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   2013
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 2013 Press Freedom Index



                                 dashed hopes follow spring
                                 Reporters Without Borders                                “In dictatorships, news providers and their fami-
                                 launches media                                           lies are exposed to ruthless reprisals, while in
                                                                                          democracies news providers have to cope
                                 freedom “indicator”                                      with the media’s economic crises and conflicts
                                                                                          of interest. While their situation is not always
                                                                                          comparable, we should pay tribute to all those
                                 After the “Arab springs” and other protest               who resist pressure whether it is aggressively
                                 movements that prompted many rises and falls             focused or diffuse.”
                                 in last year’s index, the 2013 Reporters Without
                                 Borders World Press Freedom Index marks a
                                                                                          Coinciding with the release of its 2013 Press
                                 return to a more usual configuration.
                                                                                          Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders is
                                 The ranking of most countries is no longer attri-        for the first time publishing an annual global
                                 butable to dramatic political developments. This         “indicator” of worldwide media freedom.
                                 year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes
                                 and intentions of governments towards media              This new analytic tool measures the overall level
                                 freedom in the medium or long term.                      of freedom of information in the world and the
                                                                                          performance of the world’s governments in their
                                 The same three European countries that headed            entirety as regards this key freedom.
                                 the index last year hold the top three positions
                                 again this year. For the third year running, Fin-        In view of the emergence of new technologies
                                 land has distinguished itself as the country that        and the interdependence of governments and
                                 most respects media freedom. It is followed by           peoples, the freedom to produce and circulate
                                 the Netherlands and Norway.                              news and information needs to be evaluated at
                                                                                          the planetary as well as national level. Today,
                                 Although many criteria are considered, ranging           in 2013, the media freedom “indicator” stands
                                 from legislation to violence against journalists,        at 3395, a point of reference for the years to
                                 democratic countries occupy the top of the               come1.
                                 index while dictatorial countries occupy the
                                 last three positions. Again it is the same three         The indicator can also be broken down by
                                 as last year – Turkmenistan, North Korea and             region and, by means of weighting based on
                                 Eritrea.                                                 the population of each region, can be used to
                                                                                          produce a score from zero to 100 in which zero
                                 “The Press Freedom Index published by Repor-             represents total respect for media freedom.
Reporters Without Borders
                                 ters Without Borders does not take direct
promotes and defends the         account of the kind of political system but it is        This produces a score of 17.5 for Europe2, 30.0
freedom to be informed and       clear that democracies provide better protec-            for the Americas, 34.3 for Africa, 42.2 for Asia-
to inform others throughout      tion for the freedom to produce and circulate            Pacific and 45.3 for the former Soviet republics.
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 accurate news and information than countries             Despite the Arab springs, the Middle East and
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       where human rights are flouted,” Reporters               North Africa region comes last with 48.5.
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      Without Borders secretary-general Christophe
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     Deloire said.                                            The high number of journalists and netizens
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                                                                          killed in the course of their work in 2012 (the
continents.

47, rue Vivienne                 1. The method of compiling the press freedom index has changed slightly and the range of criteria has been
75002 Paris,                     expanded in order to better evaluate all the factors that determine the level of freedom of information in a
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56          country. The indicator is the sum of the scores of all the countries in the press freedom index. Like individual
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           country scores, the higher the figure, the worse the situation. The lower the figure, the better (see “How we
presse@rsf.org                   compiled the 2013 Press Freedom Index”).
Read more :
www.rsf.org                      2. The region consists of the European Union, Norway, Switzerland and the Balkans.
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 deadliest year ever registered by Reporters Wit-      before the excesses at the end of the Mutha-
                                 hout Borders in its annual roundup), naturally        rika administration. Côte d’Ivoire (96th, +63),
                                 had an a significant impact on the ranking of         which is emerging from the post-electoral crisis
                                 the countries where these murders took place,         between the supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and
                                 above all Somalia (175th, -11), Syria (176th, 0),     Alassane Ouattara, has also soared, attaining
                                 Mexico (153rd, -4) and Pakistan (159th, -8).          its best position since 2003.

                                                                                       Burma (151st, +18) continued the ascent begun
                                                                                       in last year’s index. Previously, it had been in
                                 From top to bottom                                    the bottom 15 every year since 2002 but now,
                                                                                       thanks to the Burmese spring’s unprecedented
                                 The Nordic countries have again demonstrated          reforms, it has reached its best-ever position.
                                 their ability to maintain an optimal environment      Afghanistan (128th, +22) also registered a
                                 for news providers. Finland (1st, 0), Nether-         significant rise thanks to the fact that no journa-
                                 lands (2nd, +1) and Norway (3rd, -2) have held        lists are in prison. It is nonetheless facing many
                                 on to the first three places. Canada (20th, -10)      challenges, especially with the withdrawal of
                                 only just avoided dropping out of the top 20.         foreign troops.
                                 Andorra (5th) and Liechtenstein (7th) have
                                 entered the index for the first time just behind
                                 the three leaders.
                                                                                       ...and big falls
                                 At the other end of the index, the same three
                                 countries as ever – Turkmenistan, North               Mali (99th, -74) registered the biggest fall in the
                                 Korea and Eritrea – occupy the last three             index as a result of all the turmoil in 2012. The
                                 places in the index. Kim Jong-un’s arrival at the     military coup in Bamako on 22 March and the
                                 head of the Hermit Kingdom has not in any way         north’s takeover by armed Islamists and Tua-
                                 changed the regime’s absolute control of news         reg separatists exposed the media in the north
                                 and information. Eritrea (179th, 0), which was        to censorship and violence. Tanzania (70th,
                                 recently shaken by a brief mutiny by soldiers at      -36) sank more than 30 places because, in the
                                 the information ministry, continues to be a vast      space of four months, a journalist was killed
                                 open prison for its people and lets journalists       while covering a demonstration and another
                                 die in detention. Despite its reformist discourse,    was murdered.
                                 the Turkmen regime has not yielded an inch of
                                 its totalitarian control of the media.                Buffeted by social and economic protests, the
                                                                                       Sultanate of Oman (141st) sank 24 places, the
                                 For the second year running, the bottom three         biggest fall in the Middle East and North Africa
                                 countries are immediately preceded by Syria           in 2012. Some 50 netizens and bloggers were
                                 (176th, 0), where a deadly information war is         prosecuted on lèse majesté or cyber-crime
                                 being waged, and Somalia (175th, -11), which          charges in 2012. No fewer than 28 were convic-
Reporters Without Borders
                                 has had a deadly year for journalists. Iran (174th,   ted in December alone, in trials that trampled
promotes and defends the         +1), China (173rd, +1), Vietnam (unchanged at         on defence rights.
freedom to be informed and       172nd), Cuba (171st, -4), Sudan (170th, 0) and
to inform others throughout      Yemen (169th, +2) complete the list of the ten        Journalists in Israel (112th, -20) enjoy real free-
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 countries that respect media freedom least.           dom of expression despite the existence of mili-
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       Not content with imprisoning journalists and          tary censorship but the country fell in the index
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      netizens, Iran also harasses the relatives of jour-   because of the Israeli military’s targeting of jour-
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     nalists, including the relatives of those who are     nalists in the Palestinian Territories.
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 abroad.
continents.                                                                            In Asia, Japan (53rd, -31) has been affected by
                                                                                       a lack of transparency and almost zero respect
47, rue Vivienne                                                                       for access to information on subjects directly or
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                 Big rises...                                          indirectly related to Fukushima. This sharp fall
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51                                                                 should sound an alarm. Malaysia (145th, -23)
presse@rsf.org                   Malawi (75th, +71) registered the biggest leap in     has fallen to its lowest-ever position because
Read more :                      the index, almost returning to the position it held   access to information is becoming more and
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 more limited. The same situation prevails in         Other countries hit by protests saw changes for
                                 Cambodia (143rd, -26), where authoritarianism        the better and worse. Vietnam (172nd, 0) failed
                                 and censorship are on the increase. Macedo-          to recover the six places it lost in the previous
                                 nia (116th, -22) has also fallen more than 20        index. The world’s second biggest prison for
                                 places following the arbitrary withdrawal of         netizens, it has remained in the bottom ten.
                                 media licences and deterioration in the environ-     Uganda (104th, +35) has recovered a more
                                 ment for journalists.                                appropriate position although it has not gone
                                                                                      back to where it was before cracking down on
                                                                                      protests in 2011.

                                 Varied impact of major protest                       Azerbaijan (156th, +6) and Belarus (157th,
                                 movements                                            +11) both fell last year after using violence to
                                                                                      suppress opposition demonstrations and this
                                 Last year’s index was marked by the Arab             year they just moved back towards their appal-
                                 spring’s major news developments and the             ling former positions. Chile (60th, +20) is begin-
                                 heavy price paid by those covering the protest       ning to recover after plummeting 33 places to
                                 movements. A range of scenarios has been             80th in last year’s index.
                                 seen in 2012, including countries such as Tuni-
                                 sia, Egypt and Libya, where regime change
                                 has taken place, countries such as Syria and
                                 Bahrain where uprisings and the resulting            Political instability puts
                                 repression are still ongoing, and countries
                                 such as Morocco, Algeria, Oman, Jordan and
                                                                                      journalists in the eye of the
                                 Saudi Arabia, where the authorities have used        storm
                                 promises and compromise to defuse calls for
                                 political and/or social and economic change.         Political instability often has a divisive effect on
                                                                                      the media and makes it very difficult to produce
                                 Some of the new governments spawned by               independently-reported news and information.
                                 these protest movements have turned on the           In such situations, threats and physical attacks
                                 journalists and netizens who covered these           on journalists and staff purges are common.
                                 movements’ demands and aspirations for               Maldives (103rd, -30) fell sharply after the pres-
                                 more freedom. What with legal voids, arbitrary       ident’s removal in an alleged coup, followed by
                                 appointments of state media chiefs, physical         threats and attacks on journalists regarded as
                                 attacks, trials and a lack of transparency, Tuni-    his supporters. In Paraguay (91st, -11), the pre-
                                 sia (138th, -4) and Egypt (158th, +8) have remai-    sident’s removal in a parliamentary “coup” on
                                 ned at a deplorable level in the index and have      22 June 2012 had a big impact on state-owned
                                 highlighted the stumbling blocks that Libya          broadcasting, with a wave of arbitrary dismis-
                                 (131st, +23) should avoid in order to maintain its   sals against a backdrop of unfair frequency
                                 transition to a free press.                          allocation.
Reporters Without Borders
promotes and defends the         The deadliest country for journalists in 2012 was    Guinea-Bissau (92nd, -17) fell sharply because
freedom to be informed and       Syria (176th, 0), where journalists and netizens     the army overthrew the government between
to inform others throughout      are the victims of an information war waged by       the first and second rounds of a presidential
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 both the Assad regime, which stops at nothing        election and imposed military censorship on the
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       in order to crack down and impose a news             media. In Mali (99th, -74), a military coup fuelled
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      blackout, and by opposition factions that are        tension, many journalists were physically attac-
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     increasingly intolerant of dissent. In Bahrain       ked in the capital and the army now controls the
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 (165th, +8) the repression let up slightly, while    state-owned media. This index does not reflect
continents.                      in Yemen (169th, +2) the prospects continue          the January 2013 turmoil in the Central African
                                 to be disturbing despite a change of govern-         Republic (65th, -3) but its impact on media free-
47, rue Vivienne                 ment. Oman (141st, -24) fell sharply because of      dom is already a source of extreme concern.
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                 a wave of arrests of netizens.
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51
presse@rsf.org
Read more :
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 “Regional models” found                               time, is no longer in the top 50. Investigative
                                 wanting                                               journalism is threatened by the Protection of
                                                                                       State Information Bill.
                                 In almost all parts of the world, influen-
                                 tial countries that are regarded as “regional
                                 models” have fallen in the index. Brazil (108th,
                                 -9), South America’s economic engine, conti-          Democracies that stall or go
                                 nued last year’s fall because five journalists
                                 were killed in 2012 and because of persistent
                                                                                       into reverse
                                 problems affecting media pluralism.                   The situation is unchanged for much of the
                                                                                       European Union. Sixteen of its members are
                                 In Asia, India (140th, -9) is at its lowest since     still in the top 30. But the European model is
                                 2002 because of increasing impunity for vio-          unravelling. The bad legislation seen in 2011
                                 lence against journalists and because Internet        continued, especially in Italy (57th, +4), where
                                 censorship continues to grow. China (173rd, +1)       defamation has yet to be decriminalized and
                                 shows no sign of improving. Its prisons still hold    state agencies make dangerous use of gag
                                 many journalists and netizens, while increasin-       laws. Hungary (56th, -16) is still paying the price
                                 gly unpopular Internet censorship continues to        of its repressive legislative reforms, which had
                                 be a major obstacle to access to information.         a major impact on the way journalists work. But
                                                                                       Greece’s dramatic fall (84th, -14) is even more
                                 In Eastern Europe, Russia (148th, -6) has fallen      disturbing. The social and professional envi-
                                 again because, since Vladimir Putin’s return to       ronment for its journalists, who are exposed to
                                 the presidency, repression has been stepped           public condemnation and violence from both
                                 up in response to an unprecedented wave of            extremist groups and the police, is disastrous.
                                 opposition protests. The country also continues
                                 to be marked by the unacceptable failure to           Japan (53rd, -31) plummeted because of cen-
                                 punish all those who have murdered or attacked        sorship of nuclear industry coverage and its
                                 journalists. The political importance of Turkey       failure to reform the “kisha club” system. This
                                 (154th, -6) has grown even more because of            is an alarming fall for a country that usually has
                                 the armed conflict in neighbouring Syria but it       a good ranking. Argentina (54th, -7) fell amid
                                 has again fallen in the index. It is currently the    growing tension between the government and
                                 world’s biggest prison for journalists, especially    certain privately-owned media about a new law
                                 those who express views critical of the authori-      regulating the broadcast media.
                                 ties on the Kurdish issue.

