WORLD FREE PRESS FREEDOM RANKING

Second world press freedom ranking: Cuba second from last, just ahead of North Korea.

Reporters Without Borders is publishing its second world press freedom ranking. As in 2002, the most catastrophic situation is to be found in Asia, especially North Korea, Burma and Laos. Second from last in the ranking, Cuba is today the world's biggest prison for journalists. The United States and Italy were given relatively low rankings.

Reporters Without Borders today publishes its second world press freedom ranking. Like last year, the most catastrophic situation is to found in Asia, with eight countries in the bottom ten: North Korea, Burma, Laos, China, Iran, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Bhutan. Independent news media are either non-existent in these countries, or are constantly repressed by the authorities. Journalists there work in extremely difficult conditions, with no freedom and no security. A number of them are imprisoned in Burma, China and Iran.

Cuba is in 165th position, second from last. Twenty-six independent journalists were arrested in the spring of 2003 and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 14 to 27 years, making Cuba the world's biggest prison for journalists. They were accused of writing articles for publication abroad that played into the hands of "imperialist interests." Eritrea, in 162nd position, has the worst situation in Africa. Privately-owned news media have been banned there for the past two years and 14 journalists are being held in undisclosed locations.

To compile this ranking, Reporters Without Borders asked journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists to fill out a questionnaire evaluating respect for press freedom in a particular country. A total of 166 countries are included in the ranking (as against 139 last year). The other countries were left out because of a lack of reliable, well-supported data.

Wealth and press freedom don't always go together. As in 2002, the ranking shows that a country's respect for press freedom is not solely linked to its economic development. The top 50 include countries that are among the poorest in the world, such as Benin (29th position), Timor-Leste (30th) and Madagascar (46th).

Conversely, the 50 countries that respect press freedom least include such rich nations as Bahrain (117th) and Singapore (144th).

Special situation of the United States and Israel: The ranking distinguishes behaviour at home and abroad in the cases of the United States and Israel. They are ranked in 31st and 44th positions respectively as regards respect for freedom of expression on their own territory, but they fall to the 135th and 146th positions as regards behaviour beyond their borders.

The Israeli army's repeated abuses against journalists in the occupied territories and the US army's responsibility in the death of several reporters during the war in Iraq constitute unacceptable behaviour by two nations that never stop stressing their commitment to freedom of expression.

General deterioration in the Arab world The war in Iraq played a major role in an increased crackdown on the press by the Arab regimes. Concerned about maintaining their image and facing public opinion largely opposed to the war, they stepped up control of the press and increased pressure on journalists, who are forced to use self-censorship.

Kuwait (102nd) replaced Lebanon (106th) as the Arab world's leader as regards respect for freedom of expression because of cases of censorship in Lebanon, together with abusive judicial proceedings and an attack on the television station Futur TV. Saudi Arabia (156th), Syria (155th), Libya (153rd) and Oman (152nd) used all the means at their disposal to prevent the emergence of a free and independent press.

In Morocco (131st), the hopes pinned on Mohammed VI when he became king in July 1999 have been dashed. Independent newspapers are still subject to constant harassment from the authorities. Ali Lmrabet, the publisher and editor of two satirical weeklies, was sentenced in June 2003 to three years in prison for "insulting the person of the king" because of articles and cartoons touching on taboo subjects.

European Union gets good rankings, except Italy and Spain. Italy received a poor ranking (53rd) compared with the other European Union countries for the second year running. Silvio Berlusconi's conflict of interests as head of government and owner of a media empire is still unresolved. Furthermore, a draft law to reform radio and TV broadcasting, tailored to Berlusconi's interests, is likely to increase the threats to news diversity in Italy.

Spain's relatively low ranking (42nd) is due to difficulties for journalists in the Basque country. The terrorist organisation ETA has stepped up its threats against the news media, promising to target journalists whose coverage does not match its view of the situation. Furthermore, the necessary fight against terrorism has affected press freedom, with the forced closure as a "preventive measure" of the Basque newspaper Egunkaria, whose senior staff are suspected of collaborating with ETA.

France is ranked as low as 26th because of its archaic defamation legislation, the increasingly frequent challenges to the principle of confidentiality of sources and the repeated abusive detention of journalists by police.

Former USSR still lags behind: The situation remains worrying in Russia (148th), Ukraine (132nd) and Belarus (151st). A truly independent press exists in Russia, but Russia's poor ranking is justified by the censorship of anything to do with the war in Chechnya, several murders and the recent abduction of the Agence France-Presse correspondent in Ingushetia. Russia continues to be one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists.

Press freedom is virtually non-existent in much of central Asia, especially Turkmenistan (158th) and Uzbekistan (154th). No criticism of the authorities is tolerated.

Non-state violence: Several countries with a democratically-elected government and a free and independent press have poor rankings. This is most notably the case with Bangladesh (143rd), Colombia (147th) and Philippines (118th). Journalists in these countries are the victims of violence that comes not only from the state, but also from political parties, criminal gangs or guerrilla groups. In other cases, such as Nepal (150th), the press is caught in the cross fire between security forces and rebels.

Such violence results in considerable self-censorship by the news media, which do not dare to broach such subjects as corruption, collusion between political leaders and organised crime, or sectarian clashes. At the same time, the authorities very often fail to respond to this violence with the appropriate measures, namely protection for journalists and the punishment of those responsible.

