What counts as a democracy? Biden's summit includes some countries with poor human rights records

WASHINGTON — Iraq is home to "significant human rights issues," according to the State Department, such as "unlawful or arbitrary killings," forced disappearances, torture and restrictions on free expression and the press.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, illegally armed militias recruit children to serve as soldiers, while the government's security forces have committed other abuses.

And the State Department has labeled Pakistan "a country of particular concern" under the International Freedom Act for severe violations of freedom of religion. More disturbing: numerous reports of politically motivated killings in Pakistan, an estimated 2,100 political dissenters missing in 2020 and continued "honor killings" of Pakistani women despite laws banning the practice.

Despite these poor human rights records, all three countries will join traditional U.S. allies among the 111 nations in President Joe Biden's inaugural two-day "Summit for Democracy," which kicks off Thursday. At the same time, Hungary, a member of the European Union, and Turkey, a NATO member, were not invited to participate.

Biden organized the virtual summit to rally nations against authoritarianism. Its stated mission is to "set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal" and to tackle threats against democracies "through collective action." The hope is to kick off a "year of action" to strengthen democracies worldwide.

But the invitation list has raised questions – both in Congress and abroad. In a November letter, eight Democratic senators, led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., urged Biden to provide "more clarity and transparency" on the criteria for inviting countries.

"Who we invite sends a powerful signal about the values and practices that we believe constitute a democracy," the senators wrote. "While democracies take many forms, and some countries are struggling to consolidate democratic institutions and practices, we must be clear about why we invited each participating government."

Who's invited to the democracy summit?

The majority of the countries that will take part in the summit – 70 – rank as "free" or fully democratic countries, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which used democracy metrics from the nonprofit Freedom House. Another 31 nations are considered "partly free."

The CEIP identified eight invitees that fall "exceptionally low" on democracy rankings: Angola, Congo, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Serbia and Zambia. And another four have raised "serious backsliding concerns" because of autocratic tendencies or declines in freedom of expression: Brazil, India, the Philippines and Poland.

"If you actually want to spread the democracy idea more globally, you have to bring in more countries," said Steven Feldstein, a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. He said a more limited pool of countries would have made the group overwhelmingly European.

"The downside to that is that you also end up having to make compromises when it comes to certain countries' democratic records. There are a number of countries that raise questions."

Feldstein said the Biden administration's hope is the summit can be a "galvanizing event" that can reverse some of the worst trends in these countries.

Not 'a stamp of approval,' White House says

White House press secretary Jen Psaki addressed concerns about the summit's roster this week, calling the event an opportunity to bring together world leaders from a "diverse array of experiences" to strengthen democracy.

"Inclusion or an invitation is not a stamp of approval on their approach to democracy, nor is exclusion a stamp of the opposite of that, of disapproval," Psaki said.

Notable – yet expected – omissions from the summit are China and Russia, two American adversaries with histories of human rights violations and ongoing tension with the U.S. Biden announced Monday a diplomatic boycott Monday of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over its human rights abuses. The administration Tuesday threatened tough economic sanctions against Russia if it continues its aggression against Ukraine.

More: Citing 'ongoing genocide,' Biden announces diplomatic boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics

More: Biden warns Putin of harsh consequences if Russia invades Ukraine

Russia's and China's ambassadors to the U.S. blasted the summit in a joint op-ed last month in National Interest, accusing the U.S. of engaging in "Cold-War mentality" by "empowering itself to define" who is a "'democratic country' and who is not eligible for such status."

"This trend contradicts the development of the modern world," the ambassadors wrote. "It is impossible to prevent the shaping of a global polycentric architecture but could strain the objective process. China and Russia firmly reject this move."

Hungary, although an EU member, has limited free speech and other rights under the leadership of far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban. And while a NATO ally of the U.S., Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has faced allegations of corruption, curbing civil liberties and cracking down on perceived opponents.

"With both countries, you have leaders who have very publicly flouted very core democratic principles," Feldstein said, adding that both would have used invitations to the summit to legitimize their leadership before elections next year. "Ultimately, I don't think there's a lot of justification for including them."

The criteria for invitees

The White House sought to be "as inclusive as possible" with the invitations, according to a senior Biden administration official, to reflect diversity by region, socioeconomic status and experience. The administration also factored in the willingness of a country to contribute to the summit's goals and took the approach that democracy is made up of a country's "entire society," not just its national government.

In countries where democracies are strained, the administrations wants to "engage them, encourage positive change and learn from the experience," the official said.

Norm Eisen, former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republican in the Obama administration, said that "promoting democracy requires unlikely bedfellows." He said the Biden administration "struck the right balance because they excluded some of the worst offenders like Hungary, Russia, China, Turkey."

"You have to send a message that there are limits," said Eisen, a senior fellow of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "But conversely – places where democracy is on the bubble, where you think you can make progress – you should include."

In Pakistan, for example, Eisen said the summit can help "embolden the pro-democracy" forces." He said it would be "a disservice" not to include Iraq after the years of American bloodshed and massive financial resources that went into democratizing the nation.

The White House plans to hold a second in-person summit in late 2022. In addition to government officials, the summit will include leaders from civil society and the private sector.

Ahead of Thursday's summit kickoff, the Biden administration released the first "strategy on countering corruption." The Treasury Department is pursuing new real estate rules in the U.S. for greater transparency in hopes of stopping foreign actors from using shell companies to launder money and hide other illicit activity.

In the think tank's updated "Democracy Playbook," the Brookings Institution outlined 10 objectives for the summit to seek. They include commitments to combat corruption, strengthen and ensure election security and voting access, protect the independence of the judiciary, enhance democratic safeguards over technology and promote laws that protect the freedom of press.

But ultimately, whether the summit is successful depends on action, Eisen said, not just commitments.

"We'll be watching what commitments are made, what is the follow through and then evaluating, a year from now, progress. That's what success looks like."

Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democracy summit includes countries with poor human rights records