                                 There is no comparison with South Africa (52nd,
                                 -10), where freedom of information is a reality. It
                                 still has a respectable ranking but it has been
                                 slipping steadily in the index and, for the first
Reporters Without Borders
promotes and defends the
freedom to be informed and
to inform others throughout
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,
Madrid, Montreal, New York,
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
continents.

47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51
presse@rsf.org
Read more :
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




africa                           East Africa stagnates near
                                 bottom of the index,
                                 Mali nosedives
                                 East Africa: journalists’                             Political unrest in Mali and the
                                 graveyard                                             Central African Republic
                                 In Somalia (175th, -11) 18 journalists were kil-      Mali (99th, -74), which was long presented as
                                 led, caught up in bomb attacks or the direct          the continent’s star performer in democracy and
                                 targets of murder, making 2012 the deadliest          press freedom, was prey to the political events
                                 in history for the country’s media. The Horn of       that overtook it during the year. The military
                                 Africa state was the second most dangerous            coup in Bamako on 22 March and the seizure
                                 country in the world for those working in news        of the north of the country by Touareg separa-
                                 and information, behind Syria. In Eritrea (in last    tists and Islamic fundamentalists exposed news
                                 place in the index for the sixth successive year),    organizations to censorship and abuses. Many
                                 no journalists were killed but some were left to      northern radio stations stopped broadcasting,
                                 die, which amounts to the same thing. With at         while in the capital several Malian and foreign
                                 least 30 behind bars, it is Africa’s biggest prison   journalists were assaulted. All these occur-
                                 for journalists. Of 11 incarcerated since 2001,       red before the external military intervention in
                                 7 have died as a result of prison conditions or       January 2013.
                                 have killed themselves. Since the independent
                                 media were abolished more than 10 years ago,          The Central African Republic was ranked 65th
                                 there are no independent Eritrean news outlets,       in 2012. Events after the outbreak of the Sele-
                                 other than outside the country, and terror pre-       ka rebellion at the very end of the year (radio
                                 vails.                                                stations ransacked, one journalist killed) were
                                                                                       not taken into consideration in this index, thus
                                 East Africa is also a region of censorship and        preventing the country from falling more than
Reporters Without Borders
                                 crackdowns. Omar al-Bashir’s Sudan, where             50 places. These will be included in the 2014
promotes and defends the         more newspapers were seized and the arrests           version. In Guinea-Bissau (92nd, -17) a media
freedom to be informed and       of journalists continued during the summer, is        blackout and military censorship that followed
to inform others throughout      stuck firmly in 170th place, in the bottom 10 of      the coup on 12 April explain that country’s drop.
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 the index. Djibouti (167th, -8), which also has no
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       independent media, detained a correspondent
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      of the foreign-based news site La Voix de Dji-
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and
Washington DC) and more than
                                 bouti. Despite the release of two Swedish jour-       Africa’s predatory censors
150 correspondents in all five
                                 nalists arrested in 2011, Ethiopia (137th) fell ten
continents.                      places because of its repressive application of       Yahya Jammeh, King Mswati III, Paul Kagame,
                                 the 2009 anti-terrorist law and the continued         and Teodoro Obiang Nguema, together
47, rue Vivienne                 detention of several local journalists.               with other heads of state such as Issaias
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                                                                       Afeworki (Eritrea) and Ismael Omar Guelleh
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51                                                                 (Djibouti) are members of an exclusive club of
presse@rsf.org                                                                         authoritarian African leaders, some eccentric
Read more :                                                                            others stern, who hold their countries in an
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 iron grasp and keep a firm grip on news and           Bingu Wa Mutharika, a violent crackdown on
                                 information. Their countries, respectively            demonstrations and the murder of the blogger
                                 Gambia (152nd), Swaziland (155th), Rwanda             Robert Chasowa, Malawi (75th) recorded the
                                 (161st) and Equatorial Guinea (166th), are            biggest jump in the entire index, up 71 places,
                                 all among the bottom 30 in the index. Media           close to the position it held in 2010. Similarly,
                                 pluralism has been whittled away and criticism        Côte d’Ivoire rose 63 places to 96th despite
                                 of the head of state discouraged.                     persistent problems. It had plummeted in the
                                                                                       previous index because of a post-election cri-
Africa                                                                                 sis and the murders of a journalist and another
                                                                                       media worker, as well as the civil conflict that
                                 The biggest losses                                    broke out in Abidjan in April. Uganda (104th)
                                                                                       was up 35 places thanks to a better year, but
                                 Chad, which fell 18 places to 121st, saw journa-      things were far from satisfactory as far as the
                                 lists harassed and roughed up, the publication        media were concerned. The year ended with
                                 of the newspaper N’Djamena Bi-Hebdo tempo-            President Yoweri Museveni making open threats
                                 rarily halted and its publisher sentenced to a        to several radio stations.
                                 suspended prison term, and a highly repressive
                                 bill kept under wraps. The slow but sure pro-
                                 gress that followed the formation of a national
                                 unity government in Zimbabwe (133rd, -16) in          Promising gains
                                 2009 and the granting of publication licences
                                 to several independent newspapers appeared            For Senegal (59th, +16), 2012 was a year of
                                 to have stalled. Violence and arrests of jour-        hope. The presidential election took place in
                                 nalists still niggle and if elections go ahead as     a peaceful atmosphere for the media, despite
                                 planned in 2013, the atmosphere for the media         a few regrettable assaults on journalists, and
                                 promises to be tense. Relatively high placed in       President Macky Sall, who had declared him-
                                 2011-2012, South Sudan (124th) fell 12 places         self willing to decriminalize press offences, took
                                 after the murder of a columnist – the first killing   office. Much remains to be proved in 2013, as
                                 of its kind in the new country – as news organi-      was illustrated by the prison sentence handed
                                 zations and journalists awaited the approval of       down on a journalist in December.
                                 three new laws on the media.
                                                                                       In Liberia (97th, +13), the presidential election
                                 Despite the holding of a national media confe-        in November 2011 had been tainted by the clo-
                                 rence in Cameroon (120th, -23), the future of the     sure of several media outlets and attacks on
                                 sector remains both uncertain and worrying. In        journalists. In 2012, the atmosphere improved
                                 the upper reaches of the index, Niger (43rd)          greatly. In the summer, President Ellen John-
                                 nonetheless fell 14 places as a result of the         son Sirleaf became the second African head
                                 irresponsibility of a few journalists who succum-     of state, after Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, to
                                 bed to the temptation to abuse the freedom that       sign the Declaration of Table Mountain, thereby
Reporters Without Borders
                                 they enjoyed. Within the space of four months         undertaking to promote media freedom. Nami-
promotes and defends the         in Tanzania (70th, -36), one journalist was kil-      bia (19th), Cape Verde (25th) and Ghana (30th)
freedom to be informed and       led while he was covering a demonstration             maintained their record as the highest ranked
to inform others throughout      and another was found dead, a clear victim of         African countries.
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 murder. Burundi (132nd) fell only two places but
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       remains a low position. Summonses of journa-
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      lists declined but the case of Hassan Ruvakuki,
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     given a life sentence reduced to three years
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 on appeal, has created an atmosphere of fear
continents.                      among the media.

47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           Return to normality
presse@rsf.org
Read more :                      After a dreadful year in 2011, marked by the
www.rsf.org
                                 dictatorial behaviour of the late President
2013 World Press Freedom Index




THE Americas
                                 Violence, polarization still obstruct
                                 reporting in Americas
                                 Deceptive progress, ups and                            nel, and court censorship orders, which also
                                                                                        target the blogosphere. These problems were
                                 downs in south                                         exacerbated by violence during the campaign
                                 Just as the emergence of major protest move-           for the October 2012 municipal elections.
                                 ments (and ensuing crackdowns) had a big
                                 impact on the rankings of certain countries in
                                 2011, so a decline in the protests has logically
                                 also had an impact a year later.                       Media wars and coup precipi-
                                 Chile, for example, rose 20 places to 60th in the
                                                                                        tate falls
                                 index after the previous year’s student protests       Paraguay fell 11 places to 91st following Pre-
                                 abated in 2012. Crackdowns were concentra-             sident Fernando Lugo’s June 2012 removal
                                 ted in the Aysén region, which saw big protests        in an “institutional coup d’état,” which had an
                                 in the first quarter. But Chile’s improvement must     almost immediate impact on the news media.
                                 be put in perspective. Its media landscape is          A full-blown purge of employees in state-owned
                                 skewed, community broadcast media are crimi-           media created by the Lugo administration was
                                 nalized, especially in the Mapuche region, and         accompanied by frequent programme cen-
                                 journalists have run into difficulties when trying     sorship. The few community radio stations with
                                 to investigate the 1973-90 military dictatorship.      broadcast frequencies were also scared of
                                                                                        losing them.
                                 For similar reasons, the United States rose
                                 15 places to 32nd, recovering a ranking more           Despite a high level of physical violence against
                                 appropriate to the “country of the First Amend-        journalists, Peru rose 10 places to 105th, now
                                 ment.” Its previous year’s fall was due to the fact    topping Brazil, itself one place above Bolivia
                                 that the crackdown on the Occupy Wall Street           (109th), where several media were the targets
                                 movement did not spare reporters in the field.         of spectacular arson or dynamite attacks and
Reporters Without Borders
                                 Canada, on the other hand, fell 10 positions           both national and local polarization are having
promotes and defends the         to 20th, losing its status as the western hemis-       an impact. Ecuador fell 15th places to 119th after
freedom to be informed and       phere’s leader to Jamaica (13th). This was due         a year of extreme tension between the govern-
to inform others throughout      to obstruction of journalists during the so-called     ment and leading privately-owned media. This
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 “Maple Spring” student movement and to conti-          left it two places below Venezuela, where seve-
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       nuing threats to the confidentiality of journalists’   ral media were closed arbitrarily, a journalist
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      sources and Internet users’ personal data, in          was killed and more than 170 cases of violence
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     particular, from the C-30 bill on cyber-crime.         were reported in a “media war” climate.
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
continents.                      The clearest new trends are to be seen in the           Although on a less dramatic scale, polarization
                                 south. Brazil fell again, this time 9 places to        is becoming a concern in Argentina, which
47, rue Vivienne                 108th, after falling 41 places in 2011. Its media      slipped a few places to 54th amid growing ten-
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                 landscape is also badly distorted. Heavily             sion between the government and certain pri-
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           dependent on the political authorities at the          vately-owned media, above all the Clarín group,
presse@rsf.org                   state level, the regional media are exposed to         which is resisting full implementation of the 2009
Read more :                      attacks, physical violence against their person-       Ley de Medios, a law regulating the broadcast
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 media. On the other bank of the River Plate,           ago when Bouterse was Surinam’s dictator. He
                                 Uruguay continued its climb, this time to 27th         returned to power through the polls in 2010.
                                 position, within 10 places of Costa Rica, still
                                 Latin America’s leader at 18th.                        The seven-member Organization of East
                                                                                        Caribbean States fell eight places to 34th
                                 There has been little change in the marked             because of often direct pressure from the politi-
                                 contrasts that were seen in Central America in         cal authorities on news media and the failure to
The Americas                     2011. A lack of pluralism, intermittent tension        move ahead with the decriminalization of defa-
                                 with the political authorities, harassment and         mation. Similar pressure was reported in Guya-
                                 self-censorship are the main reasons for the           na (69th), whose ranking continues to suffer from
                                 scant change in Nicaragua (78th), Guatemala            the state’s monopoly of radio broadcasting.
                                 (95th) and Panama (111th), where attacks on
                                 journalists tripled in the space of a year, local      In the bottom third, Honduras was 127th
                                 unions said.                                           because two journalists were killed in direct
                                                                                        connection with their work and because the
                                 On the other hand, El Salvador owes its                status quo imposed by the June 2009 coup
                                 enviable 38th place to government efforts to           remains unchanged. There has never been any
                                 combat violence crime, even if journalists and         let-up in the persecution of opposition media
                                 media often complain about the lack of access          and community radio stations, or in the crimi-
                                 to state-held information. The Dominican               nalization of human rights activists and grass-
                                 Republic rose 15 places to 80th because of a           roots movements that provide information about
                                 decline in violence against journalists and legal      such sensitive issues as land disputes, police
                                 proceedings that threaten freedom of informa-          abuses and minority rights.
                                 tion. But it is still far behind its neighbour Haiti
                                 (49th), where the situation is still largely unchan-   Although hopes have been raised by the latest
                                 ged although some journalists have accused             negotiations between the government and
                                 President Michel Martelly of hostility towards         FARC guerrillas, Colombia (129th) still has its
                                 them.                                                  paramilitaries-turned-drug traffickers, who are
                                                                                        the enemies of all those involved in the provi-
                                                                                        sion of news and information. Another journalist
                                                                                        was killed in 2012 although there was a slight
                                 Caribbean turmoil, same                                decrease in the number of physical attacks.
                                 countries at the bottom                                With six journalists killed, Mexico (153rd) has
                                 Political tension and judicial harassment              maintained its status as the hemisphere’s most
                                 account for the ranking of other countries in the      dangerous country for the media. Violence and
                                 Guyanas and Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago             censorship were particularly noticeable during
                                 (44th) still has not stopped its illegal monitoring    the controversial July 2012 elections, which
                                 of journalists’ phone calls and attempts to iden-      restored the presidency to the Institutional
Reporters Without Borders
                                 tify their sources, although it promised to stop       Revolutionary Party (PRI). Cuba, the hemis-
promotes and defends the         in 2010. In Surinam (down nine places to 31th),        phere’s only country to tolerate no independent
freedom to be informed and       the often stormy relations between President           media (or with few exceptions), got the region’s
to inform others throughout      Desi Bouterse and many journalists are unlikely        lowest ranking – 171st. The past year has seen a
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 to improve after the passage of an amnesty law         renewed crackdown on dissent and the island
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       for the murders of around 15 government oppo-          now has two journalists in prison, one of them a
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      nents, including five journalists, three decades       state media employee.
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
continents.

