Watch the two-day “Democracy in Action: Zero Corruption Conference in English: Day 1 and Day 2.1
The geopolitical actuality of Ukraine as a democracy trendsetter in the region needs to be discussed during all meetings of President Joe Biden during his first foreign visit to Europe, including the upcoming NATO summit on June 14. The whole world expects to receive proof that “America is back” by seeing a strong position and clear signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the US is taking back the lead in restoring the power of democracy globally. Biden placed combating corruption, addressing autocracies, and advancing human rights as important pillars of his democracy agenda. Now is the right time to unite the international community in the defense of the common cause.
The improvement of US-European Union relations, as well as the renaissance of trans-Atlantic unity and trust, are important for Ukraine which is at the forefront of defending democracy throughout all 30 years after the Soviet Union had collapsed, with the last seven years after the EuroMaidan Revolution ended Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency being most active.
We, Ukrainian reformers, expect to see real actions to defend democracy from authoritarian regimes and oligarchs, and bold steps to stop projects which are hazards to Europe’s energy security like Nord Stream 2.
The demonstration of American and European support to Ukraine in challenging times of Russian ongoing military escalation dominance is crucially important for the efficiency of our fight on both external and domestic fronts. How could the re-united West effectively support regional democracy trendsetters like Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia? How could NATO facilitate the democratization and good governance reforms of the aspirant countries? Why established European approaches to judicial reforms fail in transitional democracies and what has to be changed? How to ensure real de-oligarchization and fight against Western enablers of the kleptocrats? These and other hot topics were the key issues discussed during the two-day Solutions Marathon within the International Democracy in Action: Zero Corruption Conference (zerocc.org).
The Conference took place on June 7-8 in Kyiv and online due to COVID-19 related restrictions. It was an intense experience to seek for and promote solutions to the hybrid threats to democracy – disinformation, lawfare and strategic corruption. With 80 distinguished speakers, including the President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, Vice President of European Commission Věra Jourová, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoană, chairman of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio, civil society representatives, experts and journalists from across the region we sent a powerful message that the pro-democracy actors from all over the world are uniting to defend it and advance.
It was particularly important to have the US leadership voice represented at the conference by Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state; Samantha Power, USAID administrator; Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense; and the US senators and House of Representatives from both parties. These messages served as the signpost at the regional level ahead of the Global Democracy Summit, announced by President Joe Biden.
More than 1,000 registered participants from over 40 countries, through a number of formats (including panel discussions, expert roundtables, blitz talks, personal interviews, breakout sessions, and pre-recorded videos), with more than 10 civil society organizations co-organizing the event, made it a really unique international forum.
Unlike many similar international events held in Ukraine with the participation of senior officials, this forum was not supported or funded by oligarchs. It is also a breakthrough message that Ukraine is changing. There are healthy pro-democratic forces in Ukraine in government, civil society, media and business capable of unifying and conducting international dialogue about democracy and a real de-oligarchization without oligarchs sponsorship and without reputational damages for the high-level speakers. No links to dirty money or sitting next to the oligarchs.
Though we are absolutely aware of the long road of reforms lying still in front of Ukraine, it is so important to take our time and celebrate the successes that are achieved so far. We are committed to working together on transforming Ukraine into the global success story of democracy. For us, this is a civic duty and responsibility before future generations of the people of Ukraine. For Biden, this is a chance to have an internationally recognized victory of democracy, which will inspire other nations across the globe.
From our perspective, in Ukraine, Biden’s presidency is a window of opportunity to press Putin to respect international rule of law and deliver progress towards restoring territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
America’s values, and leadership, are needed around the world. Those values begin, Biden told American citizens, with defending truth and defeating lies. We are convinced this is a duty of every citizen across the globe who enjoys or seeks to enjoy the benefits of democracy.
Defending truth can be hard when your enemy is an authoritarian regime ruled by kleptocratic elites. For us, it means protecting our country from Russian aggression exercised through its military occupation of Crimea and Donbas and “hybrid” attacks on Ukraine’s democratic transformation. Fakes and disinformation are the Kremlin’s most powerful weapons.
Moscow’s imperial behavior began centuries ago and continues today. This year will be the 300th anniversary of the renaming of what had been known as the Grand Duchy of Moscow (Moscovia) as the Russian Empire by Peter the First (who is, by the way, a favorite political leader of Russian President Vladimir Putin). And yet that very name was filched from an adjacent entity, Kyivan Rus’, great power in Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages, and the direct ancestor of today’s Ukrainian nation. By appropriating its legacy through this lie, Peter tried to lend legitimacy to his claim to rule over his neighbors.
This year marking the 30th anniversary of renewed independence is important to summarize our struggle for democratic transformation against the Kremlin’s attempts to return Ukraine back to Russian’s sphere of influence and oligarchic efforts to monopolize all spheres – media, politics, economy. Ukrainians were born to be free and will never allow it to happen. Freedom and dignity are our choice as well as incorporated into the constitution our strategic goal to become members of NATO and the EU.
Zero Oligarchs Ukraine is possible. The Democracy in Action Conference with strong legislative initiatives for guaranteeing rules of law, effective work of anti-corruption institutions, decentralization reforms, etc are key to show that Ukraine is a Democracy in Action. Ukraine is a reliable partner and agenda-setting in the region. Successful Ukraine is a nightmare for authoritarian regimes, but crucially important for those who sacrifice lives for democratic values on different continents.
Hanna Hopko is chairwoman of Democracy in Action: Zero Corruption Conference ANTS Network and was head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, from 2014 to 2019.
