The world ranking for freedom of press in 175 countries as reported by French NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), earlier this month, has some surprises. Brazil went up 11 slots and several Europeans countries like France and Italy are not as exemplary as they used to be.
"It is disturbing to see European democracies such as France, Italy and Slovakia fall steadily in the rankings year after year," regrets Jean-François Julliard, general secretary of the RSF.
"Europe should be setting an example as regards civil liberties. How can you condemn human rights violations abroad if you do not behave irreproachably at home? The Obama effect, which has enabled the United States to recover 16 places in the index, is not enough to reassure us."
The list continues to be led by European countries, however. Denmark, Finland and Ireland are the nations that most respect freedom of press in the world. At the bottom of the list and by the third consecutive year are Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea
After going up 11 rungs Brazil is now 71 on the list. Although not good enough the Brazilian situation improved, according to the NGO, thanks to the end of the Press Law, a legacy from the military dictatorship period (1964-1985).
The Lula administration is also credited with its efforts to make access to information more democratic. Despite this positive evolution, Reporters Without Borders points out that violence against the media is still very common especially in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil.
The censura prévia (preventive censorship) is still very common. Judges frequently bar publication of articles at the request of politicians and other influential people.
Brazilian journalists are exposed to serious risks in some regions, particularly when they report on sensitive issues such as trafficking, corruption or environmental questions. Attacks that can go as far as murder still plague the northern and northeastern states, or further south, at the Paraguayan border, the hub of the drug trade.
Insecurity also affects the press in the metropolitan regions like Rio de Janeiro, where three staff on the daily O Dia were abducted and tortured in a slum in 2008 by an armed group having links within the police. Often concentrated within states, the press, particularly local, also has to face legal harassment from some authorities.
Collusion between a mayor or governor and the judges have led to "preventive censorship" against media reporting embarrassing news, in violation of basic constitutional freedoms. The unfair distribution of official advertising is another means of taking reprisals against media seen as troublesome.
Debate has begun on the question of whether Brazil should have a new press law. On April 30, Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), the country's highest court, finally repealed the entire 1967 press law, the principles of which were contrary to the 1988 democratic constitution.
Adopted under the military dictatorship, it provided for prison sentences for the offences of "insult", "defamation" and "denigration". Finally, the need to establish and regulate mushrooming but currently illegal community radios is becoming more and more urgent.
Reporters Without Borders compiles the index every year on the basis of questionnaires that are completed by hundreds of journalists and media experts around the world. This year's index reflects press freedom violations that took place between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009.
Europe long set an example in press freedom but several European nations have fallen significantly in this year's index. Even if the first 13 places are still held by European countries, others such as France (43rd), Slovakia (44th) and Italy (49th) continue their descent, falling eight, 37 and five places respectively. In so doing, they have given way to young democracies in Africa (Mali, South Africa and Ghana) and the western hemisphere (Uruguay and Trinidad and Tobago).
Journalists are still physically threatened in Italy and Spain (44th), but also in the Balkans, especially Croatia (78th), where the owner and marketing director of the weekly Nacional were killed by a bomb on 23 October 2008.
But the main threat, a more serious one in the long term, comes from new legislation. Many laws adopted since September 2008 have compromised the work of journalists. One adopted by Slovakia (44th) has introduced the dangerous concept of an automatic right of response and has given the culture minister considerable influence over publications.
The United States has climbed 16 places in the rankings, from 36th to 20th, in just one year. Barack Obama's election as president and the fact that he has a less hawkish approach than his predecessor have had a lot to do with this.
But this sharp rise concerns only the state of press freedom within the United States. President Obama may have been awarded the Nobel peace prize, but his country is still fighting two wars. Despite a slight improvement, the attitude of the United States towards the media in Iraq and Afghanistan is worrying. Several journalists were injured or arrested by the US military. One, Ibrahim Jassam, is still being held in Iraq.