47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51
presse@rsf.org
Read more :
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




Asia-Pacific area
                                 Burmese spring an exception to decline in
                                 freedom of information in Asia
                                 Only three Asian countries are in the top 25            In Vietnam and China, those involved in online
                                 percent of the table, while 15 countries are           news and information, such as bloggers and
                                 among the bottom 45 places. Unsurprisingly,            netizens, are forced to deal with increasingly
                                 one-party authoritarian governments figure             harsh repression. Many Tibetan monks have
                                 more than ever among the predators of press            been convicted or abducted for having sent
                                 freedom and languish at the bottom end of the          information abroad about the disastrous state
                                 table.                                                 of human rights in Tibet. Commercial news
                                                                                        outlets and foreign media organizations are still
                                                                                        censored regularly by the propaganda depart-
                                                                                        ment. Faced with the growing power of social
                                 Burma’s paper revolution                               networks and their ability to muster support, the
                                                                                        authorities have redoubled their efforts to hone
                                 Burma went through dramatic changes in 2012            their capability to track “sensitive” content and
                                 and moved up to 151th place, a rise of 18 places,      delete it immediately from the Web. In less than
                                 jumping ahead of its usual bedfellows in the           a year, Vietnamese courts have sentenced 12
                                 media repression stakes. There are no longer           bloggers and cyber-dissidents to jail terms of
                                 any journalists or cyber dissidents in the jails of    up to 13 years, making the country the world’s
                                 the old military dictatorship. Legislative reform      second biggest prison for netizens, after
                                 has only just begun but the steps already taken        China.	
                                 by the government in favour of the media, such
                                 as an end to prior censorship and the permit-
                                 ted return of media organizations from exile, are
                                 significant steps towards genuine freedom of           General decline in freedom
                                 information.
                                                                                        of information in South Asia
                                                                                        The Indian subcontinent was the Asian region
Reporters Without Borders
                                                                                        that saw the sharpest deterioration in the cli-
promotes and defends the         China, Vietnam, Laos,                                  mate for those involved in news and informa-
                                                                                        tion in 2012. In the Maldives, which crashed
freedom to be informed and
to inform others throughout      North Korea: no signs of                               to 103rd place (-30), the events that led to the
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 improvement                                            resignation of President Mohammed Nasheed
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,                                                              in February led to violence and threats against
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      North Korea (178th), China (173rd), Vietnam            journalists in state television and private media
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     (172nd) and Laos (168th), all ruled by authori-        outlets regarded as pro-Nasheed by the coup
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 tarian parties, still refuse to grant their citizens   leaders.
continents.                      the freedom to be informed. The control of news
                                 and information is a key issue for these govern-       Attacks on press freedom have increased since
47, rue Vivienne                 ment, which are horrified at the prospect of           then. Many journalists have been arrested,
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                 being open to criticism. North Korea’s leader          assaulted and threatened during anti-govern-
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           Kim Jong-un, who succeeded his father Kim              ment protests. On June 5, the freelance jour-
presse@rsf.org                   Jong-il on 30 December 2011, appears to rule           nalist and blogger Ismail “Hilath” Rasheed
Read more :                      in concert with the military junta.                    narrowly survived the first attempted murder of
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 a journalist in the archipelago.                      Afghanistan: genuine but
                                 Four journalists were killed in India and Ban-        fragile improvement
                                 gladesh in 2012, which fell to 140th and 144th
                                 respectively in the index. In India, the “world’s     Afghanistan (128th, +22) has a considerably
                                 biggest democracy”, the authorities insist on         better rating than in previous years, although
                                 censoring the Web and imposing more and               violence against journalists did not disappear
Asia-Pacific area                more taboos, while violence against journalists       completely and the government neglected to
                                 goes unpunished and the regions of Kashmir            tackle the issue of impunity. No journalists were
                                 and Chhattisgarh become increasingly isolated.        killed in 2012 and arrests of media workers
                                 Bangladesh is not far behind. Its journalists are     declined. The withdrawal of some foreign troops
                                 frequently targets of police violence. When they      from the international coalition and deteriorating
                                 are not acting as aggressors, the security forces     conditions in neighbouring Pakistan meant
                                 stand by passively while enemies of the media         these improvements were precarious.
                                 enjoy impunity and are rarely brought to justice.
                                 The killers of the journalists Sagar Sarowar and
                                 Meherun Runi, and those behind the double
                                 murder, remained at large and the investigation       Cambodia and Malaysia: drift
                                 was cynically entrusted to the Rapid Action Bat-
                                 talion where it remains bogged down.
                                                                                       towards authoritarianism
                                                                                       Conditions for the media are critical in Cambo-
                                 The ability of journalists to work freely in Pakis-   dia, which fell 26 places to 146th in the index,
                                 tan (159th, -8) and Nepal (118th, -12) continued      its lowest ever position. Since 2011, news orga-
                                 to worsen in the absence of any government            nizations, in particular independent local and
                                 policy to protect media workers. Despite having       foreign radio stations, have been subjected
                                 a diverse and lively media, Pakistan remains          to a policy of censorship orchestrated by an
                                 one of the world’s most dangerous countries for       increasingly ruthless information ministry. On 1
                                 reporters.                                            October 2012, Mam Sonando, the owner of an
                                                                                       independent radio station, was sentenced to 20
                                                                                       years’ imprisonment for insurrection and inciting
                                                                                       others to take up arms against the state. The
                                 Japan resorts to press                                decline in freedom of information also involved
                                 restrictions                                          deadly attacks and death threats aimed at jour-
                                                                                       nalists who exposed government corruption
                                 Japan, demoted from 22nd to 53rd place,               and illegal activities harmful to the environment.
                                 recorded the biggest drop of any Asian country.
                                 The reason was the ban imposed by the authori-        Malaysia (145th) also presented a sorry record,
                                 ties on independent coverage of any topic rela-       falling 23 places to a position below the one it
                                 ted directly or indirectly to the accident at the     had in 2002. Despite an all-out battle by rights
Reporters Without Borders
                                 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Seve-          activists and online media outlets, a campaign
promotes and defends the         ral freelance journalists who complained that         of repression by the government, illustrated by
freedom to be informed and       public debate was being stifled were subjected        the crackdown on the “Bersih 3.0” protest in
to inform others throughout      to censorship, police intimidation and judicial       April, and repeated censorship efforts, continue
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 harassment.                                           to undermine basic freedoms, in particular the
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,                                                             right to information.
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      The continued existence of the discriminatory
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     system of “kisha clubs”, exclusive press clubs
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 which restrict access to information to their own
continents.                      members, is a key element that could prevent          Papua-New Guinea and Fiji:
47, rue Vivienne
                                 the country from moving up the index signifi-
                                 cantly in the near future.
                                                                                       threats against journalists
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                                                                       greeted with indifference
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51
presse@rsf.org                                                                         Threats to the media should not be taken lightly
Read more :                                                                            in these two Pacific archipelagos. In Papua-
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 New Guinea (41st, -6), the security forces are
                                 regularly involved in attacks on journalists. In Fiji
                                 (107th), despite a 10-place rise explained in part
                                 by the decline of other countries in this section
                                 of the index, news organizations are threatened
                                 under the Media Industry Development Decree
                                 with exorbitant fines, or even imprisonment, as
Asia-Pacific area                in the case of a recently convicted editor of the
                                 Fiji Times. 	




Reporters Without Borders
promotes and defends the
freedom to be informed and
to inform others throughout
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,
Madrid, Montreal, New York,
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
continents.

47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51
presse@rsf.org
Read more :
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




EUROPe And ex-urss
                                 Stagnation in Eastern Europe
                                 and Central Asia

                                 Outside the Euro-                                   Hungary (56tth -16) is still paying the price of
                                                                                     repressive legislation that has had a palpable
                                 pean Union, freedom                                 effect on how journalism is practised. However,
                                                                                     more worrying is the fall of Greece (84th, -14),
                                 of information is in a                              whose journalists operate in a disastrous social
                                                                                     and professional atmosphere. Exposed to
                                 state of collapse. Wit-                             popular anger and continually facing violence
                                                                                     on the part of both extremists and the police,
                                 hin its borders, Hun-                               reporters and photojournalists must now cope
                                                                                     with the ultra-violent neo-Nazi activists of the
                                 gary and Greece have                                Golden Dawn party. The country has moved
                                                                                     closer to Bulgaria (87th, -7), whose promises of
                                 slumped. The Balkans                                reform came to nothing and where the Internet
                                                                                     ceased to be a safe place for freelance jour-
                                 remain rooted in the                                nalists.

                                 repressive practices                                For Croatia (64th, +4), due to join the EU in
                                                                                     June this year, and Serbia (63rd, +17) the pic-
                                 of the past.                                        ture is mixed. Legislative reforms have brought
                                                                                     an improvement, but it should not be forgotten
                                 The status quo was maintained in many of the        that there are still many obstacles to overcome
                                 countries in the European Union. Sixteen were       and old habits that are harmful to independent
                                 listed among the top 30. At first sight, this was   journalism still linger. Albania (102nd, -6), Mon-
                                 encouraging, but it concealed the slow erosion      tenegro (113rd, -6), and especially Macedonia
                                 of the European model as a result of inconsis-      (116th, -22) bring up the rear of the index for
Reporters Without Borders
                                 tencies and worrying developments among the         the Balkans with the same sorry record: judi-
promotes and defends the         other 11 countries, some of which fell below 80th   cial harassment based on often inappropriate
freedom to be informed and       place.                                              legislation, the lack of access to public data,
to inform others throughout                                                          physical and psychological violence against
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 The legislative haemorrhage that began in 2011      those who work in news and information, official
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       continued unabated in 2012, notably in Italy        and private advertising markets used as a tool,
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      where the decriminalization of defamation has       the grey economy’s hold over vital parts of the
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     not yet been achieved and where institutions        media. All are obstacles to the right to report the
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 make dangerous use of “gagging laws”. The           news and people’s right to know it. Following
continents.                      effects of stagnating advertising and budget        the dangerous examples of Hungary and Italy,
                                 cuts, which constantly undermine the busi-          the Macedonian parliament is preparing to
47, rue Vivienne                 ness model, are also starting to be felt. France    ”legalize censorship”, continually blowing hot
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                 (up one to 37) has marked time pending pro-         and cold towards a profession that is often out
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           gress on the good intentions voiced by the new      on its own.
presse@rsf.org                   government.
Read more :
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 Race to the bottom by                               tion attempts, arrests and intimidation aimed
                                                                                     at independent journalists, ending with the
                                 Eastern Europe and                                  outright closure of the main national opposition
                                                                                     news organizations.
                                 Central Asia                                        Tajikistan (123rd, -1), struggling to catch up with
                                 	        	                                          its neighbours in the cyber censorship stakes,
                                                                                     recruited an army of “volunteers” to monitor the
Europe                           Bad models for the region                           Internet and blocked independent news sites

and ex-URSS                      Despite a varied and lively media, Turkey (154th,
                                                                                     as well as Facebook with increasing frequency.

