International Day of Democracy - 2026

                Last Tuesday, 15th of September all the world reinforced the importance of democracy, and this year the theme was the importance of human rights to democracy. The importance of broader participation and inclusion. The importance of support journalists and human rights defenders who fight for make institutions more inclusive, fairer and trustful. For many years I've heard that people doesn't care about injustice, now we all know that this is a lie. Once again I'd like to thank everyone participating in this huge and resilient worldwide movement for justice and my political rights. Unfortunately this year again I was blocked to be a candidate and to make matters worse inexpicably I lost the custody of my only son.      Fighting for democracy, justice, human rights, development and political participation must be a duty for all of us. I have a YouTube channel, here is the link.   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. Since the creation of this channel its visualization counter doesn't work, the same has been happening with the counter of this blog since its creation in 2010. Never a human rights defender has had so many rights violated for so long time      I really appreciate the support I see every day on internet.   This post is a summary of the article published at https://www.gicj.org/international-days-en/4532-international-day-of-democracy-september-15th

                 International Day of Democracy 2026 arrives with a sharper question than the one asked a year ago: not simply who is represented in democratic institutions, but whether those represented can exercise their rights, influence decisions and hold power accountable. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has chosen, "Bring Human Rights Into Focus" as the 2026's theme. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) remains one of democracy's clearest foundations. Its principles of equality, freedom of expression and participation in government establish rights can't be separated from legitimate democratic governance. The U.N. has reinforced this message. In his 15 September, 2026 message for Day of Democracy, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is facing deepening division, multiplying conflicts, declining trust and a weakening social contract between citizens and governments. He stressed that democracy is more than elections, describing it as a daily practice of protecting human rights, the rule of law and meaningful participation across civic and political life. He also highlighted democratic processes as a means of bringing people from different parts of society into decision-making and strengthening peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies. The relationship between democracy, human rights and public participation has received renewed attention. Yet the distance between formal commitmens and lived experience remains considerable. Political violence, discrimination, restrictions on civic spaces continue to prevent many citizens from exercising democratic rights on equal terms. Technology adds another dimension to this debate. Digital platforms can broaden political participation, and connect citizens with insitutions. They can also accelerate misinformation, online harassment and the misuse of A.I. The democratic tasks is to ensure that technology expands participation without weakening privacy, freedom of expression, equality or public trust. The international community has therefore moved from broad declaration towards a more demanding implementation. The question is whether these commitments are reaching citizens worldwide. Democracy becomes credible when laws are applied fairly, institutions can be challenged, elections are trusted, journalists and civil society can operate safely and citizens can see a connection between their voice and public decisions. Democratic progress should be visible in greater representation of historically excluded citizens, stronger protection from political violence, wider civic participation, better access to justice, more accountable institutions and safer spaces for democratic expressions. International Day of Democracy should therefore be understood not merely as an annual celebration, but as an annual audit of democratic performance. Geneva International Center for Justice therefore calls the attention of states, parliaments, NGOs and other stakeholders to the continuing barriers faced by journalists and human rights defenders, including discrimination, harassment and the misuse of technology to undermine public participation.

50th Birthday of Alexei Navalny

                  A little more than three months ago, precisely on 4th of June, the Russian activist Alexei Navalny would complete 50 years-old, so this post is a tribute to him. He bravely fought against the dictatorship in Russia. Fighting for democracy, justice, human rights, development and political participation must be a duty for all of us. I have a YouTube channel, here is the link.   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. Since the creation of this channel its visualization counter doesn't work, the same has been happening with the counter of this blog since its creation in 2010. Never a human rights defender has had so many rights violated for so long time.This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Navalny. The second was published at https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/nov/03/alexei-navalny-patriot-russia-books

                  Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny was a Russian opposition leader, anti-corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation in 2011. He was recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience and was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work on human rights. Through his social media accounts, Navalny and his team published material about the corruption in Russia, organised political demonstrations and promoted his campaigns. He published investigations detailing alleged corruption by high-ranking Russian officials and their associates. Navalny twice received a suspended sentence for embezzlement, in 2013 and 2014. Both criminal cases have been considered political motivated and intended to bar him from running in future elections. He ran in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election and came in second with 27%, but he was barred from running in the 2018 presidential election. In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalised after being poisoned. He was medically evacuated to Berlin and discharged a month later. He accused President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his poisoning, and an investigation implicated Russian Federal agents. In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia and was detained on accusations of violating parole conditions while hospitalised in Germany. Following his arrest, mass protests were held across Russia. The next month, Navalny's suspended sentence was replaced of over 2 and half years's detention, and his organisations were later liquidated. In March 2022, he was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement. Following the rejection of his appeal, Navalny was transferred to a high-security prison in June. In August 2023, he received another sentence of 19 years on extremism charges. In December 2023, Navalny went missing from prison for almost three weeks. He re-emerged in an Artic corrective colony. In 2024, the Russian prison service reported that Navalny had died.

