• Hashtag Gen. conference focuses on importance of comprehending role of human rights in everyday life and its nexus with the democratic changes sought by the people’s struggle   

Although last year’s (2022) people’s movement that sought political, economic, and social reforms sparked a discourse on democracy and human rights among several other matters, the people are yet to see the connection between democracy and human rights. One crucial step in understanding that is identifying that human rights are connected to all aspects of people’s lives, and most importantly that human rights are not a matter that is, or should be confined to the political, social, or legal spheres. 

This was underscored during a conference titled “#Our 2023: Democracy, Social Media, and Us” organised by Hashtag Generation, which focused on human rights, the freedom of expression, citizenship, and media, and the role of different stakeholders in contributing towards a better and safer democracy in 2023. During the conference, a number of human rights, legal, and media experts raised the importance of understanding what democracy and human rights mean in everyday life and pointed out that such understanding is necessary for achieving the positive changes that the people demand.

Connection between democracy and human rights

During the conference, the connection between democracy and human rights, and also the role of human rights in democracy were discussed extensively. University of Peradeniya law Department Head and former Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Chairperson Prof. Deepika Udagama stressed that it is not possible to speak of democracy without human rights. Adding that the very idea of establishing or recognising the concept of democracy, especially when it comes to liberal democracy, is the idea of ensuring the people’s sovereignty, she opined that it includes using the people’s sovereign powers to establish representative democracy through the vote and by establishing a social contract. The idea of that social contract, she stated, is very central to the idea of liberal democracy. One of the major conditions attached to that social contract is, according to her, the obligation on the part of the State, or the Government, to protect the people’s inherent rights. 

Noting that such is the relationship between representative democracy and human rights, she explained: “Today, when we refer to human rights, we refer to human rights purely from the perspective of law. A lot of people expect that the State is under an obligation to protect whatever is guaranteed in the Constitution. I do not agree with it because the idea of human rights is really political in my opinion. There are rights which are not guaranteed in the law or in the Constitution, yet, we demand them. For example, the right to adequate health care or education, or even the right to life is not guaranteed in the Constitution directly. Gradually, through some judicial interpretations, the right to education and the right to life have been recognised.” She opined however, that the people do not appear to accept human rights in the manner she described. 

Strengthening democracy

Meanwhile, in regard to what Sri Lanka should do in order to strengthen its democratic process and the human rights situation, Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President President’s Counsel (PC) Saliya Pieris opined that the most important aspect that Sri Lanka should pay attention to in this endeavour is developing and strengthening its institutions. Quoting a 2012 book, titled Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, authored by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, Pieris said that nations fail not because of geographical locations or ethnic factors but because of the trajectory of a nation’s institutions. This, according to him, is when rulers of a country are not inclusive and cater to their own narrow interests rather than the wider interests of the people of their country. 

He added: “The people are saying that Sri Lanka is going through an economic crisis, while there are those who say that when the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $ 2.9 billion assistance comes in, everything will fall into place. My view is that nothing will fall into place unless we strengthen the institutions in our country. We also realise that what we have is not purely an economic crisis but a crisis of governance. Unless we realise that and unless we seek real change in our institutions, even if we received the IMF assistance, that is not going to set everything right.” 

Pieris pointed out that Sri Lanka’s institutions have been weakened due to politicisation, the lack of independence, corruption, and inefficiency. What is more, he claimed that institutions that belong to all organs of the State have become weakened over the last four to five decades. In order to strengthen institutions, he added that the country must select people for institutions on the basis of merit rather than on other factors such as political affiliations. 

He further said: “We must ensure that our Police force and public service are depoliticised, and that the officers are granted promotions on merit, and also that there is always openness and transparency. This is critical in maintaining democracy because an important aspect of democracy is the rule of law. While we talk about these institutions being independent, for example, the independence of the judiciary or of public institutions, I feel that we must have a process to ensure the accountability of those institutions. Independence should not be the freedom of the wild ass. Together with independence and great power must also come responsibility and accountability. We must see how we can include these processes of accountability.”

Democracy and human rights in everyday life 

Moreover, the speakers stressed that democracy and human rights should be recognised as an inseparable part of everyday life, not a mere legal or political concept. According to Pieris, democracy and human rights are crucial for Sri Lankans, although those concepts have been labelled as “Western concepts”, and this situation calls for a massive change in the way Sri Lankans view these concepts. “There are people that say that we do not need a ‘five-star democracy’. I have heard politicians saying that some countries are five-star democracies in the West and that we (Sri Lanka) cannot afford to have it. We have also heard people saying that we must have a little bit of a dictatorship,” Pieris said, adding that such notions have been proven wrong and that human rights is a global concept, not a Western or an Eastern concept. Pieris said that it is necessary that Sri Lanka has a system that respects human rights and also people that value human rights: “Human rights are part of our day-to-day life. Those rights are found in Chapter 3 of our Constitution. But, those rights relate to everything that we do, be it the provision of electricity or equitable education, or ensuring that there is an equal distribution of resources and that we all are entitled to speak freely. If people are not able to speak freely, the thought process of the people would be blocked.” 

“Our lives are easier when human rights are strengthened,” he stressed. He further noted that certain duties also come with human rights and that however, sometimes, Sri Lankans forget that there are also fundamental duties as citizens of the country. Among those duties are the duty to conserve the country’s riches and environment and also the duty to fight corruption.

Citizens’ role in upholding democracy

In this context, it is crucial to acknowledge that citizens too have an extremely crucial role to play in upholding democracy. Noting this, the speakers claimed that the people, however, need to be more willing and aware to accept that role.

Speaking of this role, Centre for Policy Alternatives Senior Researcher Attorney-at-Law Bhavani Fonseka opined that there are several fundamental points in this regard. They are the role of the citizens in terms of the present challenges, the question regarding whether Sri Lankans could truly enjoy fundamental freedoms, equality, and dignity, whether there is sufficient power sharing within the different arms of the Government, and whether the citizens are able to choose their representatives in free and fair elections. In addition, she questioned whether there truly is democracy in Sri Lanka and whether it is fragile. The positive dimension of the present situation, she opined, is that the role of the citizens has been proven to be extremely important in protecting democracy (in Sri Lanka), which she claimed was “fragile”.   

Meanwhile, Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement President Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne also noted that democracy is vital because there has been an erosion of democratic values in Sri Lankan society to the point that citizens themselves do not feel that democracy is relevant to them. “As the starting point, we need to try to relate every aspect of our lives to democracy. When you define democracy, it is about the people’s power. I think that we need to understand the basic concepts of democracy as citizens. If there is real democracy, the people are equal, and the sovereignty of the people needs to be vested in the people. I think that it is not there. We have institutions which are not accountable. So, it is not just about strengthening institutions, but is also about the fact that the existing system does not hold key institutions that matter to ordinary citizens accountable.” Furthermore, adding that citizenship itself is under threat, Dr. Ariyaratne said that citizenship is not confined to the legal definition of being a citizen of a country, but whether all citizens enjoy the rights and privileges that have been guaranteed in the Constitution.