                                 -6) lies in an unworthy position as the regional
                                 model which it aspires to be. In the name of
                                 the fight against terrorism, democratic Turkey      Azerbaijan and Belarus: return
                                 is today the world’s biggest prison for journa-
                                 lists. The state’s paranoia about security, which
                                                                                     to the status quo
                                 has a tendency to see every criticism as a plot     The rise of Azerbaijan (156th, +6) and Belarus
                                 hatched by a variety of illegal organizations,      (157th, +11) offers little cause for celebration.
                                 intensified even more during a year marked by       It represents a return to the status quo before
                                 rising tension over the Kurdish question. Will      2011’s violent crackdowns on protest demons-
                                 the announcement of reform of the anti-terrorist    trations. Dozens of journalists were arrested
                                 laws, promised many times but always rejected,      and beaten up, pushing the two dictatorships
                                 and the resumption of talks between the autho-      towards the bottom of the index. But the hori-
                                 rities and rebels of the Kurdish PKK, lead to a     zon is still obscured by the shadows cast by the
                                 genuine change in approach?                         huge egos of Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham
                                                                                     Aliyev. Independent journalists and netizens
                                 Russia (148th, -6) set a tone of increased          remain at great risk in carrying out their duty
                                 repression in the former Soviet Union in 2012.      of keeping the public informed. In Azerbaijan,
                                 Opposition protests on an unprecedented scale       the noose tightened around what remained of
                                 showed civil society to be more vocal than          the opposition media and several journalists
                                 ever. The state responded with a wholesale          languished behind bars without trial in appal-
                                 crackdown: re-criminalization of defamation,        ling conditions. The year 2013 began with fresh
                                 tighter control of the Internet, making foreign     arrests and widespread violence, which point to
                                 funding of human rights organizations a crime.      a further downward slide in the next index.
                                 This marked start of a new era in relations
                                 between the state and society that presents
                                 huge challenges for freedom of information.
                                                                                     Bottom of the list: Turkmenis-
                                 Just as it assumed the rotating chairmanship of
                                 the Organization for Security and Co-operation
                                                                                     tan and Uzbekistan remain a
Reporters Without Borders
promotes and defends the         in Europe (OSCE) Ukraine (126th, -10) set the       nightmare for journalists
freedom to be informed and       worst record for the media since the Orange
to inform others throughout      Revolution in 2004. The chronically high level      In Uzbekistan (164th, -7) and Turkmenistan
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                 of violence towards journalists hit a new peak,     (177th, 0), there is little change from one year
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       while impunity remained total. Such an unheal-      to the next. The sinister dictatorship of Uzbek
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      thy atmosphere served only to increase the          President Islam Karimov refined its control of
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     vulnerability of independent news outlets to        the Internet, maintained a stranglehold on the
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 ever-stronger pressure.                             media and kept a dozen journalists in prison in
continents.                                                                          appalling conditions. The official proclamation
                                 Kazakhstan (160th, -6) reached a turning point      of a multi-party system and freedom of expres-
47, rue Vivienne                 in 2012. President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s           sion brought no changes whatsoever to the
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                 government, forging ahead with its policies of      totalitarian rule in Turkmenistan which, as in
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           repression, moved closer to the ultra-authori-      previous years, rubbed shoulders with North
presse@rsf.org                   tarian model of its neighbours in Uzbekistan        Korea and Eritrea in the world index.
Read more :                      and Turkmenistan. The year saw assassina-
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 Leading group dispersed but
                                 face common challenges
                                 Despite their wide dispersal in this edition of the
                                 index, Moldova (55th, -2), Armenia (74th, +3),
                                 Georgia (100th, +4) and Kyrgyzstan (106th,
                                 +2) have a number of things in common. These
Europe                           countries enjoy broad media pluralism and a

and ex-URSS                      low level of state censorship, but they still face
                                 important challenges concerning media inde-
                                 pendence and the working environment of jour-
                                 nalists. The latter are often in the firing line in
                                 highly polarized societies and treated as easy
                                 prey by a variety of pressure groups.




Reporters Without Borders
promotes and defends the
freedom to be informed and
to inform others throughout
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,
Madrid, Montreal, New York,
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
continents.

47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51
presse@rsf.org
Read more :
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




Middle east
& north africa
                                 2012 – Year Two of the new Arab world
                                      ­
                                 “Arab spring” uprisings caused a lot of move-           impact on freedom of information. Libya’s ran-
                                 ments in the Press Freedom Index in 2011                king the year before was affected by all the vio-
                                 and the situation was still very mixed in 2012,         lations in 2011, when Gaddafi was still clinging
                                 with countries where governments have fallen,           to power. The improvements nonetheless need
                                 countries where they still survive but are facing       to be confirmed by the inclusion of freedom of
                                 uprisings, and countries where, by dint of com-         information in the constitution and the adoption
                                 promises and promises, they have managed to             of laws guaranteeing this freedom and pro-
                                 assuage the demands for change.                         viding real protection for journalists and safe-
                                                                                         guards for media pluralism and independence.

                                                                                         Two years after Ben Ali’s fall, Tunisia (138th)
                                 Syria and Bahrain at the                                slipped four places, after jumping more than
                                                                                         30 places in 2011. Why? Because there was
                                 bottom of the index                                     an increase in attacks on journalists in the first
                                                                                         quarter of 2012 and because the authorities
                                 Syria is ranked 176th in the index, fourth from         have maintained a judicial void by delaying the
                                 last. Of all the ranked countries, it is the one that   implementation of decree-laws regulating the
                                 saw the most attacks on freedom of informa-             media. This allowed them to arbitrarily appoint
                                 tion. Journalists are targeted by all the parties       people to run the state-owned media. Further-
                                 to the conflict – the regular army and the various      more, politicians often refer to journalists and
                                 opposition factions – who are waging an infor-          news media with contempt or even hate.
                                 mation war.
                                                                                         Egypt (158th) rose eight places, two years
                                 Bahrain (165th) rose eight places, after limited        after Hosni Mubarak’s departure. This was a
                                 improvement. The government crackdown                   slight improvement on 2011, when violence
                                 continued in 2012 but was slightly less violent         against media personnel caused the country to
                                 than the previous year, when the country plun-          plummet 39 places from 127th. Journalists and
                                 ged 29 places. In all, Bahrain has fallen 66            netizens continue to be the targets of physical
Reporters Without Borders
                                 places in the space of four years and is now in         attacks, arrests and trials and one was fatally
promotes and defends the         the bottom 20.                                          injured in December. Shortly after winning elec-
freedom to be informed and                                                               tions, the Muslim Brotherhood appointed new
to inform others throughout                                                              executives and editors to run the state newspa-
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                                                                         pers, which had a major impact on their editorial
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       Fertile revolutions for freedom                         policies. The constitution adopted at the end of
Madrid, Montreal, New York,                                                              2012 contains vaguely-worded provisions that
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and
Washington DC) and more than
                                 of information?                                         clearly threaten freedoms. News media can still
150 correspondents in all five
                                                                                         be closed or seized on the orders of a judge.
continents.                      After the fall of dictators, the promises of media
                                 pluralism and independence are not always               Yemen (171st, +2) continued to languish in
47, rue Vivienne                 sufficiently translated into action.                    the bottom ten. There have been no legislative
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                                                                         changes in the year since Abd Rab Mansour
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           Libya (131st, +23) rose more than 20 places.            Hadi took over as president. Journalists are still
presse@rsf.org                   This jump was due to the overthrow of Muam-             exposed to physical attacks, prosecution and
Read more :                      mar Gaddafi’s 42-year regime and its positive           even jail sentences. A bill on privately-owned
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index




                                 broadcasts and electronic media with a num-           Palestine (146th) is still in the bottom quarter but
                                 ber of draconian provisions, which was submit-        it rose eight places. An improvement in relations
                                 ted to parliament in 2012, has not been totally       between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas
                                 abandoned.                                            has had a positive impact on freedom of infor-
                                                                                       mation and the working environment for journa-
                                                                                       lists.

Middle East and                  Countries «spared» by Arab                            Iraq (150th) rose two places, but this followed a
                                                                                       fall of 22 places last year. The security situation
North Africa                     springs rein in news providers                        for journalists continues to be very worrying,
                                                                                       with three killed in connection with their work in
                                 Buffeted by social and economic protests, the         2012 and seven killed in 2011. Journalists are
                                 Sultanate of Oman (141st) sank 24 places, the         constantly obstructed.
                                 biggest fall in the Middle East and North Africa
                                 in 2012. Some 50 netizens and bloggers were           There were only slight changes in the rankings
                                 prosecuted on lèse-majesté or cyber-crime             of Saudi Arabia (163rd, -5), Kuwait (77th, +1)
                                 charges in 2012. No fewer than 28 were convic-        and the United Arab Emirates (114th, -2).
                                 ted in December alone, in trials that trampled on
                                 defence rights. The authorities gave promises         Lebanon (101st) fell eight places, after its media
                                 in response to demands for political, social and      became more polarized by neighbouring Syria’s
                                 economic change but did not carry them out.           civil war. Its journalists are exposed to arbitrary
                                                                                       detention and mistreatment.
                                 A repressive royal decree in September was
                                 one of the reasons why Jordan (134th, -6) fell.       The 20-place fall of Israel (112nd) is due to
                                 The decree changed the press law and dras-            the actions of the Israel Defence Forces in the
                                 tically restricted freedom of information, espe-      Palestinian Territories – actions that used to be
                                 cially for online media, brushing aside all the       given a separate ranking in the index under the
                                 reform promises that the government gave at           label of “Israel extraterritorial”. During Opera-
                                 the height of the popular unrest in 2011. Journa-     tion “Pillar of Defence” in November 2012, IDF
                                 lists are being tried before military courts, espe-   deliberately targeted journalists and buildings
                                 cially when they criticize the royal family.          housing media that are affiliated to Hamas or
                                                                                       support it. And the arbitrary arrest and detention
                                 Algeria (125th, -3) fell a few places because         of Palestinian journalists is still commonplace.
                                 journalists were the targets of both physical         Israeli journalists meanwhile enjoy real freedom
                                 attacks and judicial proceedings, and because         of expression but military censorship continues
                                 of an increase in economic pressure on inde-          to be a structural problem.
                                 pendent media. More than a year after parlia-
                                 ment passed a law that is supposed to abolish
                                 the state’s broadcasting monopoly, there are still
Reporters Without Borders
                                 no privately-owned TV stations because a regu-        Relatives held hostage in Iran
promotes and defends the         latory authority, an essential prior condition, has
freedom to be informed and       still not been created. So, for the time being, the   Somalia’s fall in the index due to the many
to inform others throughout      new law is nothing but window dressing.               deaths of journalists there in 2012 allowed Iran
the world. Based in Paris, it
has ten international offices
                                                                                       (174th) to rise one place. Its print and broadcast
(Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       The ranking of Morocco (136th, +2) is stable.         media and news websites are all controlled by
Madrid, Montreal, New York,      Media reform was announced after Prime Minis-         the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutio-
Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     ter Abdelilah Benkirane took office in November       nary Guards. The authorities have internationa-
Washington DC) and more than
150 correspondents in all five
                                 2011 but his government is dragging its feet          lized their repression by making hostages out
continents.                      on the promised changes, especially decri-            of the relatives of Iranian journalists who work
                                 minalization of media offences. Decisions on          abroad or in Iran for foreign news media. The
47, rue Vivienne                 such matters as the granting and withdrawal of        Islamic Republic is one of the world’s five big-
75002 Paris,
Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                 accreditation are often arbitrary and lacking in      gest prisons for news and information provi-
Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           transparency.                                         ders.
presse@rsf.org
Read more :
www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index

E PRESS WORLDWIDE IN 2013
                                    2013 press freedom index