Alexei Navalny, Russia's leading dissident, died last February, imprisoned in the Article Circle. His posthumously published memoir is an exhilarating read. With an eye on pending tragedy, he lovingly writes of family, doubles down on faith and celebrates the quotidian. Navalny founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation in 2011 and he took his opposition to Putin mainstream two years later, running for mayor of Moscow. In 2016, Navalny announced a run for president, challenging Putin directly, only to see his candidacy barred in 2018. In 2020, he was poisoned. After hospitalization in Germany, he returned to Russia, immediately he was arrested and sent to exile to a penal colony in the Artic. He died there at the age of 47. On the page, from the grave, Navalny lambasts the war on Ukraine. "Because of Putin, tens of thousands, of Ukrainians and Russians citizens will die. Yes, he'll stop Ukraine from developing, he'll drag it into the swamp, but Russia too will pay a high price." Navalny's scorn is stringent:"We have everything for massive 21st-century development, but we'll again squander the historic opportunity of leading a rich, healthy life as a nation, in exchange for war, filth, lies, and a palace with golden eagles." The Russian government blamed natural causes for Navalny's death. To his supporters, it was an execution ordered from on high. Navalny himself was uncertain that autocracies are destined to fail. China, Cuba and North Korea have outlasted their critics. "We underestimate how resilient authocracies are in the modern world," Navalny writes, "protected as they are from external invasion by the U.N., by the rights of sovereignty. Beyond that, Russia is additionally protected by its membership in the U.N. security council and its nuclear weapons."

90th Anniversary of the Ford Foundation

                    Almost nine months ago, precisely on 15th of January the Ford Foundation complete 90 years old. So this post is a tribute to this important organisation. It would be good if the billionaries of nowadays can be inspire from Henry Ford and make something to help the human rights, democracy, justice and economic and political inclusion  This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/a-living-legacy-of-social-justice-at-a-global-scale/. The second was published athttps://www.fordfoundation.org/about/about-the-ford-foundation/a-history-of-social-justice/ford-foundation-at-90/. The third was published at https://www.fordfoundation.org/our-work-around-the-world/brazil/

                     In 1936, the Ford Foundation began as a modest. local endeavor in Detroit. This year, as mark our 90th anniversary, we look back on a journey that has seen a family trust evolve into a global catalyst for change. In 1949, the Ford Foundation was on the brink of a radical evolution. The bequests of Henry Ford and his son, Edsel Ford, had transformed the foundation into the largest in the world. Harnessing the potential of that endowment meant Ford would have to transition from a Detroit-focused charity to a large international philanthropy. To focus its giving, the foundation commissioned a blue-ribbon panel to determine how best to achieve its mission of advancing human welfare. "Basic to human welfare...is a belief in the inherent worth of the individual, in the intrinsic value of human life," they wrote. Only by advancing human dignity, the panel advised, could Ford fulfill s global vision of social justice. It began in the 1950s, when many countries around the world had won their independence and require a new generation of leadership to guide their democracies. In 1952, we established our first non-U.S. office in India, before rapidly expanding to Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil, Kenya, and Mexico. Building state capacity meant more than effective public administration. True dignity required a nation to be self-sufficient when it came to feeding its population, so Ford funded agricultural development programs and research institutions across the world. This work, in partnership with the Rockfeller Foundation and the U.S. government, spurred the Green Revolution, helping strengthen global food security. By the 1970s, we realized that supporting institutions was necessary but not sufficient. To keep justice moving, we knew we needed to invest in individuals who can shape insitutions for the better. These initiatives were paired with targeted support for individuals on the frontlines of specific crises. In Bangladesh, this meant supporting Yunus and the establishment of the Grameen Bank, Nobel prize-winning work in offering small loans to low-income households. And across Latin America, we funded the documentation of human rights abuses and fostered inquiry during periods of dictatorship. This work signaled a new era in Ford's international work in the 1980s and 1990s: the strengthening of civil society. This included nurturing the emergent field of international human rights, including grants to groups like Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch. It included investing in local civil society. By investing in these groups, we were investing in the defenders of democracy, empowering individuals to hold their own institutions accountable. As Ford celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, our long legacy of international work proves that durable progress begins on the ground. Yet a new era heralds new challenges, from the role of AI and its impact on labor and land to the fraying of the international order that has been the foundation for so much peace and progress. We'll address these challenges the way we always have: by helping to build the institutions that serve as a bedrock for human welfare and progress. By supporting the individuals whose courage drives history forward. And by rooting all of our work in a fundamental belief in people-powered solutions.

Since our inception in 1936, the Ford Foundation's work has touched the lives of countless people across the globe. Throughout our history, Ford has helped shape work that has become part of the global civic fabric: strengthening education and opportunity, supporting rights and representation for historically excluded groups, investing in culture and creativity, and helping build enduring institutions.  Our story is rooted in a steadfast belief in the dignity of all people and the freedom to achieve our full potential.

Deep-rooted discrimination lies at the heart of inequalities in Brazil, limiting millions of people's full inclusion in key institutions. To realize a more equitable country, Brazil must acknowledge that profound, longstanding discrimination has allowed inequality to thrive and then move boldly to confront it. Around the world, billions of people are excluded from full participation in the economic and political systems that shape their lives. When so many lack access to engage with their government and influence the decisions that affect their lives, policies fail to address their needs, favoring instead those with power and resources and deepening inequality. We believe that meaningful, civic engagement is an antidote to inequality, with rich potential to empower underrepresented communities that have too often been excluded. Across the globe, we work to protect and help civic spaces thrive to ensure all people have the opportunity to raise their voices and hold governments to account.