The Full List
Rank Country MarkÂ
1 Denmark 0,00Â
- Finland 0,00Â
- Ireland 0,00Â
- Norway 0,00Â
- Sweden 0,00Â
6 Estonia 0,50Â
7 Netherlands 1,00Â
- Switzerland 1,00Â
9 Iceland 2,00Â
10 Lithuania 2,25Â
11 Belgium 2,50Â
- Malta 2,50Â
13 Austria 3,00Â
- Latvia 3,00Â
- New Zealand 3,00Â
16 Australia 3,13Â
17 Japan 3,25Â
18 Germany 3,50Â
19 Canada 3,70Â
20 Luxembourg 4,00Â
- United Kingdom 4,00Â
- United States of America 4,00Â
23 Jamaica 4,75Â
24 Czech Republic 5,00Â
25 Cyprus 5,50Â
- Hungary 5,50Â
27 Ghana 6,00Â
28 Trinidad and Tobago 7,00Â
29 Uruguay 7,63Â
30 Costa Rica 8,00Â
- Mali 8,00Â
- Portugal 8,00Â
33 South Africa 8,50Â
34 Macedonia 8,75Â
35 Greece 9,00Â
- Namibia 9,00Â
37 Poland 9,50Â
- Slovenia 9,50Â
39 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10,50Â
- Chile 10,50Â
- Guyana 10,50Â
42 Surinam 10,60Â
43 France 10,67Â
44 Cape Verde 11,00Â
- Slovakia 11,00Â
- Spain 11,00Â
47 Argentina 11,33Â
48 Hong-Kong 11,75Â
49 Italy 12,14Â
50 Romania 12,50Â
51Â Cyprus (North)Â 14,00Â
- Maldives 14,00Â
- Mauritius 14,00Â
54 Paraguay 14,33Â
55 Panama 14,50Â
56 Papua New Guinea 14,70Â
57 Burkina Faso 15,00Â
- Haiti 15,00Â
59 Taiwan 15,08Â
60 Kuwait 15,25Â
61 Lebanon 15,42Â
62 Botswana 15,50Â
- Liberia 15,50Â
- Malawi 15,50Â
- Serbia 15,50Â
- Tanzania 15,50Â
- Togo 15,50Â
68 Bulgaria 15,61Â
69 South Korea 15,67Â
70 Bhutan 15,75Â
71 Brazil 15,88Â
72 Benin 16,00Â
- Seychelles 16,00Â
- Timor-Leste 16,00Â
75 Kosovo 16,58Â
76 Nicaragua 16,75Â
77 Montenegro 17,00Â
78 Croatia 17,17Â
79 El Salvador 17,25Â
80 Central African Republic 17,75Â
81 Georgia 18,83Â
82 Comoros 19,00Â
- Mozambique 19,00Â
84 Ecuador 20,00Â
85 Peru 20,88Â
86 Uganda 21,50Â
- United Arab Emirates 21,50Â
88 Albania 21,75Â
89 Senegal 22,00Â
- Ukraine 22,00Â
91 Mongolia 23,33Â
92 Guinea-Bissau 23,50Â
93Â Israel (Israeli territory)Â 23,75Â
94 Qatar 24,00Â
95 Bolivia 24,17Â
96 Kenya 25,00Â
97 Zambia 26,75Â
98 Dominican Republic 26,83Â
99 Lesotho 27,50Â
100 Guinea 28,50Â
- Indonesia 28,50Â
- Mauritania 28,50Â
103 Burundi 29,00Â
- Côte d'Ivoire 29,00Â
105 India 29,33Â
106 Guatemala 29,50Â
- Oman 29,50Â
108Â United States of America (extra-territorial)Â 30,00Â
109 Cameroon 30,50Â
110 Djibouti 31,00Â
111 Armenia 31,13Â
112 Jordan 31,88Â
113 Tajikistan 32,00Â
114 Moldova 33,75Â
115 Sierra Leone 34,00Â
116 Congo 34,25Â
117 Cambodia 35,17Â
118 Nepal 35,63Â
119 Angola 36,50Â
- Bahrain 36,50Â
121 Bangladesh 37,33Â
122 Philippines 38,25Â
- Turkey 38,25Â
124 Venezuela 39,50Â
125 Kurdistan 40,00Â
126 Colombia 40,13Â
127 Morocco 41,00Â
128 Honduras 42,00Â
129 Gabon 43,50Â
130 Thailand 44,00Â
131 Malaysia 44,25Â
132 Chad 44,50Â
133 Singapore 45,00Â
134 Madagascar 45,83Â
135 Nigeria 46,00Â
136 Zimbabwe 46,50Â
137 Gambia 48,25Â
- Mexico 48,25Â
139 Niger 48,50Â
140 Ethiopia 49,00Â
141 Algeria 49,56Â
142 Kazakhstan 49,67Â
143 Egypt 51,38Â
144 Swaziland 52,50Â
145 Iraq 53,30Â
146 Azerbaijan 53,50Â
- Democratic Republic of Congo 53,50Â
148 Sudan 54,00Â
149 Afghanistan 54,25Â
150Â Israel (extra-territorial)Â 55,50Â
151 Belarus 59,50Â
152 Fiji 60,00Â
153 Russia 60,88Â
154 Tunisia 61,50Â
155 Brunei 63,50Â
156 Libya 64,50Â
157 Rwanda 64,67Â
158 Equatorial Guinea 65,50Â
159 Pakistan 65,67Â
160 Uzbekistan 67,67Â
161 Palestinian Territories 69,83Â
162 Sri Lanka 75,00Â
163 Saudi Arabia 76,50Â
164 Somalia 77,50Â
165 Syria 78,00Â
166 Vietnam 81,67Â
167 Yemen 83,38Â
168 China 84,50Â
169 Laos 92,00Â
170 Cuba 94,00Â
171 Burma 102,67Â
172 Iran 104,14Â
173 Turkmenistan 107,00Â
174 North Korea 112,50Â
175 Eritrea 115,50Â