                                    How we compiled the 2013
                                    Press Freedom Index
                                    The press freedom index that Reporters Without           in access to journalism and journalism training is
                                    Borders publishes every year measures the level          also included.
                                    of freedom of information in nearly 180 countries.
                                    It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists,      A score and a position are assigned to each
                                    news organizations and netizens enjoy in each
                                                                  FIJI                       country in the final ranking. They are complemen-
                                    country, and the efforts made by the authorities to      tary indicators that together assess the state of
                                    respect and ensure respect for this freedom.             press freedom. In order to make the index more
                                                                                             informative and make it easier to compare dif-
                                    It is based partly on a questionnaire that is sent to    ferent years, scores will henceforth range from 0
                                    our partner organizations (18 freedom of expres-         to 100, with 0 being the best possible score and
                                    sion NGOs located in all five continents), to our        100 the worst.
                                    network of 150 correspondents, and to journalists,
RESSE DANS LE MONDE EN 2013         researchers, jurists and human rights activists.         The index reflects the situation during a specific
                                                                                             period. This year’s index is based solely on events
                                    The 179 countries ranked in this year’s index            between the start of December 2011 and the end
                                    are those for which Reporters Without Borders            of November 2012. It does not look at human
                                    received completed questionnaires from various           rights violations in general, just violations of free-
                                    sources. Some countries were not included                dom of information.
                                    because of a lack of reliable, confirmed data.
                                                                                             The index should in no way be taken as an indi-
                                    This year, there has been a major change in the          cation of the quality of the media in the countries
                                    method used to compile the index, including the          concerned.
                                    use of a new questionnaire. Quantitative ques-
                                    tions about the number of violations of different
                                    kinds are now handled by our staff. They include
                                    the number of journalists, media assistants and          How we score countries
                                    netizens who were jailed or killed in the connec-
                                    tion with their activities, the number of journalists    The questions consider six general criteria. Using
                                    abducted, the number that fled into exile, the           a system of weighting for each possible response,
                                    number of physical attacks and arrests, and the          countries are given a score of between 0 and 100
                                    number of media censored. In the event of a mili-        for each of the six overall criteria. These scores
                                    tary occupation of one or more territories, any vio-     are then used as indicators in calculating each
                                    lations by representatives of the occupying force        country’s final score.
   Reporters Without Borders
                                    are treated as violations of the right to information
   promotes and defends the         in foreign territory and are incorporated into the       Pluralism
   freedom to be informed and       score of the occupying force’s country.                  [indicator Plu]
   to inform others throughout                                                               Measures the degree to which opinions are repre-
   the world. Based in Paris, it
   has ten international offices
                                    The rest of the questionnaire, which is sent to out-     sented in the media
   (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,       side experts and members of the RWB network,
   Madrid, Montreal, New York,      concentrates on issues that are hard to quantify         Media independence
   Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and     such as the degree to which news providers cen-          [indicator Ind]
   Washington DC) and more than
   150 correspondents in all five
                                    sor themselves, government interference in edi-          Measures the degree to which the media are able
   continents.                      torial content, or the transparency of government        to function independently of the authorities
                                    decision-making. Legislation and its effective-
   47, rue Vivienne                 ness are the subject of more detailed questions.         Environment and self-censorship
   75002 Paris,
   Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
                                    Questions have been added or expanded, for               [indicator EnA]
   Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51           example, questions about concentration of media          Analyses the environment in which journalists
   presse@rsf.org                   ownership and favouritism in the allocation of sub-      work
   Read more :                      sidies or state advertising. Similarly, discrimination
   www.rsf.org
2013 World Press Freedom Index

E PRESS WORLDWIDE IN 2013


                                    Legislative framework                                               The final score is determined as follows:
                                    [indicator CaL]
                                    Analyses the quality of the legislative framework
                                    and measures its effectiveness

                                    Transparency
                                    [indicator Tra]
                                    Measures the transparency of the institutions and
                                    procedures that affect the production of news and                   The violence score (scoreExa) is calculated
                                    information                                                         according to the following formula:
                                                                       FIJI




                                    Infrastructure
                                    [indicator Inf]
                                    Measures the quality of the infrastructure that sup-
                                    ports the production of news and information
                                                                                                        The longer a journalist, netizen or media assis-
                                    Reporters Without Borders meanwhile calculates                      tant is imprisoned, the more this imprisonment
                                    a score of between 0 and 100 reflecting the level                   penalizes the country concerned. The weighting
RESSE DANS LE MONDE EN 2013         of violence against journalists during the period
                                    considered. The score is based on the monitoring
                                                                                                        coefficient has the following values, based on the
                                                                                                        length of imprisonment in years :
                                    carried out by RWB’s own staff.

                                    The overall score, the one that determines a
                                    country’s ranking, is calculated on the basis of
                                    these seven scores in a three-step process. A
                                    first score (SCOA) is calculated on the basis of
                                    the questionnaire alone, using the following wei-
                                    ghting:

                                    A second score uses the first score but incorpo-
                                    rates the violence score, giving it a weight of 20%:




                                                     1-        2              3     4          5         6          7         8          9        10           10+


                                                    10         20             35    60        80        85         87        88         89       89,5
   Reporters Without Borders
   promotes and defends the
   freedom to be informed and
   to inform others throughout
   the world. Based in Paris, it
   has ten international offices
   (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva,
   Madrid, Montreal, New York,
   Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and
   Washington DC) and more than
   150 correspondents in all five
   continents.

   47, rue Vivienne
   75002 Paris,
   Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56
   Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51
   presse@rsf.org                   1.        : number of dead,           : number of imprisoned since years,               : number of kidnapped,       : number of
   Read more :                      media attacked and ransacked,          : number who have fled the country,           : number of arrests,      : number of physical
   www.rsf.org                      attacks,           : score on respect for freedom of information in foreign territory.
Classement 2013 gb-bd
Classement 2013 gb-bd
Classement 2013 gb-bd
Classement 2013 gb-bd
Classement 2013 gb-bd
Classement 2013 gb-bd
Classement 2013 gb-bd

