The Copenhagen Democracy Summit is an initiative by the Alliance of Democracy Foundation that is held annually, dedicated to strengthening the resolve of the world’s democracies by providing a high-level strategic forum exclusively focused on the cause of democracy. The summit brings together leading figures from politics, business, media, and activists working on the frontline in the global fight for freedom.

 The welcoming remarks were done by Jamil Anderlini, the POLITICO Editor in Chief in Europe, and Jeanne Meserve, host of the NatSec Tech podcast and former anchor and correspondent for CNN and ABC news. Jeanne Meserve highlighted some of the fundamental freedoms that had been curtailed around the world including Ukraine’s destruction and death, subjugation of women and girls in Iran and Afghanistan, and the imprisonment of the Wall Street Journal reporter in Russia. After which she invited the founder and chairman of the Alliance of Democracy Foundation, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to commence the conference.

He acknowledged that despite the atrocities committed by the autocrats, there were brave individuals who stood firmly against them and their determination deterred the despots. He particularly insisted that Ukraine must get military support, be rebuilt, be embedded in NATO and European Union, its democratic foundation be strengthened, sanctions on Russia be lifted only after an absolute agreement with Ukraine and mechanisms for reparation for war crimes be put in place.

Nico Jaspers, the CEO of Latana, was next where he talked about a study they had done on the attitude towards democracy globally. According to the survey, the overall threat to democracy worldwide was economic inequality and corruption, and the majority of those who took part in the survey viewed social media as having a positive impact on democracy.

Also, many were in favor of cutting economic ties with Russia as a result of their transgression on Ukraine and if China invades Taiwan. A keynote address on securing Ukraine’s victory clip by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, was played and he first thanked Demark’s resolve in assisting Ukraine besides stating that the effects of such kind of aggression would not only affect a country’s border or identity but also a sense of democracy rooted in each individual person across the world.

He also pointed out that if there is unity in dealing with despots, stopping them from executing their threats will be easy, like the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO which witnessed the greatest approach to Russia’s borders in the history of NATO yet nothing happened despite Russia’s warning. Over and above that, he supported the Kyiv Security Compact and called for Russia’s sanction, freezing, and confiscation of its assets.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen came back to propound the Kyiv Security Compact that has a set of proposals to guarantee Ukraine’s security in the future which include helping Ukraine develop a strong defense industry, get a strong military, exchange intelligence and joint training with the European Union and NATO. He further maintained that there should be a signed document guaranteeing on Ukraine’s security before the Vilnius Summit and Ukraine to be invited to join NATO at the 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington.

Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, stated that Ukraine’s fight for existence is also a fight for peace and dignity in Europe as well as a right to exist as a country during her keynote address on Ukraine’s path to victory. She also commended Ukraine’s good digital infrastructure for having continued to deliver services to its citizens despite the war and insisted that temporary solutions bring more conflict. That in spite of the fact that Russia is the head of the permanent member states of the United Nations Security Council, it’s not immune to retribution and its war machine income and finances should be dried up.

On the subsequent session on accountability for Russia’s atrocities, Daria Zarivna who is the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Advisor talked on the illegal deportation of approximately 20,000 children to Russia from Ukraine by the Russian forces and taken to distance regions where their names are changed together with their citizenships and brainwashed into propaganda military training. She further said that the Russians take the children by killing their parents, separating children and parents during filtration, from orphanages and generally creating unbearable living conditions then promising the children summer camps in Russia. Oleksandra Matviichuk, the head of the Centre for Civil Liberties and the Nobel Prize winner, was the next panelist.

She spoke on how Russia uses war crimes to break peoples’ resistance yet there is no international court that has jurisdiction over the crime of aggression like in the Ukraine war, and it’s only a special tribunal that can be formed to put the aggressors into trial. She was also of the opinion that the war ought to stop being viewed in the prisma of the Nuremberg trials where Nazi war leaders were trialed after their regimes collapsed and instead be dealt with immediately.

