Weekly Action - 13 March 2023 - Freedom in the World
Freedom in the World
Last Thursday 9 March, Freedom House launched the 50th edition of their annual Freedom in the World report. This annual survey of the state of democracy and human rights around the world is one of the most credible sources of data on the subject, and a key source for the Arise Manifesto, Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. The latest report shows that the state of democracy and human rights in the world has been declining for the last seventeen years. In the last couple of years alone the world has witnessed appalling human rights abuses in Ukraine (and multiple other conflict zones), and coups and other attempts to undermine democracy in Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Peru, Brazil, Turkey, Myanmar and Thailand. More encouragingly, this latest report shows there are signs that this negative trend may be bottoming out over the last year or two, and potential improvement beginning. Attempts to undermine democracy in countries like Brazil and the US have been resisted, and in the last six months alone demands for reform have been growing in countries like Iran, China and Qatar. Even in Russia brave activists have defied Putin’s regime to demonstrate against the war. Furthermore, taking the longer view, the trend in democracy and human rights freedoms has been positive, despite the last seventeen years of decline. In 1973, when the first edition of Freedom in the World was released, 44 of 148 countries were rated Free. Today, 84 of 195 countries are Free.[1]
Reform Movements
Where such dramatic improvements have taken place they have overwhelmingly been the result of mass, peaceful, grassroots movements of people putting pressure on their governments to reform. This is one of the key conclusions of Arise’s Arise Manifesto report. We see this in the lessons from the Bible (The Arise Manifesto, pg 86 – 88), where prophets like Isaiah challenged the rulers of their day, “stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isa 1: 16 – 17).
We also see it when we look at the lessons from history (The Arise Manifesto, pg 108 – 119). In recent decades peaceful reform movements have had dramatic success in Serbia, Madagascar, Georgia, Ukraine, Lebanon, Nepal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, East Germany, Slovenia, Mali, Bolivia, the Philippines, Zambia, South Korea, Chile, Argentina, Haiti, Brazil, Uruguay, Malawi, Thailand, Bulgaria, Hungary, Nigeria, and many other countries. Of course such movements require great courage and perseverance from those involved. They are not guaranteed to succeed every time. But overwhelmingly the power of ordinary people peacefully refusing to submit is remarkable, and has continually proved the most successful way to improve democracy, human rights and good governance in nations around the world.
Christians at the heart of Reform Movements
Throughout history, Christians and churches have played a hugely important central role in such reform movements in nations all around the world (The Arise Manifesto, pg 283 – 303). They have worked well alongside journalists, academics, activists, students, trade unions and others in the movement. Supporting such bottom-up Reform Movements in countries around the world (and the Christians that are so often at the heart of them) is one of three key focus campaigns for Arise.
This week will you take action as part of Arise’s Reform Movements campaign, to support brave democracy and human rights activists in countries all around the world?
Take Action
Speak out in advocacy
Get in touch with your MP, and ask for a meeting with them to discuss the crucial issue of reform movements. (This is totally appropriate, they are used to meeting their constituents on all topics, that is their job!) You can find your MP, and their office contact details here. Ask your MP to:
· Urge the government to scale up support for pro-democracy and human rights reform movements around the world, in the ways that those movements want. This might involve spotlighting and publicly condemning specific incidents, diplomatic pressure, targeted sanctions, recovering and returning stolen national assets, travel bans for regime members, offering asylum for activists who have had to flee, or multiple other actions.
Pray
Pray for protection and peace for those who continue to bravely demand human rights, greater freedom, democracy and change, in countries around the world, day after day. Pray for the Christians amongst them who are playing their part. Pray for change and reform, for governments that are truly democratic and respects all human rights.
Give
Give to Christian organisations like International Justice Mission, and to secular groups like Freedom House, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who are doing crucial work protecting human rights globally.
Practical Action
Grow the movement of Christians calling for change by sending this action on to a friend and encouraging them to sign up to receive weekly actions from Arise directly.
Ethical Consumption
Try and avoid buying products and services from companies whose operations (inadvertently or not) are helping to prop up unjust regimes. Check out the Ethical Consumer website for guidance on this.
Encourage us and others by letting us know what actions you have taken – message us at info@ariseuk.org, or via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Find out more
It’s great to take this action as individual Christians, but even better to come together with others to pray, discuss, worship, learn, have fun and take action together. Contact Arise if you are interested in joining or starting a local Arise group in your church or area. If you are already in an Arise group, take this action to your wider church, and get them all to do it too.
Find out more in the Arise Manifesto, Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. It looks at what the Bible says, and what we can learn from the best data and the world’s leading experts on the five major areas of evangelism, discipleship, social justice, development and the environment. It then draws these lessons together into a practical road map for the changes we need to see in our world, which the Arise movement campaigns to achieve.
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[1] Freedom in the World 2023, Freedom House, (9 Mar 2023), https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2023/marking-50-years