WASHINGTON--U.S. President Joe Biden gathered over 100 world leaders at a summit on Thursday and made a plea to bolster democracies around the world, calling safeguarding rights and freedoms in the face of rising authoritarianism the "defining challenge" of the current era.
In the opening speech for his virtual "Summit for Democracy," a first-of-its-kind gathering intended to counter democratic backsliding worldwide, Biden said global freedoms were under threat from autocrats seeking to expand power, export influence and justify repression.
"We stand at an inflection point in our history, in my view. ...Will we allow the backward slide of rights and democracy to continue unchecked? Or will we together have a vision...and courage to once more lead the march of human progress and human freedom forward?," he said.
The conference is a test of Biden's assertion, announced in his first foreign policy address in February, that he would return the United States to global leadership to face down authoritarian forces, after the country's global standing took a beating under predecessor Donald Trump.
“Democracy doesn’t happen by accident. And we have to renew it with each generation," he said. "In my view, this is the defining challenge of our time."
Biden did not point fingers at China and Russia, authoritarian-led nations Washington has been at odds with over a host of issues, but their leaders were notably absent from the guest list.
The number of established democracies under threat is at a record high, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said in November, noting coups in Myanmar, Afghanistan and Mali, and in backsliding in Hungary, Brazil and India, among others. U.S. officials have promised a year of action will follow the two-day gathering of 111 world leaders, but preparations have been overshadowed by questions over some invitees' democratic credentials.
The White House said it was working with Congress to provide $424.4 million toward a new initiative to bolster democracy around the world, including support to independent news media. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the summit her department was cracking down on money laundering, illicit finance and tax evasion. "After all, the United States cannot be a credible voice for free and fair government abroad if at the same time, we allow the wealthy to break our laws with impunity," Yellen said.
This week's event coincides with questions about the strength of American democracy. The Democratic president is struggling to pass his agenda through a polarized Congress and after Republican Trump disputed the 2020 election result, leading to an assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6.
