{"id":66000,"date":"2021-07-26T11:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T01:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=66000"},"modified":"2021-07-26T10:05:10","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T00:05:10","slug":"the-power-of-civil-society-in-a-post-pandemic-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-power-of-civil-society-in-a-post-pandemic-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The power of civil society in a post-pandemic world"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

On 25 May 2020, a 17-year-old girl filmed a disturbing video, which later went viral, of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, kneeling on the neck of a black man, handcuffed and lying facedown on the pavement, for 9 minutes and 29 seconds<\/a>. The man, George Floyd, died that day.<\/p>\n

For millions of people worldwide, Floyd\u2019s death was a wake-up call regarding the pervasiveness of systemic racism and police violence. The Black Lives Matter movement capitalised on this growing awareness, organising protests on the streets of cities across the United States, which inspired demonstrations<\/a> from France<\/a> to Colombia to South Africa. And, in a testament to the power of organisation, the protests effected real change.<\/p>\n

The police officer who killed Floyd, Derek Chauvin, has now been convicted of murder and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. But the BLM protests achieved something more consequential: the creation of an international commission, on which I served, to examine police racism in the US. We found that the persistent systemic racism against African-Americans in the US constitutes a crime against humanity<\/a> and merits an investigation by the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n

This is the power and essence of civil society. As the world attempts to \u2018build back better\u2019 from the Covid-19 pandemic, it must be harnessed to make progress on a broad array of pressing issues, from economic inequality and educational inequities to racial justice and climate change.<\/p>\n

To those who weren\u2019t paying attention to systemic racism or police violence before Floyd\u2019s death, it might seem that BLM had an impact relatively quickly. But the fight has been long and difficult\u2014and it\u2019s far from over. The same is true for other civil rights movements, which often demand a deep and enduring resilience from their participants.<\/p>\n

Consider the women\u2019s movement in my home country, Pakistan. For decades, Pakistani women have fought against repressive norms, discriminatory attitudes and legislation limiting women\u2019s status and rights. Progress has been slow and inconsistent, but we have stood our ground. And the gains we have made instill the hope that continues to motivate and inform our work today.<\/p>\n

The importance of such efforts must not be underestimated. As Nelson Mandela, that global icon of freedom, explained<\/a> in 2001, \u2018a vibrant network and range of civil society activities and organs\u2019 is essential to \u2018cement the foundations\u2019 of democracy.<\/p>\n

Today, those foundations seem to be under siege. Many countries are experiencing an alarming drift towards authoritarianism. Even the most consolidated democracies are facing the erosion of citizens\u2019 trust in the institutions that underpin them. Just as the pandemic has underscored the fragility of human life, it has also highlighted the vulnerability of our democracies to a different class of ailment, including political polarisation and disagreement on basic facts.<\/p>\n

Like a human body, a democracy needs proper care to remain in good health. Akin to a health screening, civil society reveals a democracy\u2019s afflictions before it\u2019s too late to treat them.<\/p>\n

When international human rights principles and democratic values aren\u2019t being reflected in people\u2019s lives, it is civil society\u2014organised in groups like BLM\u2014that sounds the alarm. This includes ensuring that authorities don\u2019t illegitimately expand or extend the emergency powers they have exercised during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Governments have a responsibility to listen to and embrace the voices and values of civil society. Rather than fearing, dismissing or repressing their critics, leaders must engage with them, especially the most vulnerable. But where governments shirk this responsibility, human rights defenders must continue to fight.<\/p>\n

Many wonder whether civil society can survive democratic erosion and the slide towards authoritarianism in many countries. But that question is impossible to answer today; and trying to do so might even prove detrimental. Human rights defenders can afford neither fatalism nor apathy.<\/p>\n

Instead, we must continue to show courage and determination, like our brothers and sisters in places like Hong Kong, Harare, Minsk and Yangon. We must harness the energy, eloquence and anger of the young on issues ranging from inequality and racism to climate change, and advance clear, achievable roadmaps for change. And, above all, we must not despair. As Mandela reminded us, \u2018It always seems impossible until it\u2019s done.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 25 May 2020, a 17-year-old girl filmed a disturbing video, which later went viral, of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, kneeling on the neck of a black man, handcuffed and lying facedown …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1395,"featured_media":66003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[106,249,2615],"class_list":["post-66000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-democracy","tag-human-rights","tag-racism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe power of civil society in a post-pandemic world | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-power-of-civil-society-in-a-post-pandemic-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The power of civil society in a post-pandemic world | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On 25 May 2020, a 17-year-old girl filmed a disturbing video, which later went viral, of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, kneeling on the neck of a black man, handcuffed and lying facedown ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-power-of-civil-society-in-a-post-pandemic-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-26T01:00:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-26T00:05:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1228468423.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hina Jilani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hina Jilani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-power-of-civil-society-in-a-post-pandemic-world\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1228468423.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/GettyImages-1228468423.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683,\"caption\":\"Human rights activists carry placards as they take part in a protest against an alleged gang rape of a woman, in Islamabad on September 12, 2020. - Hundreds of women took to streets across Pakistan on September 12 protesting gruesome gang rape of a woman in front of her two children after her car ran out of fuel near the eastern city of Lahore late on September 9. 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