Freedom in the world 2007 - The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Összefoglaló

The year 2006 saw little change in the global state of freedom in the world and the emergence of a series of worrisome trends that present potentially serious threats to the expansion of freedom in the future, Freedom House said in a major survey of global freedom released today.

Freedom in the World 2007, a survey of worldwide political rights and civil liberties, found that the percentage of countries designated as Free has remained flat for nearly a decade and suggests that a "freedom stagnation" may be developing.

The continued weakness of democratic institutions--even after holding democratic elections--in a number of countries continues to hamper further progress. "Although the past 30 years have seen significant gains for political freedom around the world, the number of Free countries has remained largely unchanged since the high point in 1998. Our assessment points to a freedom stagnation that has developed in the last decade," said Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director of Freedom House, "and should lead to renewed policy attention to addressing the obstacles that are preventing further progress."

Regionally, major findings include a setback for freedom in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, a more modest decline in Africa, and a solidification of authoritarian rule in the majority of countries of the former Soviet Union. Three countries experienced positive status changes: Guyana moved from Partly Free to Free, and Haiti and Nepal moved from Not Free to Partly Free. Two countries experienced negative status changes: both Thailand and Congo (Brazzaville) moved from Partly Free to Not Free.

Freedom House also noted that the trends reflected the growing pushback against democracy driven by authoritarian regimes, including Russia, Venezuela, China, Iran, and Zimbabwe, threatening to further erode the gains made in the last thirty years. The pushback is targeted at organizations, movements, and media that advocate for the expansion of democratic freedoms.

On a global scale, the state of freedom in 2006 showed a modest decline from that of 2005. The number of countries that experienced negative changes in freedom without meriting a status change outweighed those that received positive changes: the scores for 33 countries declined, while only 18 improved.According to the survey, the number of countries judged by Freedom in the World as Free in 2006 stood at 90, representing 47 percent of the global population. Fifty-eight countries qualified as Partly Free, with 30 percent of the world's population. The survey finds that 45 countries are Not Free, representing 23 percent of the world's inhabitants. About one-half of those living in Not Free conditions inhabit one country: China.

Several of the countries that showed declines during the year were already ranked among the world's most repressive states: Burma, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Eritrea and Iran. Yet declines were also noted in a number of countries rated Free or Partly Free, but whose democratic institutions remain unformed or fragile, as well as in societies that had previously demonstrated a strong measure of democratic stability: South Africa, Kenya, Taiwan, Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Hungary.

"While the past year was not a good year for freedom, the trend over the past decade is even more disturbing," said Arch Puddington, director of research at Freedom House. "Not only have we failed to make significant breakthroughs, but we have seen the emergence of authoritarian regimes--Russia, Venezuela, and Iran are good examples--that are aggressively hostile to democracy, are determined to crush all domestic advocates for freedom, and stand as models for democracy's adversaries everywhere."

The survey detected a number of trends that affected many countries across regions. These included a decline in freedom of expression and freedom of the press, a weakness in the rule of law, and pervasive corruption and a lack of government transparency.

Regionally, Asia experienced the largest proportion of lowered scores in 2006. While the dominant development was the military-led coup that ousted Thailand's democratically elected prime minister, other countries previously considered showcases of Asian freedom, including the Philippines and East Timor, also experienced setbacks. In addition, ethnic and religious divisions were a major problem in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Fiji. The region's most important positive development was Nepal's climb from Not Free to Partly Free due to the end of direct rule by the king and the return of parliament.- További ismertető: "Belelapozás".