For decades, I have worked with people struggling for human rights and freedom under authoritarian governments around the world. During my years as president of Freedom House and throughout my subsequent work on democracy and human rights, I learned an enduring lesson: Dictatorships depend not only on repression at home, but also on the assumption that the outside world will eventually look away.

I have also learned that those truly struggling against such regimes rarely ask outsiders to fight their battles for them. More often, they ask to be heard, to have their rights recognized, and to know that democratic nations will not legitimize their oppressors while ignoring those risking their lives for freedom.