News is the victim of war in Africa Wars and serious political crises have inevitably had an impact on press freedom in Africa. The three countries that have fallen most in the ranking in the past 12 months are Côte d'Ivoire (137th), Liberia (132nd) and Guinea-Bissau (118th). Local and foreign journalists were exposed to the violence of the warring parties in Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, while the military closed down news media in Guinea-Bissau.

How the ranking was compiled? Read the first world press freedom ranking:

Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Reporters Without Borders has nine national sections (in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok, Istanbul, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Tokyo and Washington and more than a hundred correspondents worldwide.

The ranking:

N° Country Note

1 Finland 0,50

2- Iceland 0,50

3- Netherlands 0,50

4- Norway 0,50

5 Denmark 1,00

6- Trinidad and Tobago 1,00

7- Belgium 1,17

8- Germany 1,33

9- Sweden 1,50

10- Canada 1,83

11- Latvia 2,25

12- Czech Republic 2,50

13- Estonia 2,50

14- Slovakia 2,50

15- Switzerland 2,50

16 Austria 2,75

17 Ireland 2,83

18- Lithuania 2,83

19- New Zealand 2,83

20 Slovenia 3,00

21 Hungary 3,33 - Jamaica 3,33 - South Africa 3,33

24 Costa Rica 3,83

25 Uruguay 4,00

26 France 4,17

27 United Kingdom 4,25

28 Portugal 5,17

29 Benin 5,25

30 Timor-Leste 5,50

31 Greece 6,00

32- United States of America (American territory) 6,00

33 Poland 6,17

34 Albania 6,50
- Bulgaria 6,50
- Nicaragua 6,50

37 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6,83

38- Chile 6,83

39- El Salvador 6,83

40 Paraguay 7,17

41 Mauritius 7,25

42 Ecuador 7,67
- Spain 7,67

44 Israel (Israeli territory) 8,00 - Japan 8,00

46 Madagascar 8,17

47 Cape Verde 8,25

48 Ghana 8,75

49 South Korea 9,17

50 Australia 9,25

51 Bolivia 9,67
- Macedonia 9,67

53 Italy 9,75 - Panama 9,75

55 Peru 10,25

56 Hong-Kong 11,00 - Mali 11,00 - Namibia 11,00

59 Fiji 11,50 - Romania 11,50

61 Taïwan 12,00

62 Botswana 13,00

63 Congo 14,00
- Mozambique 14,00

65 Honduras 14,17

66 Senegal 14,50

67 Argentina 15,17

68 Niger 15,75

69 Croatia 16,50
- Tanzania 16,50

71 Brazil 16,75

72 Dominican Republic 17,00

73 Georgia 17,33

74 Mexico 17,67

75 Lesotho 17,75

76 Burkina Faso 18,00

77 Gambia 18,25 - Mongolia 18,25

79 Comoros 18,50
- Kenya 18,50

81 Cambodia 19,50

82 Thailand 19,67

83 Cyprus 20,83

84 Malawi 21,00

85 Serbia and Montenegro 21,33

86 Zambia 23,25

87 Sierra Leone 23,50

88 Chad 24,00

89 Sri Lanka 24,83

90 Armenia 25,17

91 Uganda 25,75

92 Burundi 26,25

93 Seychelles 26,75

94 Moldova 27,00

95 Togo 27,50

96 Venezuela 27,83

97 Angola 28,00

98 Cameroon 30,50

99 Guatemala 30,83

100 Haiti 31,00

101 Gabon 31,25

102 Kuwait 31,33

103 Nigeria 31,50

104 Kyrgyzstan 32,00
- Malaysia 32,00

106 Lebanon 32,50

107 Central African Republic 32,75

108 Algeria 33,00

109 Guinea 33,17

110 Egypt 34,25
- Indonesia 34,25
- Rwanda 34,25

113 Azerbaijan 34,50 - Tajikistan 34,50

115 Qatar 35,00 - Turkey 35,00

117 Bahrain 35,17

118 Guinea-Bissau 35,25 - Philippines 35,25

120 Djibouti 35,50

121 Mauritania 36,67

122 United Arab Emirates 37,00
- Jordan 37,00

124 Ethiopia 37,50
- Iraq 37,50
- Swaziland 37,50

127 Democratic Republic of Congo 38,50

128 India 39,00 - Pakistan 39,00

130 Palestinian Authority 39,25

131 Morocco 39,67

132 Liberia 40,00
- Ukraine 40,00

134 Afghanistan 40,17

135 United States of America (in Iraq) 41,00

136 Yemen 41,83

137 Côte d'Ivoire 42,17

138 Kazakhstan 42,50

139 Equatorial Guinea 44,75

140 Somalia 45,00

141 Zimbabwe 45,50

142 Sudan 45,75

143 Bangladesh 46,50

144 Singapore 47,33

145 Maldives 47,50

146 Israel (Occupied Territories) 49,00

147 Colombia 49,17

148 Russia 49,50

149 Tunisia 50,83

150 Nepal 51,50

151 Belarus 52,00

152 Oman 57,75

153 Libya 60,00

154 Uzbekistan 61,50

155 Syria 67,50

156 Saudi Arabia 71,50

157 Bhutan 77,33

158 Turkmenistan 82,83

159 Vietnam 89,17

160 Iran 89,33

161 China 91,25

162 Eritrea 91,50

163 Laos 94,83

164 Burma 95,50

165-Cuba 97,83

166 North Korea 99,50

Sin patria pero sin amo!!! Abajo Fidel!!! Viva la democracia!!!!!!

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