Activities of Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR related to 2022/2154(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Strengthening the right to participate: legitimacy and resilience of electoral processes in illiberal political systems and authoritarian regimes (debate)
Strengthening the right to participate: legitimacy and resilience of electoral processes in illiberal political systems and authoritarian regimes (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning strengthening the right to participate: legitimacy and resilience of electoral processes in illiberal political systems and authoritarian regimes
Amendments (27)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the rights of citizens to vote and to be elected inparticipate in the management of public affairs, including the right to vote, to stand for and to be elected in free, transparent, verifiable, periodic, and genuine democratic elections are fundamental, internationally recognised human rights;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country and that the people’s will, expressed through periodic, genuine and universal elections, must be the basis of government; whereas this message is reiterated by Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Ba. whereas Article 5(c) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination states that States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equally before the law enjoy political rights, in particular the right to participate in elections, to vote and to stand for election; whereas, nevertheless, some social groups such as minorities, persons with disabilities, non-residents and homeless populations face additional challenges and discrimination;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the right to participate in free and fair elections is intrinsically linked to other basic rights, such as the rights to freedom from discrimination, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association; ; whereas for the right to vote and to be elected to be genuinely exercised, a climate must prevail in which civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are respected and enjoyed by all, including the rights to equality and non-discrimination, education, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, freedom of religion and belief, security, and an effective remedy; whereas ensuring the participation of women is key for guaranteeing free and fair elections; Ca. whereas long-established liberal democracies all around the world are witnessing worrisome trends of deterioration in their democratic structures, leading to democratic backsliding and autocratisation, as exemplified by the rise in illiberalism, decreasing levels of participation in elections, growing disillusionment with mainstream political parties and leadership, and the growth of extremist parties; whereas the increasing hate speech promoted by these extremist parties and targeting vulnerable communities, including ethnic minorities and migrants, creates a climate of violence and prevents the conditions needed for people to exercise their right to political participation; whereas worrying trends of erosion of the fundamental principles of the rules-based international order are currently being seriously aggravated by Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas over 75 % of people live in non-democratic countries, which limits their basic human rights; whereas shrinking space for civil society negatively influences the right to participate in genuine elections, according to Freedom House, 80 % of people live in countries that are not free or are partly free, which limits their basic human rights; whereas more than one third of the global population lives under authoritarian rule;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the right to participate in genuine elections is not respeobstructed in autocratic and illiberal regimes, which conduct sham by, among other things, the creation of legal and administrative barriers preventing the will of the people from being reflected, shrinking space for civil society, voter intimidation and the conducting of fake elections with the goal of entrenching their regimes’ power; whereas such elections are not free, transparent, verifiable, pluralistic and fair, lack real political contestation and place undue restrictions on the right to both vote and be electedvote, stand for election and be elected; whereas arbitrary and politically fabricated disqualifications of opposition candidates are also tools traditionally used by autocratic regimes to interfere in electoral processes;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the weakening of judicial independence and the rule of law and the overall democratic backsliding in autocratic and illiberal regimes enable these regimes’ legitimisation strategies, including by removing effective checks on the enforcement of repressive laws, control of the media and malign interference in digital communication channels; Ha. whereas media freedom and pluralism are crucial components of the right to freedom of expression and information, as well as enablers of democratic, free and participative societies; whereas transparency of media ownership and funding and safeguards to ensure media pluralism and avoid the risk of a concentration of power in media, platform operators and internet intermediaries are essential for the media to fulfil its role; whereas it is crucial that citizens have access to independent and reliable information; whereas the spread of false information, propaganda and disinformation creates a climate of global scepticism that threatens freedom of information and democratic debate;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. Ia. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes have developed new ways and mock-compliance strategies to overcome the costs of fully complying with international election observation standards without overtly denouncing them; whereas they are becoming increasingly well organised in their efforts to provide international legitimacy to each other’s fake electionsuch strategies include undertaking domestic and international observation activities that do not comply with the international standards, such as deploying fake election observers who help to steer the post-electoral discourse in support of autocratic and illiberal regimes; whereas citizens in such regimes have limited opportunities to observe elections, and if they do, the regimes do everything in their power to discredit observers or sideline their efforts; Ib. