Global Freedom Falls For Fourth Straight Year, Report Says

According to a report published by Washington D.C. based think-tank Freedom House, global declines in freedom have outweighed gains for the fourth year in a row.

The report, titled Freedom in the World 2010, is published annually and looks at political rights and civil liberties across the globe. According to Freedom House, the current decline in global freedom represents the longest continuous decline in the report's nearly 40-year history.

"The news for 2009 is cause for real concern," writes Arch Puddington, Freedom House Director of Research. "The decline is global, affects countries with military and economic power, affects countries that had previously shown signs of reform potential, and is accompanied by enhanced persecution of political dissidents and independent journalists. To make matters worse, the most powerful authoritarian regimes have become more repressive, more influential in the international arena, and more uncompromising."

This year 40 countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union all became less free. We've highlighted some of the most important aspects of the report in the slideshow below.

• • • • • • Sub-Saharan Africa: Declines in freedom were seen in Botswana and Lesotho, with the latter changing category from Free to Partly Free. In addition, declines were noted in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, and Niger, and in two of the region’s most repressive regimes, Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Improvements were noted in Malawi, Burundi, Togo, and Zimbabwe. (Pictured - A Soldier In The Congolese Army)

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Comments

[nmaddog7]

04:12 PM on 01/20/2010

How are they defining freedom? Seems a little hard to measure accurately, but I would agree the world is looking more and more like the period b4 WWII

[foreignobserver]

10:42 AM on 01/14/2010

Please include Canada on this list. Since the election of the Stephen Harper government parliament has been shut down and the people ignored by a government with only support from a small radical part of the population

[Caliphane]

04:37 PM on 01/13/2010

This coincidentally coincides with a rise of right-wing governments worldwide. Wonder what we would like like if the rethugs had been voted in.

[Eidolas]

04:46 PM on 01/13/2010

If by "we" you mean the U.S., I'd say pretty much the same as what you have right now, except without health care reform.

[mod1648]

09:37 PM on 01/13/2010

Outside of Europe where are right-wing governments on the march? Latin America has gone to the left except for Colombia, Mexico and Chile. Australia voted out Howard and voted in Rudd (Labour), New Zealand is Labour, Japan voted its center-left party into power for the first time ever. ANC in South Africa are hardly right-wing neither is India's Congress Party. And the rest of the world just doesn't have elections.

[mod1648]

09:46 PM on 01/13/2010

"And the rest of the world just doesn't have elections." I retract that. I'm just to lazy to look up who's in charge of each of the rest of Africa's nations. It doesn't change the point I'm making that there is no unusual global right-wing shift.

[EmanuelWazar]

02:11 PM on 01/13/2010

Ahhhhemmmmmm

-.-

"Freedom"?

"Freedom" as is freedom or "freedom" as in "convenient to American political/business interest"?

'Cause I certainly see why Americans would be concerned about all this declining "freedom" fade going on now and days.

[Eidolas]

02:31 PM on 01/13/2010

And there it is: Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't. I guess you are right, America has enough problems, the rest of the world should just take care of itself. Maybe countries like Cuba and Venezuela (between rolling blackouts) can pitch in and help. After all, they have no agenda.

[DPMacCready]

02:09 PM on 01/13/2010

Obama signs executive order establishing a security Council of Governors

http://dansdesk.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/councilofgovernors/?preview=true&preview_id=1&preview_nonce=f09df2907c

[Richard Pearce]

01:24 PM on 01/13/2010

I wonder how much of the trend is due to changes in freedoms in countries around the world, or more countries no longer dancing to the US tune. If you look at FH's ratings, the second criteria seems to be almost as important as the first in determing a countries ratings.

[azdirk]

01:12 PM on 01/13/2010

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.--Benjamin Franklin.

Why? It is axiomatic that there is no system that can be created that cannot be subverted. This morning's newspaper reported that Americans are willing to give up some liberty for safety. Since safety can never be absolute, any attack means that we have not given up enough freedom. What follows is the giving up of more freedoms. Remember that even in dictatorships where there is no freedom, resistance occurs.
Even Hitler was the victim of an unsuccessful plot.

