International Day of Democracy event Brussels: 'No Democracy without Accountability'

International IDEA's Office in Brussels is co-organising a Conference on 'No Democracy without Accountability' on Tuesday, 17 September 2019, from 09.30 to 17.30 at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels. The conference is a yearly re-occurring event to celebrate the International Day of Democracy, together with the European Endowment for Democracy, European Partnership for Democracy, ENoP (European Network of Political Foundations), European Committee of the Regions and Supporting Democracy.

Accountability is the cornerstone of a well-functioning democracy. In a well-functioning democracy, accountability refers to all the different ways that citizens, political parties, parliaments and other democratic actors can provide feedback to, reward or sanction elected officials in charge of setting up and enforcing public policies. Proper accountability mechanisms provide incentives for governments to work in the best interest of their citizens.

The International Day of Democracy conference No Democracy without Accountability is an annual event that brings representatives from the international community together to share their experiences about protecting and building democracy worldwide.

In 2019, the International Day of Democracy conference focuses on a key issue in contemporary democracy discussions: Accountability. The event will serve as an exchange of practice between citizens, government officials and elected politicians who will come together to discuss traditional and new forms of accountability, and explore ways to improve accountability.

Maina Kiai, former UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and association and a prominent Kenyan human rights activist, is the conference’s keynote speaker. Kiai has spent much of his career focusing on combatting corruption, supporting political reform and fighting against impunity in his native Kenya.

At the event, International IDEA will organise a workshop on 'Using ICTs for transparency and accountability in political finance'. Speakers from Moldova, Ukraine and India will share how digital technologies are used in their countries to improve the control of money in politics. 

A number of other high-profile speakers from throughout the world will speak at the conference about their work fighting for democratic accountability. Their combined experiences as civil society leaders, elected officials, investigative journalists, academics, legal representatives and EU officials demonstrate that accountability is key to well-functioning democracies.

International IDEA is a partner organisation to this conference taking place in the framework of the International Day of Democracy, funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).