Reiterating that no democracy is perfect, the United States has said the rule of law, free and fair elections, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are cornerstones of a healthy democracy and the right of all.

People should be free in every country to promote human rights without fear of retaliation, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Saturday in a media note.

Whether heading to the polls to vote, exposing corruption, documenting human rights abuses, or peacefully rallying around a common cause, people and non-governmental organizations everywhere bring to life and defend the basic tenets of democracy every day, reads the media note.

It is this conviction about the critical role of citizens and a pluralistic civil society that is the impetus behind the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, said the Embassy.

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Adopted by consensus of the General Assembly in 1998, the Declaration states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels.”

As US President Joe Biden has stated, “No democracy is perfect, and no democracy is ever final. Every gain made, every barrier broken, is the result of determined, unceasing work.”