US presidential elections matter for democracy and human rights in Asia, says VP Leni Robredo

PHILIPPINES, 11 September 2020 – Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo discussed why the next US Administration would be significant for democracy and human rights in Asia, when she spoke in an online gathering of key political leaders and analysts from Asia and the United States on Friday, September 11.

“Will the 2020 US Presidential Elections matter for democracy and human rights in Asia? The short answer is, Yes, and very much so,” VP Leni Robredo said in her speech.

“COVID-19 has affirmed: We are all interconnected; our destinies are intertwined,” Robredo said. “When a person becomes infected, his entire community is put at risk,” she said. “When rights and dignities are violated somewhere, we inch closer to rights and dignities being violated elsewhere.”

Robredo spoke at the 2020 US Presidential Election webinar organized by the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) and Asia Centre. The webinar is the third installment of CALD’s “The Future of Democracy in Asia Webinar Series.”

The Vice President also raised concern over societies across the globe are going through a democracy recession as developing countries lean towards authoritarian rule. She then challenged liberals and democrats to “go beyond mere hoping,” and go “beyond mere rhetoric. “We must look for such instances and parse them into concrete steps and strategies,” Robredo said.

It is for this reason that the Liberal Party of the Philippines, which she currently chairs, is determined to strive harder, engage deeper and aim higher to contribute to the Philippines’ continuing democratic development.

For more information, kindly contact the CALD Secretariat: info@cald.org

Read VP Leni Robredo’s full speech here.