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East Asia (Burma 163rd, China
159th, Vietnam 158th, Laos 155th), Central Asia (Turkmenistan 165th, Uzbekistan
155th, Afghanistan 125th, Kazakhstan 119th) and the Middle East (Iran 164th, Iraq
157th, Saudi Arabia 154th, Syria 145th) are where journalists have the toughest
time and where government repression or armed groups prevent the media operating
freely.
The situation in Iraq (157th) deteriorated further during the year as the safety
of journalists became more precarious. At least 24 journalists and media assistants
have been killed so far this year, making it the mostly deadly conflict for the
media since World War II. A total of 72 media workers have been killed since the
fighting began in March 2003.
But more and more African and Latin American countries (Benin 25th, Namibia 25th,
El Salvador 28th, Cape Verde 29th, Mauritius 34th, Mali 37th, Costa Rica 41st
and Bolivia 45th) are getting very good rankings.
Western democracies slip back
Some Western democracies slipped down the Index. The United States (44th) fell
more than 20 places, mainly because of the imprisonment of New York Times reporter
Judith Miller and legal moves undermining the privacy of journalistic sources.
Canada (21st) also dropped several places due to decisions that weakened the privacy
of sources and sometimes turned journalists into "court auxiliaries."
France (30th) also slipped, largely because of searches of media offices, interrogations
of journalists and introduction of new press offences.
At the top of the Index once again are northern European countries Denmark, Finland,
Ireland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands, where robust press freedom is firmly
established. The top 10 countries are all European. New Zealand (12th), Trinidad
and Tobago (12th), Benin (25th) and South Korea (34th) are the highest-ranked
countries in other continents.
Press freedom, economic development and independence
Countries that have recently won their independence or have recovered it are very
observant of press freedom and give the lie to the insistence of many authoritarian
leaders that democracy takes decades to establish itself. Nine states that have
had independence (or recovered it within the past 15 years) are among the top
60 countries - Slovenia (9th), Estonia (11th), Latvia (16th), Lithuania (21st),
Namibia (25th), Bosnia-Herzegovina (33rd), Macedonia (43rd), Croatia (56th) and
East Timor (58th).
The Index also contradicts the frequent argument by leaders of poor and repressive
countries that economic development is a vital precondition for democracy and
respect for human rights. The top of the Index is heavily dominated by rich countries,
but several very poor ones (with a per capita GDP of less than $1,000 in 2003)
are among the top 60, such as Benin (25th), Mali (37th), Bolivia (45th), Mozambique
(49th), Mongolia (53rd), Niger (57th) and East Timor (58th).
Africa
Two reasons for improvement
More African countries are moving up into the top half of the index each year
thanks to their progress in the fight against impunity and the abolition of prison
terms for press offences such as libel and slander and the printing of inaccurate
news.
While those that usually respect press freedom - Cape Verde (29th), South Africa
(31st), Mauritius (34th) and Mali (37th) - kept their positions in 2005, Mozambique
jumped from 64th to 49th place. Heavy sentences passed on the killers of Mozambican
journalist Carlos Cardoso helped to calm a situation which was difficult in the
late 1990s. Decriminalisation of press offences in the Central African Republic
lifted the country from 104th to 82nd place and Angola (76th) also improved its
ranking further due to legal reforms as it emerged from a long civil war.
Continued failure to punish the murderers of Norbert Zongo in Burkina Faso (78th)
and unfulfilled promises of decriminalisation by President Abdoulaye Wade in Senegal
(79th) prevented these countries from moving up, though the situation was worse
in Cameroon (83rd), where journalists are still routinely thrown in prison. Internationally-observed
elections allowed Guinea-Bissau (71st) and Liberia (83rd) to move up slightly.
Continuing violence
Unjust laws and repressive governments held back some countries where there is
genuine news diversity, such as Madagascar (97th), Guinea (102nd), Kenya (109th),
Chad (109th), Mauritania (127th) and Ethiopia (131st).
Press freedom sharply deteriorated in some countries. Gambia, with general mistrust
between media and government in recent years, dropped to 130th place because of
the unpunished murder of journalist Deyda Hydara and the increasingly hostile
attitude to the media by President Yahya Jammeh. In Sierra Leone (126th), political
and police violence against journalists worsened an already bad situation with
the murder of Harry Yansaneh, who replaced the jailed Paul Kamara as editor of
the daily paper For Di People.
Despite efforts by journalists to defend themselves in Somalia (149th), the country
is still one the continent's most dangerous places for the media and has
not managed to emerge from general disorder. Two women journalists, the BBC's
Kate Peyton and Duniya Muhiyadin Nur, of the radio station HornAfrik, were killed
during the year in Mogadishu.