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Classement 2013 gb-bd

  • 2. 2013 World Press Freedom Index 2013 Press Freedom Index dashed hopes follow spring Reporters Without Borders “In dictatorships, news providers and their fami- launches media lies are exposed to ruthless reprisals, while in democracies news providers have to cope freedom “indicator” with the media’s economic crises and conflicts of interest. While their situation is not always comparable, we should pay tribute to all those After the “Arab springs” and other protest who resist pressure whether it is aggressively movements that prompted many rises and falls focused or diffuse.” in last year’s index, the 2013 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index marks a Coinciding with the release of its 2013 Press return to a more usual configuration. Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders is The ranking of most countries is no longer attri- for the first time publishing an annual global butable to dramatic political developments. This “indicator” of worldwide media freedom. year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media This new analytic tool measures the overall level freedom in the medium or long term. of freedom of information in the world and the performance of the world’s governments in their The same three European countries that headed entirety as regards this key freedom. the index last year hold the top three positions again this year. For the third year running, Fin- In view of the emergence of new technologies land has distinguished itself as the country that and the interdependence of governments and most respects media freedom. It is followed by peoples, the freedom to produce and circulate the Netherlands and Norway. news and information needs to be evaluated at the planetary as well as national level. Today, Although many criteria are considered, ranging in 2013, the media freedom “indicator” stands from legislation to violence against journalists, at 3395, a point of reference for the years to democratic countries occupy the top of the come1. index while dictatorial countries occupy the last three positions. Again it is the same three The indicator can also be broken down by as last year – Turkmenistan, North Korea and region and, by means of weighting based on Eritrea. the population of each region, can be used to produce a score from zero to 100 in which zero “The Press Freedom Index published by Repor- represents total respect for media freedom. Reporters Without Borders ters Without Borders does not take direct promotes and defends the account of the kind of political system but it is This produces a score of 17.5 for Europe2, 30.0 freedom to be informed and clear that democracies provide better protec- for the Americas, 34.3 for Africa, 42.2 for Asia- to inform others throughout tion for the freedom to produce and circulate Pacific and 45.3 for the former Soviet republics. the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices accurate news and information than countries Despite the Arab springs, the Middle East and (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, where human rights are flouted,” Reporters North Africa region comes last with 48.5. Madrid, Montreal, New York, Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Deloire said. The high number of journalists and netizens Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five killed in the course of their work in 2012 (the continents. 47, rue Vivienne 1. The method of compiling the press freedom index has changed slightly and the range of criteria has been 75002 Paris, expanded in order to better evaluate all the factors that determine the level of freedom of information in a Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 country. The indicator is the sum of the scores of all the countries in the press freedom index. Like individual Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 country scores, the higher the figure, the worse the situation. The lower the figure, the better (see “How we presse@rsf.org compiled the 2013 Press Freedom Index”). Read more : www.rsf.org 2. The region consists of the European Union, Norway, Switzerland and the Balkans.
  • 3. 2013 World Press Freedom Index deadliest year ever registered by Reporters Wit- before the excesses at the end of the Mutha- hout Borders in its annual roundup), naturally rika administration. Côte d’Ivoire (96th, +63), had an a significant impact on the ranking of which is emerging from the post-electoral crisis the countries where these murders took place, between the supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and above all Somalia (175th, -11), Syria (176th, 0), Alassane Ouattara, has also soared, attaining Mexico (153rd, -4) and Pakistan (159th, -8). its best position since 2003. Burma (151st, +18) continued the ascent begun in last year’s index. Previously, it had been in From top to bottom the bottom 15 every year since 2002 but now, thanks to the Burmese spring’s unprecedented The Nordic countries have again demonstrated reforms, it has reached its best-ever position. their ability to maintain an optimal environment Afghanistan (128th, +22) also registered a for news providers. Finland (1st, 0), Nether- significant rise thanks to the fact that no journa- lands (2nd, +1) and Norway (3rd, -2) have held lists are in prison. It is nonetheless facing many on to the first three places. Canada (20th, -10) challenges, especially with the withdrawal of only just avoided dropping out of the top 20. foreign troops. Andorra (5th) and Liechtenstein (7th) have entered the index for the first time just behind the three leaders. ...and big falls At the other end of the index, the same three countries as ever – Turkmenistan, North Mali (99th, -74) registered the biggest fall in the Korea and Eritrea – occupy the last three index as a result of all the turmoil in 2012. The places in the index. Kim Jong-un’s arrival at the military coup in Bamako on 22 March and the head of the Hermit Kingdom has not in any way north’s takeover by armed Islamists and Tua- changed the regime’s absolute control of news reg separatists exposed the media in the north and information. Eritrea (179th, 0), which was to censorship and violence. Tanzania (70th, recently shaken by a brief mutiny by soldiers at -36) sank more than 30 places because, in the the information ministry, continues to be a vast space of four months, a journalist was killed open prison for its people and lets journalists while covering a demonstration and another die in detention. Despite its reformist discourse, was murdered. the Turkmen regime has not yielded an inch of its totalitarian control of the media. Buffeted by social and economic protests, the Sultanate of Oman (141st) sank 24 places, the For the second year running, the bottom three biggest fall in the Middle East and North Africa countries are immediately preceded by Syria in 2012. Some 50 netizens and bloggers were (176th, 0), where a deadly information war is prosecuted on lèse majesté or cyber-crime being waged, and Somalia (175th, -11), which charges in 2012. No fewer than 28 were convic- Reporters Without Borders has had a deadly year for journalists. Iran (174th, ted in December alone, in trials that trampled promotes and defends the +1), China (173rd, +1), Vietnam (unchanged at on defence rights. freedom to be informed and 172nd), Cuba (171st, -4), Sudan (170th, 0) and to inform others throughout Yemen (169th, +2) complete the list of the ten Journalists in Israel (112th, -20) enjoy real free- the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices countries that respect media freedom least. dom of expression despite the existence of mili- (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Not content with imprisoning journalists and tary censorship but the country fell in the index Madrid, Montreal, New York, netizens, Iran also harasses the relatives of jour- because of the Israeli military’s targeting of jour- Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and nalists, including the relatives of those who are nalists in the Palestinian Territories. Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five abroad. continents. In Asia, Japan (53rd, -31) has been affected by a lack of transparency and almost zero respect 47, rue Vivienne for access to information on subjects directly or 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Big rises... indirectly related to Fukushima. This sharp fall Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 should sound an alarm. Malaysia (145th, -23) presse@rsf.org Malawi (75th, +71) registered the biggest leap in has fallen to its lowest-ever position because Read more : the index, almost returning to the position it held access to information is becoming more and www.rsf.org
  • 4. 2013 World Press Freedom Index more limited. The same situation prevails in Other countries hit by protests saw changes for Cambodia (143rd, -26), where authoritarianism the better and worse. Vietnam (172nd, 0) failed and censorship are on the increase. Macedo- to recover the six places it lost in the previous nia (116th, -22) has also fallen more than 20 index. The world’s second biggest prison for places following the arbitrary withdrawal of netizens, it has remained in the bottom ten. media licences and deterioration in the environ- Uganda (104th, +35) has recovered a more ment for journalists. appropriate position although it has not gone back to where it was before cracking down on protests in 2011. Varied impact of major protest Azerbaijan (156th, +6) and Belarus (157th, movements +11) both fell last year after using violence to suppress opposition demonstrations and this Last year’s index was marked by the Arab year they just moved back towards their appal- spring’s major news developments and the ling former positions. Chile (60th, +20) is begin- heavy price paid by those covering the protest ning to recover after plummeting 33 places to movements. A range of scenarios has been 80th in last year’s index. seen in 2012, including countries such as Tuni- sia, Egypt and Libya, where regime change has taken place, countries such as Syria and Bahrain where uprisings and the resulting Political instability puts repression are still ongoing, and countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Oman, Jordan and journalists in the eye of the Saudi Arabia, where the authorities have used storm promises and compromise to defuse calls for political and/or social and economic change. Political instability often has a divisive effect on the media and makes it very difficult to produce Some of the new governments spawned by independently-reported news and information. these protest movements have turned on the In such situations, threats and physical attacks journalists and netizens who covered these on journalists and staff purges are common. movements’ demands and aspirations for Maldives (103rd, -30) fell sharply after the pres- more freedom. What with legal voids, arbitrary ident’s removal in an alleged coup, followed by appointments of state media chiefs, physical threats and attacks on journalists regarded as attacks, trials and a lack of transparency, Tuni- his supporters. In Paraguay (91st, -11), the pre- sia (138th, -4) and Egypt (158th, +8) have remai- sident’s removal in a parliamentary “coup” on ned at a deplorable level in the index and have 22 June 2012 had a big impact on state-owned highlighted the stumbling blocks that Libya broadcasting, with a wave of arbitrary dismis- (131st, +23) should avoid in order to maintain its sals against a backdrop of unfair frequency transition to a free press. allocation. Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the The deadliest country for journalists in 2012 was Guinea-Bissau (92nd, -17) fell sharply because freedom to be informed and Syria (176th, 0), where journalists and netizens the army overthrew the government between to inform others throughout are the victims of an information war waged by the first and second rounds of a presidential the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices both the Assad regime, which stops at nothing election and imposed military censorship on the (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, in order to crack down and impose a news media. In Mali (99th, -74), a military coup fuelled Madrid, Montreal, New York, blackout, and by opposition factions that are tension, many journalists were physically attac- Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and increasingly intolerant of dissent. In Bahrain ked in the capital and the army now controls the Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five (165th, +8) the repression let up slightly, while state-owned media. This index does not reflect continents. in Yemen (169th, +2) the prospects continue the January 2013 turmoil in the Central African to be disturbing despite a change of govern- Republic (65th, -3) but its impact on media free- 47, rue Vivienne ment. Oman (141st, -24) fell sharply because of dom is already a source of extreme concern. 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 a wave of arrests of netizens. Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 presse@rsf.org Read more : www.rsf.org
  • 5. 2013 World Press Freedom Index “Regional models” found time, is no longer in the top 50. Investigative wanting journalism is threatened by the Protection of State Information Bill. In almost all parts of the world, influen- tial countries that are regarded as “regional models” have fallen in the index. Brazil (108th, -9), South America’s economic engine, conti- Democracies that stall or go nued last year’s fall because five journalists were killed in 2012 and because of persistent into reverse problems affecting media pluralism. The situation is unchanged for much of the European Union. Sixteen of its members are In Asia, India (140th, -9) is at its lowest since still in the top 30. But the European model is 2002 because of increasing impunity for vio- unravelling. The bad legislation seen in 2011 lence against journalists and because Internet continued, especially in Italy (57th, +4), where censorship continues to grow. China (173rd, +1) defamation has yet to be decriminalized and shows no sign of improving. Its prisons still hold state agencies make dangerous use of gag many journalists and netizens, while increasin- laws. Hungary (56th, -16) is still paying the price gly unpopular Internet censorship continues to of its repressive legislative reforms, which had be a major obstacle to access to information. a major impact on the way journalists work. But Greece’s dramatic fall (84th, -14) is even more In Eastern Europe, Russia (148th, -6) has fallen disturbing. The social and professional envi- again because, since Vladimir Putin’s return to ronment for its journalists, who are exposed to the presidency, repression has been stepped public condemnation and violence from both up in response to an unprecedented wave of extremist groups and the police, is disastrous. opposition protests. The country also continues to be marked by the unacceptable failure to Japan (53rd, -31) plummeted because of cen- punish all those who have murdered or attacked sorship of nuclear industry coverage and its journalists. The political importance of Turkey failure to reform the “kisha club” system. This (154th, -6) has grown even more because of is an alarming fall for a country that usually has the armed conflict in neighbouring Syria but it a good ranking. Argentina (54th, -7) fell amid has again fallen in the index. It is currently the growing tension between the government and world’s biggest prison for journalists, especially certain privately-owned media about a new law those who express views critical of the authori- regulating the broadcast media. ties on the Kurdish issue. There is no comparison with South Africa (52nd, -10), where freedom of information is a reality. It still has a respectable ranking but it has been slipping steadily in the index and, for the first Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Madrid, Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five continents. 47, rue Vivienne 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 presse@rsf.org Read more : www.rsf.org
  • 6. 2013 World Press Freedom Index africa East Africa stagnates near bottom of the index, Mali nosedives East Africa: journalists’ Political unrest in Mali and the graveyard Central African Republic In Somalia (175th, -11) 18 journalists were kil- Mali (99th, -74), which was long presented as led, caught up in bomb attacks or the direct the continent’s star performer in democracy and targets of murder, making 2012 the deadliest press freedom, was prey to the political events in history for the country’s media. The Horn of that overtook it during the year. The military Africa state was the second most dangerous coup in Bamako on 22 March and the seizure country in the world for those working in news of the north of the country by Touareg separa- and information, behind Syria. In Eritrea (in last tists and Islamic fundamentalists exposed news place in the index for the sixth successive year), organizations to censorship and abuses. Many no journalists were killed but some were left to northern radio stations stopped broadcasting, die, which amounts to the same thing. With at while in the capital several Malian and foreign least 30 behind bars, it is Africa’s biggest prison journalists were assaulted. All these occur- for journalists. Of 11 incarcerated since 2001, red before the external military intervention in 7 have died as a result of prison conditions or January 2013. have killed themselves. Since the independent media were abolished more than 10 years ago, The Central African Republic was ranked 65th there are no independent Eritrean news outlets, in 2012. Events after the outbreak of the Sele- other than outside the country, and terror pre- ka rebellion at the very end of the year (radio vails. stations ransacked, one journalist killed) were not taken into consideration in this index, thus East Africa is also a region of censorship and preventing the country from falling more than Reporters Without Borders crackdowns. Omar al-Bashir’s Sudan, where 50 places. These will be included in the 2014 promotes and defends the more newspapers were seized and the arrests version. In Guinea-Bissau (92nd, -17) a media freedom to be informed and of journalists continued during the summer, is blackout and military censorship that followed to inform others throughout stuck firmly in 170th place, in the bottom 10 of the coup on 12 April explain that country’s drop. the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices the index. Djibouti (167th, -8), which also has no (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, independent media, detained a correspondent Madrid, Montreal, New York, of the foreign-based news site La Voix de Dji- Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than bouti. Despite the release of two Swedish jour- Africa’s predatory censors 150 correspondents in all five nalists arrested in 2011, Ethiopia (137th) fell ten continents. places because of its repressive application of Yahya Jammeh, King Mswati III, Paul Kagame, the 2009 anti-terrorist law and the continued and Teodoro Obiang Nguema, together 47, rue Vivienne detention of several local journalists. with other heads of state such as Issaias 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Afeworki (Eritrea) and Ismael Omar Guelleh Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 (Djibouti) are members of an exclusive club of presse@rsf.org authoritarian African leaders, some eccentric Read more : others stern, who hold their countries in an www.rsf.org