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes are becoming increasingly well organised in their efforts to provide international legitimacy to each other’s fake elections through fake international observation activities; whereas these regimes contribute to the erosion of global trust in democratic institutions by copying, developing and spreading fraudulent practices unchallenged; whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes also use international institutions for their own benefit, including for the promotion of rival norms within global governance institutions and the legitimisation of fraudulent elections; Ic. whereas EU Election Observation Missions aim to strengthen confidence in elections, deter fraud and provide an informed and factual assessment of election processes;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas tensions between democracies and authoritarian regimes are becoming more geopolitical; whereas this trend requires the EU to raise its democratic concerns to the highest political level, including by building more strategic alliances for democracy and, by considering the promotion and defence of democracy as a strategic interest and as a key part of its geo- economic and trade strategies and by finding innovative ways to support civic voices speaking out against autocracies and their legitimisation strategies;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the EU should adopt a systematic approach concerning the right to participate, including by demonstrating its strong link with human rights, democracy and the rule of law; and by addressing electoral shortcomings in a consistent manner, including when they occur in close partner countries; whereas, in doing so, the EU should focus not only on the electoral processes themselves, but also on the surrounding context and the underlying causes of authoritarian legitimisation; whereas European actors should not contribute to legitimising elections in illiberal and autocratic regimes;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) design and implement more decisive and effective EU actions to promote and protect the right to participate, which is a universal human right, as part of a much broader strategy on human rights and democracy support; ensure that these actions mainstream gender perspectives and the inclusion of groups in vulnerable situations;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(b a) address in a systematic and robust manner the attempts by non-EU countries to restrict the enjoyment of the right to participate of minorities, including ethnic and religious minorities, and of youth, women, indigenous groups and other social groups; call, in particular, on the authorities of non-EU countries to monitor hate speech by public authorities and elected officials and to adopt strong and concrete measures and sanctions against it in order to advance towards a zero-tolerance approach to racism and discrimination; (bb) engage with non-EU countries to ensure an accessible and enabling environment for persons with disabilities, which allows them to participate in the political and public life of their communities; highlights, in particular, the need to address legal and administrative barriers to political participation by making voting procedures, facilities and election materials more accessible, by expanding opportunities for participation in political and public life and by raising awareness of the right to political participation of persons with disabilities and collecting data to measure this political participation;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
(c) streamline the right to participate in the EU’s external action toolbox, which needs to be implemented by the European Union’s delegations in non-EU countries in very close cooperation with the embassies of the Member States; (ca) acknowledge and address shortcomings in the enjoyment of the right to participate within the EU with a view to strengthening the legitimacy and credibility of the EU’s external action in this area;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) acknowledge the severity of the difficulties that people living under autocratic and illiberal regimes have in accessing unbiasfactual, uncensored election- related information and discerning it from among regime-sponsored propaganda, including reliable information on candidates, voting preferences and the conduct of the election process, which inhibirestricts their ability to understandresources to assess whether elections are truly competitive and whether citizens’ preferences are reflected in the results, and work to prevent the misuse of public resources and vote-buying; take into consideration the erosion to the morale of the civil population caused by manipulated, non-transparent and illegitimate elections, as they create mistrust in both national and international government institutions; (da) acknowledge the importance of access to universal and free education that empowers people to make free choices in elections;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) counter the narrative promoted by autocratic and illiberal regimes that they have mandates from their citizens as a result of genuine elections; formulate, in this regard, a comprehensive EU global strategy to counter the tools that these regimes use to legitimise elections, such as fake observers and shadow election observation groups in the place of standardised international mission, including from EU Members States and EU institutions, such as some Members of the European Parliament, in the place of standardised international missions; ensure that this strategy goes beyond dialogue and statements of concern by the EU, and is geared towards improving the standards of democracy and the rule of law in the countries concerned; work with democratic countries to strengthen international institutions in order to prevent autocratic and illiberal regimes from infiltrating them and using them for their own ends;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f
Paragraph 1 – point f
(f) strengthen the link between election observation work and the EU’s wider support for human rights and democracy using both political, commercial and cooperation tools; consider authoritarian electoral legitimisation strategies as early symptoms of underlying non-democratic trends and react accordingly; counter authoritarian narratives that put security and democracy in contrast, thus limiting fundamental liberties under the pretext of state security, and the attempts of autocratic and illiberal regimes to exploit policy areas such as climate, sport and international development to falsely reinforce their legitimacy;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g
Paragraph 1 – point g
(g) counter autocratic and illiberal regimes’ efforts to create false internal perceptions of the genuineness of their fake elections; pay particular attention to autocratic and illiberal regimes’ election- related abuses of information and communication technology and artificial intelligence in relation with election manipulation, which they are increasingly carrying out in order to negatively affect participation by disseminating propaganda and disinformation and by implementing restrictions on access to information about the opposition’s ideas and candidates; (ga) monitor and denounce the role of private companies that specialise in disinformation campaigns and offer to covertly meddle in elections and manipulate public opinion in non-EU countries; take effective action to ensure that EU-based public affairs, media and online companies do not engage in such behaviour and instead strictly respect the right to privacy and uphold the same level of data protection in partner countries as they are required to uphold in the EU under the General Data Protection Regulation1a, particularly during election campaigns; ensure that these companies abide by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and are held accountable when they fail to do so; (gb) address the use of biased election observers to attempt to discredit the work of genuine international and EU election observation missions; __________________ 1a Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