Pervasive violence and repression, backed by often absurd laws, prevented any
improvement in the ranking of the Democratic Republic of Congo (146th). Zimbabwe
(153rd) meanwhile continued downward, with one of the continent's most ruthless
regimes facing a courageous but poorly-equipped independent press. In Eritrea,
which at (166th) is bottom-but-one of the world ranking, press freedom has not
existed since 18 September 2001, when the privately-owned media was abolished.
The Americas
Breaking away
In terms of press freedom, the small Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago (12th)
is still the region's top-ranked country. El Salvador (28th)-a still-fragile
democracy after years of civil war-came in second, followed, as it was last year,
by Costa Rica (41st), Bolivia (45th), Uruguay (46th) and Chile (50th), where attacks
on press freedom usually amount to intimidation and threats.
Argentina (59th) rose sharply in the Index because there were fewer physical attacks
on journalists, the media won a fight to preserve source confidentiality and the
press offense laws were relaxed.
The press law in Brazil (63rd)-which dates from the military dictatorship and
provides for imprisonment-has yet to be repealed, even though it is no longer
enforced. The local media is also still the target of violent reprisals, such
as the murder July 1 of community radio director José Cândido Amorim
Pinto.
No journalists were killed this year in Peru (116th) but violence against journalists
has soared to more than 30 incidents-60 in all, if we include incidents involving
threats and intimidation.
Journalists face high-risk working conditions in Haiti (117th), despite the greater
press freedom enjoyed since former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted
in February 2004. Jacques Roche, of the daily paper Le Matin, was murdered on
July 14, and Nancy Roc of Radio Metropole was forced to seek asylum abroad on
June 16 after she was given kidnapping threats. Her radio station manager, Richard
Widmaier, had narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt five days earlier.
Colombia (128th), second to last among American continent countries, moved up
this year ahead of Mexico (135th), as press freedom is deteriorating in countries
bordering the US. The Mexican media have been focusing on a "Black April,"
when two journalists were murdered and a third disappeared in just one week. In
Colombia, Julio Palacios Sánchez of Radio Lemas, was shot dead on January
11 in a region dominated by drug traffic and riddled with corruption. So far this
year, broadcasting equipment has been routinely sabotaged and seven journalists
have had to flee the region or the country.
Two more journalists were jailed in Cuba (161st), in addition to the 21 who have
been held since the March 2003 crackdown. One of them, Oscar Mario González
Pérez, faces 20 years in prison under Law 88, passed to protect "national
independence and the economy."
Reporters Without Borders compiled this Index of 167 countries
by asking its partner organizations (14 freedom of expression groups from around
the world) and its network of 130 correspondents, as well as journalists, researchers,
legal experts and human rights activists, to answer 50 questions designed to assess
a country's level of press freedom. Some countries are not mentioned for
lack of information about them.
|
Rank |
Country |
Score |
1 |
Denmark |
0,50 |
- |
Finland |
0,50 |
- |
Iceland |
0,50 |
- |
Ireland |
0,50 |
- |
Netherlands |
0,50 |
- |
Norway |
0,50 |
- |
Switzerland |
0,50 |
8 |
Slovakia |
0,75 |
9 |
Czech Republic |
1,00 |
- |
Slovenia |
1,00 |
11 |
Estonia |
1,50 |
12 |
Hungary |
2,00 |
- |
New Zealand |
2,00 |
- |
Sweden |
2,00 |
- |
Trinidad and Tobago |
2,00 |
16 |
Austria |
2,50 |
- |
Latvia |
2,50 |
18 |