  • 7. 2013 World Press Freedom Index iron grasp and keep a firm grip on news and Bingu Wa Mutharika, a violent crackdown on information. Their countries, respectively demonstrations and the murder of the blogger Gambia (152nd), Swaziland (155th), Rwanda Robert Chasowa, Malawi (75th) recorded the (161st) and Equatorial Guinea (166th), are biggest jump in the entire index, up 71 places, all among the bottom 30 in the index. Media close to the position it held in 2010. Similarly, pluralism has been whittled away and criticism Côte d’Ivoire rose 63 places to 96th despite of the head of state discouraged. persistent problems. It had plummeted in the previous index because of a post-election cri- Africa sis and the murders of a journalist and another media worker, as well as the civil conflict that The biggest losses broke out in Abidjan in April. Uganda (104th) was up 35 places thanks to a better year, but Chad, which fell 18 places to 121st, saw journa- things were far from satisfactory as far as the lists harassed and roughed up, the publication media were concerned. The year ended with of the newspaper N’Djamena Bi-Hebdo tempo- President Yoweri Museveni making open threats rarily halted and its publisher sentenced to a to several radio stations. suspended prison term, and a highly repressive bill kept under wraps. The slow but sure pro- gress that followed the formation of a national unity government in Zimbabwe (133rd, -16) in Promising gains 2009 and the granting of publication licences to several independent newspapers appeared For Senegal (59th, +16), 2012 was a year of to have stalled. Violence and arrests of jour- hope. The presidential election took place in nalists still niggle and if elections go ahead as a peaceful atmosphere for the media, despite planned in 2013, the atmosphere for the media a few regrettable assaults on journalists, and promises to be tense. Relatively high placed in President Macky Sall, who had declared him- 2011-2012, South Sudan (124th) fell 12 places self willing to decriminalize press offences, took after the murder of a columnist – the first killing office. Much remains to be proved in 2013, as of its kind in the new country – as news organi- was illustrated by the prison sentence handed zations and journalists awaited the approval of down on a journalist in December. three new laws on the media. In Liberia (97th, +13), the presidential election Despite the holding of a national media confe- in November 2011 had been tainted by the clo- rence in Cameroon (120th, -23), the future of the sure of several media outlets and attacks on sector remains both uncertain and worrying. In journalists. In 2012, the atmosphere improved the upper reaches of the index, Niger (43rd) greatly. In the summer, President Ellen John- nonetheless fell 14 places as a result of the son Sirleaf became the second African head irresponsibility of a few journalists who succum- of state, after Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, to bed to the temptation to abuse the freedom that sign the Declaration of Table Mountain, thereby Reporters Without Borders they enjoyed. Within the space of four months undertaking to promote media freedom. Nami- promotes and defends the in Tanzania (70th, -36), one journalist was kil- bia (19th), Cape Verde (25th) and Ghana (30th) freedom to be informed and led while he was covering a demonstration maintained their record as the highest ranked to inform others throughout and another was found dead, a clear victim of African countries. the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices murder. Burundi (132nd) fell only two places but (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, remains a low position. Summonses of journa- Madrid, Montreal, New York, lists declined but the case of Hassan Ruvakuki, Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and given a life sentence reduced to three years Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five on appeal, has created an atmosphere of fear continents. among the media. 47, rue Vivienne 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 Return to normality presse@rsf.org Read more : After a dreadful year in 2011, marked by the www.rsf.org dictatorial behaviour of the late President
  • 8. 2013 World Press Freedom Index THE Americas Violence, polarization still obstruct reporting in Americas Deceptive progress, ups and nel, and court censorship orders, which also target the blogosphere. These problems were downs in south exacerbated by violence during the campaign Just as the emergence of major protest move- for the October 2012 municipal elections. ments (and ensuing crackdowns) had a big impact on the rankings of certain countries in 2011, so a decline in the protests has logically also had an impact a year later. Media wars and coup precipi- Chile, for example, rose 20 places to 60th in the tate falls index after the previous year’s student protests Paraguay fell 11 places to 91st following Pre- abated in 2012. Crackdowns were concentra- sident Fernando Lugo’s June 2012 removal ted in the Aysén region, which saw big protests in an “institutional coup d’état,” which had an in the first quarter. But Chile’s improvement must almost immediate impact on the news media. be put in perspective. Its media landscape is A full-blown purge of employees in state-owned skewed, community broadcast media are crimi- media created by the Lugo administration was nalized, especially in the Mapuche region, and accompanied by frequent programme cen- journalists have run into difficulties when trying sorship. The few community radio stations with to investigate the 1973-90 military dictatorship. broadcast frequencies were also scared of losing them. For similar reasons, the United States rose 15 places to 32nd, recovering a ranking more Despite a high level of physical violence against appropriate to the “country of the First Amend- journalists, Peru rose 10 places to 105th, now ment.” Its previous year’s fall was due to the fact topping Brazil, itself one place above Bolivia that the crackdown on the Occupy Wall Street (109th), where several media were the targets movement did not spare reporters in the field. of spectacular arson or dynamite attacks and Reporters Without Borders Canada, on the other hand, fell 10 positions both national and local polarization are having promotes and defends the to 20th, losing its status as the western hemis- an impact. Ecuador fell 15th places to 119th after freedom to be informed and phere’s leader to Jamaica (13th). This was due a year of extreme tension between the govern- to inform others throughout to obstruction of journalists during the so-called ment and leading privately-owned media. This the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices “Maple Spring” student movement and to conti- left it two places below Venezuela, where seve- (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, nuing threats to the confidentiality of journalists’ ral media were closed arbitrarily, a journalist Madrid, Montreal, New York, sources and Internet users’ personal data, in was killed and more than 170 cases of violence Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and particular, from the C-30 bill on cyber-crime. were reported in a “media war” climate. Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five continents. The clearest new trends are to be seen in the Although on a less dramatic scale, polarization south. Brazil fell again, this time 9 places to is becoming a concern in Argentina, which 47, rue Vivienne 108th, after falling 41 places in 2011. Its media slipped a few places to 54th amid growing ten- 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 landscape is also badly distorted. Heavily sion between the government and certain pri- Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 dependent on the political authorities at the vately-owned media, above all the Clarín group, presse@rsf.org state level, the regional media are exposed to which is resisting full implementation of the 2009 Read more : attacks, physical violence against their person- Ley de Medios, a law regulating the broadcast www.rsf.org
  • 9. 2013 World Press Freedom Index media. On the other bank of the River Plate, ago when Bouterse was Surinam’s dictator. He Uruguay continued its climb, this time to 27th returned to power through the polls in 2010. position, within 10 places of Costa Rica, still Latin America’s leader at 18th. The seven-member Organization of East Caribbean States fell eight places to 34th There has been little change in the marked because of often direct pressure from the politi- contrasts that were seen in Central America in cal authorities on news media and the failure to The Americas 2011. A lack of pluralism, intermittent tension move ahead with the decriminalization of defa- with the political authorities, harassment and mation. Similar pressure was reported in Guya- self-censorship are the main reasons for the na (69th), whose ranking continues to suffer from scant change in Nicaragua (78th), Guatemala the state’s monopoly of radio broadcasting. (95th) and Panama (111th), where attacks on journalists tripled in the space of a year, local In the bottom third, Honduras was 127th unions said. because two journalists were killed in direct connection with their work and because the On the other hand, El Salvador owes its status quo imposed by the June 2009 coup enviable 38th place to government efforts to remains unchanged. There has never been any combat violence crime, even if journalists and let-up in the persecution of opposition media media often complain about the lack of access and community radio stations, or in the crimi- to state-held information. The Dominican nalization of human rights activists and grass- Republic rose 15 places to 80th because of a roots movements that provide information about decline in violence against journalists and legal such sensitive issues as land disputes, police proceedings that threaten freedom of informa- abuses and minority rights. tion. But it is still far behind its neighbour Haiti (49th), where the situation is still largely unchan- Although hopes have been raised by the latest ged although some journalists have accused negotiations between the government and President Michel Martelly of hostility towards FARC guerrillas, Colombia (129th) still has its them. paramilitaries-turned-drug traffickers, who are the enemies of all those involved in the provi- sion of news and information. Another journalist was killed in 2012 although there was a slight Caribbean turmoil, same decrease in the number of physical attacks. countries at the bottom With six journalists killed, Mexico (153rd) has Political tension and judicial harassment maintained its status as the hemisphere’s most account for the ranking of other countries in the dangerous country for the media. Violence and Guyanas and Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago censorship were particularly noticeable during (44th) still has not stopped its illegal monitoring the controversial July 2012 elections, which of journalists’ phone calls and attempts to iden- restored the presidency to the Institutional Reporters Without Borders tify their sources, although it promised to stop Revolutionary Party (PRI). Cuba, the hemis- promotes and defends the in 2010. In Surinam (down nine places to 31th), phere’s only country to tolerate no independent freedom to be informed and the often stormy relations between President media (or with few exceptions), got the region’s to inform others throughout Desi Bouterse and many journalists are unlikely lowest ranking – 171st. The past year has seen a the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices to improve after the passage of an amnesty law renewed crackdown on dissent and the island (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, for the murders of around 15 government oppo- now has two journalists in prison, one of them a Madrid, Montreal, New York, nents, including five journalists, three decades state media employee. Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five continents. 47, rue Vivienne 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 presse@rsf.org Read more : www.rsf.org
  • 10. 2013 World Press Freedom Index Asia-Pacific area Burmese spring an exception to decline in freedom of information in Asia Only three Asian countries are in the top 25 In Vietnam and China, those involved in online percent of the table, while 15 countries are news and information, such as bloggers and among the bottom 45 places. Unsurprisingly, netizens, are forced to deal with increasingly one-party authoritarian governments figure harsh repression. Many Tibetan monks have more than ever among the predators of press been convicted or abducted for having sent freedom and languish at the bottom end of the information abroad about the disastrous state table. of human rights in Tibet. Commercial news outlets and foreign media organizations are still censored regularly by the propaganda depart- ment. Faced with the growing power of social Burma’s paper revolution networks and their ability to muster support, the authorities have redoubled their efforts to hone Burma went through dramatic changes in 2012 their capability to track “sensitive” content and and moved up to 151th place, a rise of 18 places, delete it immediately from the Web. In less than jumping ahead of its usual bedfellows in the a year, Vietnamese courts have sentenced 12 media repression stakes. There are no longer bloggers and cyber-dissidents to jail terms of any journalists or cyber dissidents in the jails of up to 13 years, making the country the world’s the old military dictatorship. Legislative reform second biggest prison for netizens, after has only just begun but the steps already taken China. by the government in favour of the media, such as an end to prior censorship and the permit- ted return of media organizations from exile, are significant steps towards genuine freedom of General decline in freedom information. of information in South Asia The Indian subcontinent was the Asian region Reporters Without Borders that saw the sharpest deterioration in the cli- promotes and defends the China, Vietnam, Laos, mate for those involved in news and informa- tion in 2012. In the Maldives, which crashed freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout North Korea: no signs of to 103rd place (-30), the events that led to the the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices improvement resignation of President Mohammed Nasheed (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, in February led to violence and threats against Madrid, Montreal, New York, North Korea (178th), China (173rd), Vietnam journalists in state television and private media Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and (172nd) and Laos (168th), all ruled by authori- outlets regarded as pro-Nasheed by the coup Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five tarian parties, still refuse to grant their citizens leaders. continents. the freedom to be informed. The control of news and information is a key issue for these govern- Attacks on press freedom have increased since 47, rue Vivienne ment, which are horrified at the prospect of then. Many journalists have been arrested, 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 being open to criticism. North Korea’s leader assaulted and threatened during anti-govern- Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 Kim Jong-un, who succeeded his father Kim ment protests. On June 5, the freelance jour- presse@rsf.org Jong-il on 30 December 2011, appears to rule nalist and blogger Ismail “Hilath” Rasheed Read more : in concert with the military junta. narrowly survived the first attempted murder of www.rsf.org
  • 11. 2013 World Press Freedom Index a journalist in the archipelago. Afghanistan: genuine but Four journalists were killed in India and Ban- fragile improvement gladesh in 2012, which fell to 140th and 144th respectively in the index. In India, the “world’s Afghanistan (128th, +22) has a considerably biggest democracy”, the authorities insist on better rating than in previous years, although censoring the Web and imposing more and violence against journalists did not disappear Asia-Pacific area more taboos, while violence against journalists completely and the government neglected to goes unpunished and the regions of Kashmir tackle the issue of impunity. No journalists were and Chhattisgarh become increasingly isolated. killed in 2012 and arrests of media workers Bangladesh is not far behind. Its journalists are declined. The withdrawal of some foreign troops frequently targets of police violence. When they from the international coalition and deteriorating are not acting as aggressors, the security forces conditions in neighbouring Pakistan meant stand by passively while enemies of the media these improvements were precarious. enjoy impunity and are rarely brought to justice. The killers of the journalists Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, and those behind the double murder, remained at large and the investigation Cambodia and Malaysia: drift was cynically entrusted to the Rapid Action Bat- talion where it remains bogged down. towards authoritarianism Conditions for the media are critical in Cambo- The ability of journalists to work freely in Pakis- dia, which fell 26 places to 146th in the index, tan (159th, -8) and Nepal (118th, -12) continued its lowest ever position. Since 2011, news orga- to worsen in the absence of any government nizations, in particular independent local and policy to protect media workers. Despite having foreign radio stations, have been subjected a diverse and lively media, Pakistan remains to a policy of censorship orchestrated by an one of the world’s most dangerous countries for increasingly ruthless information ministry. On 1 reporters. October 2012, Mam Sonando, the owner of an independent radio station, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for insurrection and inciting others to take up arms against the state. The Japan resorts to press decline in freedom of information also involved restrictions deadly attacks and death threats aimed at jour- nalists who exposed government corruption Japan, demoted from 22nd to 53rd place, and illegal activities harmful to the environment. recorded the biggest drop of any Asian country. The reason was the ban imposed by the authori- Malaysia (145th) also presented a sorry record, ties on independent coverage of any topic rela- falling 23 places to a position below the one it ted directly or indirectly to the accident at the had in 2002. Despite an all-out battle by rights Reporters Without Borders Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Seve- activists and online media outlets, a campaign promotes and defends the ral freelance journalists who complained that of repression by the government, illustrated by freedom to be informed and public debate was being stifled were subjected the crackdown on the “Bersih 3.0” protest in to inform others throughout to censorship, police intimidation and judicial April, and repeated censorship efforts, continue the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices harassment. to undermine basic freedoms, in particular the (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, right to information. Madrid, Montreal, New York, The continued existence of the discriminatory Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and system of “kisha clubs”, exclusive press clubs Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five which restrict access to information to their own continents. members, is a key element that could prevent Papua-New Guinea and Fiji: 47, rue Vivienne the country from moving up the index signifi- cantly in the near future. threats against journalists 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 greeted with indifference Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 presse@rsf.org Threats to the media should not be taken lightly Read more : in these two Pacific archipelagos. In Papua- www.rsf.org
  • 12. 2013 World Press Freedom Index New Guinea (41st, -6), the security forces are regularly involved in attacks on journalists. In Fiji (107th), despite a 10-place rise explained in part by the decline of other countries in this section of the index, news organizations are threatened under the Media Industry Development Decree with exorbitant fines, or even imprisonment, as Asia-Pacific area in the case of a recently convicted editor of the Fiji Times. Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Madrid, Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five continents. 47, rue Vivienne 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 presse@rsf.org Read more : www.rsf.org
  • 13. 2013 World Press Freedom Index EUROPe And ex-urss Stagnation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Outside the Euro- Hungary (56tth -16) is still paying the price of repressive legislation that has had a palpable pean Union, freedom effect on how journalism is practised. However, more worrying is the fall of Greece (84th, -14), of information is in a whose journalists operate in a disastrous social and professional atmosphere. Exposed to state of collapse. Wit- popular anger and continually facing violence on the part of both extremists and the police, hin its borders, Hun- reporters and photojournalists must now cope with the ultra-violent neo-Nazi activists of the gary and Greece have Golden Dawn party. The country has moved closer to Bulgaria (87th, -7), whose promises of slumped. The Balkans reform came to nothing and where the Internet ceased to be a safe place for freelance jour- remain rooted in the nalists. repressive practices For Croatia (64th, +4), due to join the EU in June this year, and Serbia (63rd, +17) the pic- of the past. ture is mixed. Legislative reforms have brought an improvement, but it should not be forgotten The status quo was maintained in many of the that there are still many obstacles to overcome countries in the European Union. Sixteen were and old habits that are harmful to independent listed among the top 30. At first sight, this was journalism still linger. Albania (102nd, -6), Mon- encouraging, but it concealed the slow erosion tenegro (113rd, -6), and especially Macedonia of the European model as a result of inconsis- (116th, -22) bring up the rear of the index for Reporters Without Borders tencies and worrying developments among the the Balkans with the same sorry record: judi- promotes and defends the other 11 countries, some of which fell below 80th cial harassment based on often inappropriate freedom to be informed and place. legislation, the lack of access to public data, to inform others throughout physical and psychological violence against the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices The legislative haemorrhage that began in 2011 those who work in news and information, official (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, continued unabated in 2012, notably in Italy and private advertising markets used as a tool, Madrid, Montreal, New York, where the decriminalization of defamation has the grey economy’s hold over vital parts of the Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and not yet been achieved and where institutions media. All are obstacles to the right to report the Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five make dangerous use of “gagging laws”. The news and people’s right to know it. Following continents. effects of stagnating advertising and budget the dangerous examples of Hungary and Italy, cuts, which constantly undermine the busi- the Macedonian parliament is preparing to 47, rue Vivienne ness model, are also starting to be felt. France ”legalize censorship”, continually blowing hot 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 (up one to 37) has marked time pending pro- and cold towards a profession that is often out Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 gress on the good intentions voiced by the new on its own. presse@rsf.org government. Read more : www.rsf.org
