Religion D'état Et Droits De L'homme

CAN DEMOCRACY BE IMPOSED BY FORCE

Introduction

It is well known that democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people as defined by Abraham Lincoln, former President of the United States, and it seems unjust for it to be imposed on the mass, since it’s an agreement established for their common good in which the interest of all should be secured within the social contract as laid by Jean Paul Satre. Democracy sometimes referred to as the institutionalization of freedom, is a key concept in law which gives people the right to forge their own path in a society while serving as ultimate guardians of their own freedoms. Alain Touraine believed democracy is a political modality of society organization, a procedural technique of power management and a culture of political comprehension. He also believes that stating this elements is not enough to make a state democratic; true democracy can only be witnessed daily and gives everyone the opportunity to find out whether these elements are being implemented effectively hence eliminating authoritarian tendencies which hide behind the mantle of humanitarian works. He therefore defined democracy as that regime in which the political form of life gives the most liberties to the larger number of people while protecting and recognizing the most diversity possible. According to Robert Dahl, democracy must ensure real participation of individuals through equality of votes, proper information on the things at stake, a proper monitoring system and an inclusion of major citizens in open political issues. All these prove that the people have room to choose those who will govern them in order to avoid dictatorship. This is done notably through the process of presumed fair and transparent elections. Elections do not happen to be the only determinant of the existence of a democratic state. There should also exist a proper Democracy is hence the expression of the will of the population of a state. Democratic regimes aim at promoting the enjoyment and protection of people’s human rights, streaming from political through fair and transparent elections. The population should be in a position where their common needs are met by their chosen representatives whose main aim will be to put these people first.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states in Article 21: ‘’1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. 2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country. 3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held in secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures’’. The International convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 25 states ‘Every citizen shall have the right and opportunity…’

African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights states in article…..

The Cameroon Constitution of 1996 added to this states in Article 37 paragraph 1 that justice is rendered in the name of the Cameroonian people.

‘Democracy is intended to allow citizens to control state power. It can not be used by the politically strong to exploit the politically

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