Civil liberties around the world will decline for the 18th consecutive year by 2023, with conflict and flawed elections the biggest factors, a new report finds.
The nonprofit Freedom House found that political rights and civil liberties have deteriorated for more than a fifth of the population. Of the 210 countries and territories analyzed by the research team, only one in five was “free.”
Published on Thursday world freedom report Assess political rights and civil liberties, then classify countries or territories as “free,” “partially free,” or “not free.”
Researchers examine issues such as how effectively government operates, political pluralism, free speech, religious freedom and whether marginalized groups have adequate rights.
Report co-author Cathryn Grothe said the 2023 decline is largely attributable to election-rigging cases. The report found that electoral issues in almost half of the countries were designated as recessionary.
“While the report’s findings are indeed grim, they come at a particularly important time,” Grote said, noting that 2024 will be a critical year, with around 40 countries planning to hold national elections.
Report finds manipulation, intimidation
Grote told VOA that her group’s research found widespread election manipulation and intimidation before, during and after the election.
“Billions of people around the world will go to the polls,” she noted.
The report highlights that Cambodia, Guatemala, Poland, Turkey and Zimbabwe have all attempted to control, hinder or interfere with elections.
In Ecuador, Nigeria and Taiwan, elections were disrupted by violence or interference by foreign regimes.
In Guatemala, however, attempts to block the peaceful transfer of power failed. Bernardo Arevalo takes office in early 2024 after the country’s highest court ruled that Congress must accept his inauguration despite its previous refusal to recognize elected members.
Watch U.S. games collectively
The United States – classified as a free country by Freedom House – is among the countries holding important elections.
Grote said Freedom House is focusing on issues in the United States, including congressional dysfunction such as delays in appropriations bills and internal disputes over the authority of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Freedom House also pays close attention to the use of intimidation and threats of violence as tools of political influence in the United States, particularly in the final months before the election.
Grote said there has been a “surge” in reports of threats against elected officials and local election administrators in recent years.
“When democracies like the United States, which have huge influence on the world stage, become weaker internally, it becomes more difficult to fight this global authoritarianism,” Grote said. “It makes us domestically in the United States more difficult. There is an urgent need to address our own domestic deficiencies.”
The Freedom House report makes a number of recommendations, including calling on governments and other actors in civil society to “immediately” and “publicly” condemn rigging, coups and refusals to respect election results.
“Democracies need to be committed to free and fair elections at home and need to support the same elections abroad,” Grote said.
The biggest drop in freedom was in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that sparked the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The region fell 40 points overall. This decline follows fighting in September 2023 that resulted in the mass displacement of more than 100,000 Armenians.
The second largest reduction occurred in Niger, where the army overthrew the government in July 2023.
The conflict also led to sharp declines in other areas. Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to affect the basic rights of people in occupied areas of Ukraine and has led to increased repression within Russia. The report also noted the impact of the Israeli-Hamas conflict and Myanmar’s military rule on civilians.
Other countries are seeing progress, too. Fiji received 7 points for a “smooth” transfer of power after the 2022 elections. Nepal was recognized in an amendment to its Citizenship Act, which allows 400,000 stateless people born in the country to acquire citizenship.
Grote said that despite the obstacles faced over the past year, there remain “beacons of hope” in these countries to reverse these declines.
“It is important to remember that people in all political contexts, from the most liberal to the most authoritarian, continue to fight to preserve their rights and dignity, and even in these countries, this provides There was a level of hope. It was a frustrating moment.”
She added that the report should serve as a reminder of the stakes of democracy and a call to reverse the decline of global freedoms.
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