no exception.

Each year a theme is chosen. Past themes have focused on the rule of law as well as the Constitution of the United States and various amendments to that document. The organizers changed things up a little this year selecting as the theme, Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility and Collaboration.

Rather than focusing on a particular constitutional provision, this theme recognizes serious challenges facing our society and serves as a call to the legal profession to lead the way in addressing those challenges.

Deborah Enix-Ross, president of the American Bar Association, issued a statement in which she recognized the proud history of our country and its uninterrupted democracy. She also opined that we are at a critical moment in our history. She commented on what many Americans have observed, stating We face a country divided over many issues. We have experienced decreasing faith in institutions and a growing distrust of one another. We have seen attacks on the justice system, the norms of our democracy, and the rule of law. She further expressed concern regarding her perception of a lack of civility in our conversations as well as a lack of understanding of basic civics. She challenged the legal profession to lead the way.

In my years as an attorney and judge, I have worked with and observed lawyers who are marvelous advocates. I have no doubt that our profession is up to the challenge. However, in order to preserve our great country and its democracy all citizens must get on board.

The 2023 theme points to three cornerstones. We shall look at each in the order they appear, starting with civics. According to the dictionary, civics is a social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens. While we begin to learn about each in grade school, our education should be ongoing. I suspect we have all heard someone proclaim I know my rights! On occasion such a person asserts a right that does not exist. We need to know and protect our rights. Courts are in the business of protecting rights of citizens. However, if we do not understand our rights we may never seek court enforcement of them.

Duties of citizenship must also be learned and remembered. My favorite example is jury duty. As I have written in prior columns, our entire system of justice, both civil and criminal, depends upon citizens answering the call. Regarding all civic duties, we cannot leave it to someone else.

Lawyers spend considerable time dealing with people who have competing interests and conflicting points of view. Whether negotiating a contract or divorce settlement or trying a case in court, they show they can be zealous advocates while communicating in a civil manner.

Lawyers are not alone in this regard. All of us deal with conflict and significant differences. We have to be able to be civil in navigating our way through these challenges. I recently heard PGA tour golfer Rickie Fowler answer a question as to what he had learned from legendary golfer Arnold Palmer. One of the things that stuck with Rickie was his observation that Arnold Palmer, despite his lofty status, treated people as he wanted to be treated himself. That sounds like what we refer to as the Golden Rule. That may not solve everything but it is surely a good start.

The final component, collaboration, requires people working together. A football, basketball or baseball team cannot be successful if each player follows an individual game plan or, worse, fights with teammates. As a country we have many challenges and more than a few enemies. We cannot prevail if we do not work together. Devoting our energy to tearing each other down and working to make people with differing views look bad is a recipe for failure. I suspect we would all be pleased to see more collaboration in Washington and Springfield. It might catch on with the rest of us. Our history shows we are capable of standing together in tough times.

As we strive to preserve our democracy let us all remember civics, civility and collaboration. They are indeed cornerstones.

David Bernthal of Mahomet is a retired 21-year federal magistrate. He is a counsel with the Webber & Thies PC law firm. His email is askthejudge1@gmail.com.

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Off the Bench | Three C's are cornerstones to our democracy - News-Gazette

During the secondSummit for Democracy, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unveiling new efforts to advance democracy abroad under the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal (PIDR), as well as sharing updates on progress made over the past year on initiatives announced at the first Summit.

USAID is contributing eight new initiatives many of which are focused on policy reforms to the PIDR for the second Summit. The PIDR comprises five lines of effort in response to significant challenges to democracy in the 21st Century. This includes thePartnerships for Democratic Development (PDD),which provides multi-year support to countries that demonstrate sustained democratic progress. Today, at the 2023 Summit for Democracy, USAID is announcing the first wave of nine PDD partner countries: Armenia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Malawi, Nepal, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, and Zambia.

For FY 2023 and FY 2024, the Administration has requested $540 million ($270 million annually) to support USAIDs PIDR programming, subject to the availability of funds and working with Congress.

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USAID Announces New Initiatives at the 2023 Summit for ... - USAID