Solomiya Borshosh, Ukrainian Institute Executive Director, and Nataliia Popovych, Chairperson of Ukraine House, gave their remarks on the ‘tribute to Ukraine; Acts of solidarity through art’ session. Solomiya Borshosh said that on 29th March 2022, a missile attack killed 38 people in Ukraine and that the talks about justice are not just statistics since every life that has been lost in the war matters. She further indicated that the atrocities being committed by Russia are still going on even as the summit is being held. Nataliia Popovych averred that the war in Ukraine is no longer about territories but identity and almost 1,500 cultural infrastructure objects have been damaged.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, National Leader of Belarus, was the next panelist being moderated by Jonas Parello, Alliance for Democracies Foundation Executive Director, discussing ‘standing up to authoritarianism; view from Belarus’. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stated that what is happening in Ukraine is not different from what is happening in Belarus because they are both fighting for freedom and independence. She said that the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, who is now serving a sixth term, has been detaining an average of 11 people every day and has been aiding the Russian President to a point where they see Russian presence in media, culture, and even economy. She asked the Western countries not to overlook the allegation on deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus by President Vladimir Putin considering they had been affected by the Chernobyl disaster and they will be the first ones to be affected if the nuclear weapons are launched in their country.

Ben Rhodes, The Obama Foundation Senior Advisor, introduced Zhanna Nemtsova, Founder Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom and journalist, where she lauded her for not only standing up for freedom inside Russia but also spotlighting the war crimes and aggression committed by Russia during ‘standing up for freedom from around the globe topic’.

She also commended her for continuing the work of her father, Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated as a key opposition figure in Russia.  She then took to the podium and stated that Ukraine's invasion started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, and how the complacency of the Russian people together with the rest of the world through being disengaged from politics and the fear of provoking a nuclear power respectively has worsened the war.

She went ahead and talked on how voicing anti-war positions has been criminalized and criminal cases initiated against ordinary people like a 20 year old teacher and a 63 year old waiter who were imprisoned for five and seven years respectively. The following guest during the ‘view from NATO’ discussion was Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, who said that Ukraine’s victory will not only end Russia’s perennial aggression but it’s only after Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation in Europe that discussions on when and how it will become a member of NATO will be effective.

But in the meantime, the July NATO summit will agree on a multi-year program to help Ukraine transition from Soviet standards, doctrines and equipment to NATO standards. He also noted that for the second time in history, they will be inviting the heads of states from Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia to participate in the summit since China is posing a security challenge.

Rachael Samren, Telia Company Responsible Business and External Affairs Advisor, moderated the session on ‘Dividing lines between democracies and autocracies; The impact on business’. Jannicke Nilson, the Executive President Equinor, was the first panelist and she said that the Green Deal and the Inflation Reduction Act do not only help their company in technology development towards more greener energy but they also set standards on dealing with autocracies like Russia, where they exited after Ukraine’s invasion. Carsen Sjocrup, the Executive Vice President Online CentralNic Group PLC, on the other hand, said that their company works with autocracies that are evolving to democracies and some of those that have sanctions in order to be part of their progress but they did hold all new sales to Russia after the incursion.

Wolfgang Niedermark, The Federation of German Industries Member of the Executive Board, was the last panelist and he affirmed that they are very committed to cutting ties with Russia and so far big brands have left the country, and member companies have either sold or written off their investments in Russia. He also insisted that the solution to their union in case China invades Taiwan is de-risking by diversification through opening up for new partners all over the world rather than decoupling since they are interdependent on each other.

There was a divided opinion though on the European Council of Foreign Affairs call on the formulation of a common sanctions doctrine by the European Union that will define future goals, capabilities, and thresholds for applying sanctions. There was a message that was played before the lunch break from Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Denmark Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He noted that Denmark’s greatest foreign policy was the engagement with the Baltic Countries after the Cold War which supported their fight for freedom, and integration into the European and transatlantic structures where they are now free and are Denmark’s close allies who are supporting Ukraine’s fight for freedom. He also affirmed that the Danish government aims to be amongst the largest contributors to Ukraine and restore respect for the UN Charter.

After the lunch break, Petr Pavel, the President of Czech Republic, gave his address on ‘defending global values’. He said that after the fall of communism and the warsaw pact, he wouldn’t have imagined that the world would find itself in the midst of the worst military conflict since World War II with the Russia invasion. He quickly pointed out that Russia’s aggression started with President Vladimir Putin’s address in 2007 at the Munich Security Conference and accumulated to the incursion. But he insisted that the more important issue than Russia is China, as they had discussed at the NATO Summit in Madrid. He stated China is not seeking cooperation as equal partners with the rest of the world but dominance and considering their very tight central control of their society and economy coupled with their strategic patience, the world ought to be very cautious with what they are doing.