  • 14. 2013 World Press Freedom Index Race to the bottom by tion attempts, arrests and intimidation aimed at independent journalists, ending with the Eastern Europe and outright closure of the main national opposition news organizations. Central Asia Tajikistan (123rd, -1), struggling to catch up with its neighbours in the cyber censorship stakes, recruited an army of “volunteers” to monitor the Europe Bad models for the region Internet and blocked independent news sites and ex-URSS Despite a varied and lively media, Turkey (154th, as well as Facebook with increasing frequency. -6) lies in an unworthy position as the regional model which it aspires to be. In the name of the fight against terrorism, democratic Turkey Azerbaijan and Belarus: return is today the world’s biggest prison for journa- lists. The state’s paranoia about security, which to the status quo has a tendency to see every criticism as a plot The rise of Azerbaijan (156th, +6) and Belarus hatched by a variety of illegal organizations, (157th, +11) offers little cause for celebration. intensified even more during a year marked by It represents a return to the status quo before rising tension over the Kurdish question. Will 2011’s violent crackdowns on protest demons- the announcement of reform of the anti-terrorist trations. Dozens of journalists were arrested laws, promised many times but always rejected, and beaten up, pushing the two dictatorships and the resumption of talks between the autho- towards the bottom of the index. But the hori- rities and rebels of the Kurdish PKK, lead to a zon is still obscured by the shadows cast by the genuine change in approach? huge egos of Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev. Independent journalists and netizens Russia (148th, -6) set a tone of increased remain at great risk in carrying out their duty repression in the former Soviet Union in 2012. of keeping the public informed. In Azerbaijan, Opposition protests on an unprecedented scale the noose tightened around what remained of showed civil society to be more vocal than the opposition media and several journalists ever. The state responded with a wholesale languished behind bars without trial in appal- crackdown: re-criminalization of defamation, ling conditions. The year 2013 began with fresh tighter control of the Internet, making foreign arrests and widespread violence, which point to funding of human rights organizations a crime. a further downward slide in the next index. This marked start of a new era in relations between the state and society that presents huge challenges for freedom of information. Bottom of the list: Turkmenis- Just as it assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation tan and Uzbekistan remain a Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the in Europe (OSCE) Ukraine (126th, -10) set the nightmare for journalists freedom to be informed and worst record for the media since the Orange to inform others throughout Revolution in 2004. The chronically high level In Uzbekistan (164th, -7) and Turkmenistan the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices of violence towards journalists hit a new peak, (177th, 0), there is little change from one year (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, while impunity remained total. Such an unheal- to the next. The sinister dictatorship of Uzbek Madrid, Montreal, New York, thy atmosphere served only to increase the President Islam Karimov refined its control of Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and vulnerability of independent news outlets to the Internet, maintained a stranglehold on the Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five ever-stronger pressure. media and kept a dozen journalists in prison in continents. appalling conditions. The official proclamation Kazakhstan (160th, -6) reached a turning point of a multi-party system and freedom of expres- 47, rue Vivienne in 2012. President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s sion brought no changes whatsoever to the 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 government, forging ahead with its policies of totalitarian rule in Turkmenistan which, as in Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 repression, moved closer to the ultra-authori- previous years, rubbed shoulders with North presse@rsf.org tarian model of its neighbours in Uzbekistan Korea and Eritrea in the world index. Read more : and Turkmenistan. The year saw assassina- www.rsf.org
  • 15. 2013 World Press Freedom Index Leading group dispersed but face common challenges Despite their wide dispersal in this edition of the index, Moldova (55th, -2), Armenia (74th, +3), Georgia (100th, +4) and Kyrgyzstan (106th, +2) have a number of things in common. These Europe countries enjoy broad media pluralism and a and ex-URSS low level of state censorship, but they still face important challenges concerning media inde- pendence and the working environment of jour- nalists. The latter are often in the firing line in highly polarized societies and treated as easy prey by a variety of pressure groups. Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Madrid, Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five continents. 47, rue Vivienne 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 presse@rsf.org Read more : www.rsf.org
  • 16. 2013 World Press Freedom Index Middle east & north africa 2012 – Year Two of the new Arab world ­ “Arab spring” uprisings caused a lot of move- impact on freedom of information. Libya’s ran- ments in the Press Freedom Index in 2011 king the year before was affected by all the vio- and the situation was still very mixed in 2012, lations in 2011, when Gaddafi was still clinging with countries where governments have fallen, to power. The improvements nonetheless need countries where they still survive but are facing to be confirmed by the inclusion of freedom of uprisings, and countries where, by dint of com- information in the constitution and the adoption promises and promises, they have managed to of laws guaranteeing this freedom and pro- assuage the demands for change. viding real protection for journalists and safe- guards for media pluralism and independence. Two years after Ben Ali’s fall, Tunisia (138th) Syria and Bahrain at the slipped four places, after jumping more than 30 places in 2011. Why? Because there was bottom of the index an increase in attacks on journalists in the first quarter of 2012 and because the authorities Syria is ranked 176th in the index, fourth from have maintained a judicial void by delaying the last. Of all the ranked countries, it is the one that implementation of decree-laws regulating the saw the most attacks on freedom of informa- media. This allowed them to arbitrarily appoint tion. Journalists are targeted by all the parties people to run the state-owned media. Further- to the conflict – the regular army and the various more, politicians often refer to journalists and opposition factions – who are waging an infor- news media with contempt or even hate. mation war. Egypt (158th) rose eight places, two years Bahrain (165th) rose eight places, after limited after Hosni Mubarak’s departure. This was a improvement. The government crackdown slight improvement on 2011, when violence continued in 2012 but was slightly less violent against media personnel caused the country to than the previous year, when the country plun- plummet 39 places from 127th. Journalists and ged 29 places. In all, Bahrain has fallen 66 netizens continue to be the targets of physical Reporters Without Borders places in the space of four years and is now in attacks, arrests and trials and one was fatally promotes and defends the the bottom 20. injured in December. Shortly after winning elec- freedom to be informed and tions, the Muslim Brotherhood appointed new to inform others throughout executives and editors to run the state newspa- the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices pers, which had a major impact on their editorial (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Fertile revolutions for freedom policies. The constitution adopted at the end of Madrid, Montreal, New York, 2012 contains vaguely-worded provisions that Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than of information? clearly threaten freedoms. News media can still 150 correspondents in all five be closed or seized on the orders of a judge. continents. After the fall of dictators, the promises of media pluralism and independence are not always Yemen (171st, +2) continued to languish in 47, rue Vivienne sufficiently translated into action. the bottom ten. There have been no legislative 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 changes in the year since Abd Rab Mansour Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 Libya (131st, +23) rose more than 20 places. Hadi took over as president. Journalists are still presse@rsf.org This jump was due to the overthrow of Muam- exposed to physical attacks, prosecution and Read more : mar Gaddafi’s 42-year regime and its positive even jail sentences. A bill on privately-owned www.rsf.org
  • 17. 2013 World Press Freedom Index broadcasts and electronic media with a num- Palestine (146th) is still in the bottom quarter but ber of draconian provisions, which was submit- it rose eight places. An improvement in relations ted to parliament in 2012, has not been totally between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas abandoned. has had a positive impact on freedom of infor- mation and the working environment for journa- lists. Middle East and Countries «spared» by Arab Iraq (150th) rose two places, but this followed a fall of 22 places last year. The security situation North Africa springs rein in news providers for journalists continues to be very worrying, with three killed in connection with their work in Buffeted by social and economic protests, the 2012 and seven killed in 2011. Journalists are Sultanate of Oman (141st) sank 24 places, the constantly obstructed. biggest fall in the Middle East and North Africa in 2012. Some 50 netizens and bloggers were There were only slight changes in the rankings prosecuted on lèse-majesté or cyber-crime of Saudi Arabia (163rd, -5), Kuwait (77th, +1) charges in 2012. No fewer than 28 were convic- and the United Arab Emirates (114th, -2). ted in December alone, in trials that trampled on defence rights. The authorities gave promises Lebanon (101st) fell eight places, after its media in response to demands for political, social and became more polarized by neighbouring Syria’s economic change but did not carry them out. civil war. Its journalists are exposed to arbitrary detention and mistreatment. A repressive royal decree in September was one of the reasons why Jordan (134th, -6) fell. The 20-place fall of Israel (112nd) is due to The decree changed the press law and dras- the actions of the Israel Defence Forces in the tically restricted freedom of information, espe- Palestinian Territories – actions that used to be cially for online media, brushing aside all the given a separate ranking in the index under the reform promises that the government gave at label of “Israel extraterritorial”. During Opera- the height of the popular unrest in 2011. Journa- tion “Pillar of Defence” in November 2012, IDF lists are being tried before military courts, espe- deliberately targeted journalists and buildings cially when they criticize the royal family. housing media that are affiliated to Hamas or support it. And the arbitrary arrest and detention Algeria (125th, -3) fell a few places because of Palestinian journalists is still commonplace. journalists were the targets of both physical Israeli journalists meanwhile enjoy real freedom attacks and judicial proceedings, and because of expression but military censorship continues of an increase in economic pressure on inde- to be a structural problem. pendent media. More than a year after parlia- ment passed a law that is supposed to abolish the state’s broadcasting monopoly, there are still Reporters Without Borders no privately-owned TV stations because a regu- Relatives held hostage in Iran promotes and defends the latory authority, an essential prior condition, has freedom to be informed and still not been created. So, for the time being, the Somalia’s fall in the index due to the many to inform others throughout new law is nothing but window dressing. deaths of journalists there in 2012 allowed Iran the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices (174th) to rise one place. Its print and broadcast (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, The ranking of Morocco (136th, +2) is stable. media and news websites are all controlled by Madrid, Montreal, New York, Media reform was announced after Prime Minis- the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutio- Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and ter Abdelilah Benkirane took office in November nary Guards. The authorities have internationa- Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five 2011 but his government is dragging its feet lized their repression by making hostages out continents. on the promised changes, especially decri- of the relatives of Iranian journalists who work minalization of media offences. Decisions on abroad or in Iran for foreign news media. The 47, rue Vivienne such matters as the granting and withdrawal of Islamic Republic is one of the world’s five big- 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 accreditation are often arbitrary and lacking in gest prisons for news and information provi- Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 transparency. ders. presse@rsf.org Read more : www.rsf.org
  • 18. 2013 World Press Freedom Index E PRESS WORLDWIDE IN 2013 2013 press freedom index How we compiled the 2013 Press Freedom Index The press freedom index that Reporters Without in access to journalism and journalism training is Borders publishes every year measures the level also included. of freedom of information in nearly 180 countries. It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists, A score and a position are assigned to each news organizations and netizens enjoy in each FIJI country in the final ranking. They are complemen- country, and the efforts made by the authorities to tary indicators that together assess the state of respect and ensure respect for this freedom. press freedom. In order to make the index more informative and make it easier to compare dif- It is based partly on a questionnaire that is sent to ferent years, scores will henceforth range from 0 our partner organizations (18 freedom of expres- to 100, with 0 being the best possible score and sion NGOs located in all five continents), to our 100 the worst. network of 150 correspondents, and to journalists, RESSE DANS LE MONDE EN 2013 researchers, jurists and human rights activists. The index reflects the situation during a specific period. This year’s index is based solely on events The 179 countries ranked in this year’s index between the start of December 2011 and the end are those for which Reporters Without Borders of November 2012. It does not look at human received completed questionnaires from various rights violations in general, just violations of free- sources. Some countries were not included dom of information. because of a lack of reliable, confirmed data. The index should in no way be taken as an indi- This year, there has been a major change in the cation of the quality of the media in the countries method used to compile the index, including the concerned. use of a new questionnaire. Quantitative ques- tions about the number of violations of different kinds are now handled by our staff. They include the number of journalists, media assistants and How we score countries netizens who were jailed or killed in the connec- tion with their activities, the number of journalists The questions consider six general criteria. Using abducted, the number that fled into exile, the a system of weighting for each possible response, number of physical attacks and arrests, and the countries are given a score of between 0 and 100 number of media censored. In the event of a mili- for each of the six overall criteria. These scores tary occupation of one or more territories, any vio- are then used as indicators in calculating each lations by representatives of the occupying force country’s final score. Reporters Without Borders are treated as violations of the right to information promotes and defends the in foreign territory and are incorporated into the Pluralism freedom to be informed and score of the occupying force’s country. [indicator Plu] to inform others throughout Measures the degree to which opinions are repre- the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices The rest of the questionnaire, which is sent to out- sented in the media (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, side experts and members of the RWB network, Madrid, Montreal, New York, concentrates on issues that are hard to quantify Media independence Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and such as the degree to which news providers cen- [indicator Ind] Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five sor themselves, government interference in edi- Measures the degree to which the media are able continents. torial content, or the transparency of government to function independently of the authorities decision-making. Legislation and its effective- 47, rue Vivienne ness are the subject of more detailed questions. Environment and self-censorship 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Questions have been added or expanded, for [indicator EnA] Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 example, questions about concentration of media Analyses the environment in which journalists presse@rsf.org ownership and favouritism in the allocation of sub- work Read more : sidies or state advertising. Similarly, discrimination www.rsf.org
  • 19. 2013 World Press Freedom Index E PRESS WORLDWIDE IN 2013 Legislative framework The final score is determined as follows: [indicator CaL] Analyses the quality of the legislative framework and measures its effectiveness Transparency [indicator Tra] Measures the transparency of the institutions and procedures that affect the production of news and The violence score (scoreExa) is calculated information according to the following formula: FIJI Infrastructure [indicator Inf] Measures the quality of the infrastructure that sup- ports the production of news and information The longer a journalist, netizen or media assis- Reporters Without Borders meanwhile calculates tant is imprisoned, the more this imprisonment a score of between 0 and 100 reflecting the level penalizes the country concerned. The weighting RESSE DANS LE MONDE EN 2013 of violence against journalists during the period considered. The score is based on the monitoring coefficient has the following values, based on the length of imprisonment in years : carried out by RWB’s own staff. The overall score, the one that determines a country’s ranking, is calculated on the basis of these seven scores in a three-step process. A first score (SCOA) is calculated on the basis of the questionnaire alone, using the following wei- ghting: A second score uses the first score but incorpo- rates the violence score, giving it a weight of 20%: 1- 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10+ 10 20 35 60 80 85 87 88 89 89,5 Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Madrid, Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five continents. 47, rue Vivienne 75002 Paris, Tel. : 33 1 44 83 84 56 Fax : 33 1 45 23 11 51 presse@rsf.org 1. : number of dead, : number of imprisoned since years, : number of kidnapped, : number of Read more : media attacked and ransacked, : number who have fled the country, : number of arrests, : number of physical www.rsf.org attacks, : score on respect for freedom of information in foreign territory.