Annabel Deegan is a 2023 McCain Global Leader from the United Kingdom and a communications consultant and professional coach. She previously was the executive editor of CNN International Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour’s daily news and current affairs program.
This week, world leaders gathered in Poland to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. More than a million people were murdered there from 1940 to 1945, mostly Jews who were among around six million killed during the Holocaust by the Nazis. 99-year-old Albrecht Weinberg was a teenager when he was sent to Auschwitz. He lost 41 members of his immediate family. Albrecht still has his prisoner number, now slightly faded, on his arm. No name, just a number. Every day when he washes, he sees it and remembers. 1-16-9-27.
As part of the McCain Global Leaders Program, I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau and wrote about the experience. It was harrowing but vitally important to begin to understand the atrocities humans are capable of and to remember the victims. “Never Again” must mean “Never Again.” But both history and ongoing conflicts show us that this is not assured. This 80th anniversary comes at a time of rising anti-semitism across Europe and elsewhere.
Out of the horror of the Second World War and the Cold War of the 1980s, emerged the concept of a rules-based international order focused on democracy and the rule of law. Former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described it as a “system of laws, agreements, principles and institutions that the world came together to build after two world wars to manage relations between states, to prevent conflict, to uphold the rights of all people.” Essentially, he’s using foreign policy language for equality. Democracy is based on a belief that we are all created equal, deserve to live in freedom and to determine our own destiny.
As I reflect, I can’t help thinking of Venezuela, once the richest country in South America and now the poorest, thanks to the fraudulent regime of Nicolas Maduro. This month, he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office, following last year’s July elections which were widely rejected by the international community. Since then, there have been over 2,000 arbitrary detentions recorded. One of them is friend and fellow McCain Global Leader Jesús Armas, a Venezuelan human rights activist who played an important role in the country’s opposition campaign. He is being held in a well-known torture center in Caracas. His family claims he has been tortured during the days he was forcibly disappeared.
I remember the first conversation I had with Jesús when we met in Washington, D.C. “Tell me about Venezuela, what should I know?” I asked. His eyes lit up about his homeland as he filled me in. But Jesús is a realist. He knew then that his work defending democracy and freedom against tyranny was dangerous. And yet, that didn’t stop him. He is courageous, an engaging speaker, and quietly passionate about his work. He is, quite simply, one of the good ones.
As we reflect this week on the lessons of history, Jesús’ detention reminds us that democracy is not guaranteed. It’s fragile, rare, and must be fought for. Jesús, and all other human rights defenders in prison around the world need our support, our raised voices, and our determination to stand up for freedom.