[vippy]

12:40 PM on 01/13/2010

The USA needs to be included. Just look who they call sex offender and we have so many now that we don't know where our school buses can stop. Most declared sex offenders should not be labeled as such. I am glad when I grew up that this did not exist or we all would be labeled by now. We have to engage common sense somewhere. Remember it can happen to you, all you need is someone pointing a finger and it will cost you an arm and a leg to disprove it. Same goes with the Muslims now, do we really need to hate someone at all times, was the Germans back in 1919, then came the Japanese, now it is the Muslims. This is just fodder for our government so they have it easier to attack a sovereign nation. Those that need our help like some in Africa surely don't get it.

[Justin TI]

12:22 PM on 01/13/2010

How are We Loosing Freedom In Canada and the USA?

Have you not heard about the growing crimes of organized stalking and electronic harassment? You will not believe what is going on right here in our own neighbourhoods under the guise of citizen watch groups and “national security” gone, well, nutz. Believe it or not it appears to be a form of domestic terrorism right here in Canada and the United states.
The National Victims of Crime Center receives thousands of calls per month from average citizens reporting this crime. Further the Tornoto Rape Crisis Center is leading the way by aknowledging and activily supporting these until now, unknown and underserved victims of the community stalking phenominon. Organized stalking is a very real and deadly form of stalking that is just now beginning to come to the public’s attention.

http://catchcanada.net
http://www.casttv.com/search/DSouza%20family/1
http://www.raven1.net/targ.htm
http://www.freedomfchs.com/


Thanks for your time,
Justin TI, Ottawa, Canada.

[megacephalus]

11:59 AM on 01/13/2010

Add in the US. The AQ is succeeding! and in the EU the situation with immigr tion that is trying to destroy our culture, far worse [but only so far]. Given a couple of domestic attacks in the US from the resident '5th column' living in Detroit, Minneapolis, etc. and one will see an internal blood-bath unlike and fr exceeding historic K K K actions...

[livinreality]

12:12 PM on 01/13/2010

I agree, but hope we don't see it. A tipping point is getting very close, American anger and resentment of the Muslim community, good or bad is real and boiling just below the surface, and it is not strictly in the skin head (dumb ass) circles.

[Ramirez]

11:33 AM on 01/13/2010

It's good to be an American, and stories like this remind us of that.

[helenwheels]

11:48 AM on 01/13/2010

North America was included in the slideshow.

[Ramirez]

12:02 PM on 01/13/2010

Good point! It's good to be an American, but it sucks to be a enemy combatant being warehoused at Gitmo.

[Schmaltzy the Golem]

11:26 AM on 01/13/2010

Partly free with chance of scattered dictatorships is the general forecast.

[CigarGod]

09:41 AM on 01/13/2010

When you factor in all the repressive governments the USA supports...we might be #1 on the list.

[helenwheels]

11:49 AM on 01/13/2010

Or just factor in that we are currently living under corporate fasc!sm.

[livinreality]

03:25 PM on 01/13/2010

That is a matter of opinion and personal perception.

[livinreality]

12:17 PM on 01/13/2010

Like Chavez, Castro, Iranian Mullahs, African dictators?

[Justin TI]

03:11 PM on 01/13/2010

These people are free, right?

http://www.casttv.com/search/DSouza%20family/1 (non muslim)
http://www.raven1.net/targ.htm

[CigarGod]

06:14 PM on 01/13/2010

Yeah, like a good part of the middle east...including Israel, a good part of central and south america.

A USA military presence in 145 out of 200 countries on the planet.
They are not there planting gardens.

[Marciarita]

09:39 AM on 01/13/2010

Bush's spreading Freedom and Democracy idea is called FAILED 101, plus the U.S. Taxpayer is stuck with a Trillion dollar debt plus interest to pay for that spreading of Freedom, um, I mean war.

Of course, think of what a Trillion could have done for healthcare in America.

What a good President he was.....

NOT !!!!

People's priorities are for death obviously (i.e. money for wars but not healthcare). And we call ourselves the moral country of the world? I think we lost that title when Bush entered the picture.

And it is only time before Iraq blows up again.... They are very patient and there are power struggles there.

[Eidolas]

02:35 PM on 01/13/2010

All valid comments, but stop living in the past! After all, we have had new leadership for over a year that has pulled us out of Iraq, begun a drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, stamped out AQ, solved the economic crises and closed Gitmo.

[moonflowerjewelry]

09:02 AM on 01/13/2010

...our loss of freedom is not as obvious, but just as troubling...