(h) recognise the crucial role of civil society in delegitimisnouncing fake elections and delegitimising them in the eyes of local populations; support independent civil society organisations, democratic opposition forces, human rights defenders and the media, including through capacity building and communications strategies, and by gathering data on violations of the right to participate in genuine elections; support, in particularhighlight that transparency regarding media financing and truly free and independent media are key for preventing undue influence; (ha) support, throughout the electoral cycle, local elections observers, whose activities increase people’s belief that their right to participate in genuine elections will be respected, and condemn in the strongest terms attacks against them; support regional and global networks of citizen observers that provide solidarity, capacity building and exchanges of experience with local groups, which can help counter efforts by autocratic and illiberal regimes to legitimise each other’s elections;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i
Paragraph 1 – point i
(i) mainstream information about genuine elections and people’s right to participate in them, including about the right of all minorities to vote, in the context of support for human rights and democratisation in the projects under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe and the Instrument for Pre- Accession Assistance, including support for election observers as human rights defenders; support the Global Campus of Human Rights to that end; support programmes aiming to improve the legislative and administrative framework for elections in non-EU countries, including through support to national election commissions;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) make use of the EU’s cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations toolbox to strengthen the right to participate, to counter autocratic and illiberal regimes’ narratives attempting to legitimise fake elections and to strengthen a universal democratic culture in non-EU countrie; build such cooperation on genuine partnerships, especially given that ensuring electoral transparency, stopping foreign interference and improving democracies is a work in progress, requiring bold, innovative and joint solutions;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k
Paragraph 1 – point k
(k) givprovide more support to initiatives related to election observation training and knowledge building at local, regional and international level and to engagement with local media and civil society organisations; highlight the importance of support and capacity building for local election observers in ensuring a more sustainable approach to democracy- building;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l
Paragraph 1 – point l
(l) explore the possibility of introducing a standing invitation for election observation within the democratic clause in EU agreements, the Generalised Scheme of Preferences and equivalent mechanisms, given the current reluctance of many countries to send election observation invitations to the EU; support Parliament’s Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group and its work, especially in the framework of election observation; assess how to address the increasingly frequent scenario of countries refusing to invite the EU to observe their elections;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m
Paragraph 1 – point m
(m) include the outcomes of the EU’sclosely monitor the adoption and implementation of the recommendations of EU and OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election observation missions and include them as an essential part of the overall framework for relations between the EU and the country concerned; adequately follow up on the recommendations of EU election observation missions, with greater involvement of Parliament; ensure that EU public statements related to elections in non-EU countries are strictly in line with the EU’s values in the fields of democracy, human rights and elections and are consistent with the findings of EU election observation missions;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) address the right to participate in non-EU countries through EU human rights dialogueand all other aspects related to electoral integrity in non-EU countries through EU human rights dialogues; ensure that those dialogues are complemented by a segment involving independent civil society organisations;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) use the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (the EU Magnitsky Act) for persons responsible for serious breaches of the right to participate and of democratic election standards, and make further use of the EU’s restrictive measures to sanction those who gradually and covertly undermine democracy and the rule of law in non-EU countries; ensure that the suspension of these restrictive measures is conditional on a real improvement in human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the country concerned; consider developing effective and dissuasive measures against persons involved in fake election observation missions, including members of parliament and politicians from EU Member States and Members of the European Parliament;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) recognise the role of the EU’sEU and OSCE ODIHR election observation missions – including the role of Parliament – in providing evidence on whether elections are genuine and further improve this tool, including by strengthening its visibility, condemning fake election observation missions and bolstering the communications strategy both before and after elections; increase support for long-term election observation missions, as some of the most serious violations of electoral processes take place before polling day; equip EU election observation missions with appropriate and up-to-date technical expertise and resources for the adequate monitoring of aspects related to the new risks involved in the use of new electoral information and communication technologies;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q
Paragraph 1 – point q
(q) forge a coalition ofpromote close cooperation and coordination between democratic countries and, multilateral institutions, such as the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Council of Europe,DIHR and the Council of Europe, and the organisations that endorsed the UN Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation as a means to counter the legitimisation of fake elections and fake observers more effectively in international forums, in particular the UN;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point t
Paragraph 1 – point t
(t) lead the efforts to give more visibility to the UN Declaration Oof Principles Ffor International Election Observation and the work of those organisations that signendorsed it and are active in election observation; consider calling for the list of signatorieendorsing organisations to the UN Declaration Oof Principles Ffor International Election Observation to be updated, with a view to reinforcing its credibility and establishing a clear-cut way of differentiating between genuine observation groups and fake observers; take a similar approach to the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors; explore ways to undermine the legitimacy of shadow organisations and fake observers;