Belgium |
4,00 |
- |
Germany |
4,00 |
- |
Greece |
4,00 |
21 |
Canada |
4,50 |
- |
Lithuania |
4,50 |
23 |
Portugal |
4,83 |
24 |
United Kingdom |
5,17 |
25 |
Benin |
5,50 |
- |
Cyprus |
5,50 |
- |
Namibia |
5,50 |
28 |
El Salvador |
5,75 |
29 |
Cape Verde |
6,00 |
30 |
France |
6,25 |
31 |
Australia |
6,50 |
- |
South Africa |
6,50 |
33 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
7,00 |
34 |
Jamaica |
7,50 |
- |
Mauritius |
7,50 |
- |
South Korea |
7,50 |
37 |
Japan |
8,00 |
- |
Mali |
8,00 |
39 |
Hong-Kong |
8,25 |
40 |
Spain |
8,33 |
41 |
Costa Rica |
8,50 |
42 |
Italy |
8,67 |
43 |
Macedonia |
8,75 |
44 |
United States of America (American territory) |
9,50 |
45 |
Bolivia |
9,67 |
46 |
Uruguay |
9,75 |
47 |
Israel |
10,00 |
48 |
Bulgaria |
10,25 |
49 |
Mozambique |
10,50 |
50 |
Chile |
11,75 |
51 |
Dominican Republic |
12,25 |
- |
Taiwan |
12,25 |
53 |
Cyprus (North) |
12,50 |
- |
Mongolia |
12,50 |
- |
Poland |
12,50 |
56 |
Croatia |
12,83 |
57 |
Niger |
13,00 |
58 |
Timor-Leste |
13,50 |
59 |
Argentina |
13,67 |
60 |
Botswana |
14,00 |
- |
Fiji |
14,00 |
62 |
Albania |
14,17 |
63 |
Brazil |
14,50 |
- |
Tonga |
14,50 |
65 |
Serbia and Montenegro |
14,83 |
66 |
Ghana |
15,00 |
- |
Panama |
15,00 |
68 |
Nicaragua |
15,25 |
69 |
Paraguay |
15,50 |
70 |
Romania |
16,17 |
71 |
Congo |
17,00 |
- |
Guinea-Bissau |
17,00 |
- |
Seychelles |
17,00 |
74 |
Moldova |
17,50 |
- |
Tanzania |
17,50 |
76 |
Angola |
18,00 |
- |
Honduras |
18,00 |
78 |
Burkina Faso |
19,00 |
- |
Senegal |
19,00 |
80 |
Uganda |
19,25 |
81 |
Lesotho |
19,50 |
82 |
Central African Republic |
19,75 |
83 |
Cameroon |
20,50 |
- |
Liberia |
20,50 |
85 |
Kuwait |
21,25 |
86 |
Guatemala |
21,50 |
87 |
Ecuador |
21,75 |
88 |
Comoros |
22,00 |
89 |
Malawi |
22,75 |
90 |
Burundi |
23,00 |
- |
Cambodia |
23,00 |
- |
Qatar |
23,00 |
- |
Venezuela |
23,00 |
- |
Zambia |
23,00 |
95 |
Togo |
23,75 |
96 |
Jordan |
24,00 |
97 |
Madagascar |
24,50 |
98 |
Turkey |
25,00 |
99 |
Georgia |
25,17 |
100 |
Kosovo |
25,75 |
- |
United Arab Emirates |
25,75 |
102 |
Armenia |
26,00 |
- |
Gabon |
26,00 |
- |
Guinea |
26,00 |
- |
Indonesia |
26,00 |
106 |
India |
27,00 |
107 |
Thailand |
28,00 |
108 |
Lebanon |
28,25 |
109 |
Chad |
30,00 |
- |
Kenya |
30,00 |
111 |
Kyrgyzstan |
32,00 |
112 |
Ukraine |
32,50 |
113 |
Malaysia |
33,00 |
- |
Tajikistan |
33,00 |
115 |
Sri Lanka |
33,25 |
116 |
Peru |
33,33 |
117 |
Haiti |
33,50 |
118 |
Swaziland |
35,00 |
119 |
Kazakhstan |
36,17 |
- |
Morocco |
36,17 |
121 |
Djibouti |
37,00 |
122 |
Rwanda |
38,00 |
123 |
Bahrein |
38,75 |
- |
Nigeria |
38,75 |
125 |
Afghanistan |
39,17 |
126 |
Sierra Leone |
39,50 |
127 |
Mauritania |
40,00 |
128 |
Colombia |
40,17 |
129 |
Algeria |
40,33 |
130 |
Gambia |
41,00 |
131 |
Ethiopia |
42,00 |
132 |
Palestinian Authority |
42,50 |
133 |
Equatorial Guinea |
44,00 |
- |
Sudan |
44,00 |
135 |
Mexico |
45,50 |
136 |
Yemen |
46,25 |
137 |
United States of America (in Iraq) |
48,50 |
138 |
Russia |
48,67 |
139 |
Philippines |
50,00 |
140 |
Singapore |
50,67 |
141 |
Azerbaijan |
51,00 |
142 |
Bhutan |
51,50 |
143 |
Egypt |
52,00 |
144 |
Côte d'Ivoire |
52,25 |
145 |
Syria |
55,00 |
146 |
Congo, Democratic Rep. of |
57,33 |
147 |
Tunisia |
57,50 |
148 |
Maldives |
58,50 |
149 |
Somalia |
59,00 |
150 |
Pakistan |
60,75 |
151 |
Bangladesh |
61,25 |
152 |
Belarus |
61,33 |
153 |
Zimbabwe |
64,25 |
154 |
Saudi Arabia |
66,00 |
155 |
Lao PDR |
66,50 |
- |
Uzbekistan |
66,50 |
157 |
Iraq |
67,00 |
158 |
Vietnam |
73,25 |
159 |
China |
83,00 |
160 |
Nepal |
86,75 |
161 |
Cuba |
87,00 |
162 |
Libya |
88,75 |
163 |
Burma |
88,83 |
164 |
Iran |
89,17 |
165 |
Turkmenistan |
93,50 |
166 |
Eritrea |
99,75 |
167 |
North Korea |
109,00 |
Read the full report at
Reporters Without Borders |
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