Freedom of expression: over half of the world living in ‘crisis’
According to global human rights organisation Article 19, more than half the world’s population lives in a country where freedom of expression is ‘in crisis’. Article 19 publishes an annual report in which it tracks freedom of speech levels around the globe. This latest statistic on freedom of expression ‘is larger than any other previous records’, says the organisation’s London-based Senior Director for Programmes, David Diaz-Jogeix. ‘Things are going in the wrong direction.’
For Sarah Hutchinson, Co-Chair of the IBA Rule of Law Forum and Non-Executive Director at BARBRI Global, who’s also based in London, the decline in freedom of speech has been exacerbated by a rise in populism and extremism globally. She highlights Iran and China as examples of countries where freedom of expression has always been extremely limited. ‘Whether you’re an opposition politician, journalist or a lawyer; if you express your views, you are at risk of arrest,’ she says.
But there have also been worrying developments in nations that refer to themselves as democratic, she adds. ‘For example, in Hungary, the media is mostly controlled by the government and independent journalism is limited with journalists at risk of criminal charges,’ says Hutchinson. Further, there have been indirect attacks on the rule of law. For example, in the UK in recent years, some legislators have spoken against lawyers for representing asylum seekers.
The rights that are at issue here are fundamental human rights, not just the right to speak freely and to a free press, but also the right to an informed citizenry
Laura Lee Prather
Scholarship Officer, IBA North American Regional Forum
Laura Lee Prather, Scholarship Officer on the IBA North American Regional Forum and Chair of the Media Law Practice Group at Haynes & Boone in Texas, says that for journalists from traditional news outlets in the US, obtaining access to political events – from the high-profile through to state legislature sessions – has become more challenging. And in some cases, she says, ‘access is also being denied based upon the political views that are likely to be expressed by various outlets.’
A simultaneous increase in so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs – often used by wealthy individuals to deter stories about them from being run – has equally had a chilling effect on news coverage, says Prather. ‘Outlets are not going to report on things that they previously would have if they’re tangled up in court for years fighting lawsuits’, she explains.
In Prather’s view, both trends have driven a decline in freedom of speech in the US. ‘The rights that are at issue here are fundamental human rights, not just the right to speak freely and to a free press, but also the right to an informed citizenry,’ she says. ‘All of those rights are in jeopardy right now.’
Within Central Asia and Europe, Poland has seen the largest decline in the last ten years, according to the Article 19 report. During that time, the Law and Justice Party undermined the independence of the judiciary and enacted a controversial media bill, which it claimed was intended to prevent hostile foreign powers taking control of its broadcasters, but which opponents argued would be used to silence critics. These developments, among others, led the European Commission to consider the country at risk of a serious breach of the rule of law within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union, and subsequently the opening of a sanctions procedure against the country.
In the Americas, El Salvador has experienced the greatest deterioration in freedom of expression, according to the Article 19 report. The organisation has previously raised concern about the treatment of journalists at election time in the country, for example, while in September the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called for the country’s government to finally end its state of emergency, first declared in 2022 in response to gang violence. The continued state of emergency has led to dismay, including from the UN, about its impact on human rights, although El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, refutes these concerns.
There have, however, been some cautiously positive examples. In 2016, Gambia seemingly transitioned from a dictatorship to a democracy overnight when its population elected President Adama Barrow. In Article 19’s latest report, the West African nation saw the largest gains in terms of freedom of speech in any sub-Saharan African country over the last decade.
But a number of recent developments have led to worries that the country is back-sliding. In 2023 for example, the government introduced a cybercrime bill, which Diaz-Jogeix says will limit online freedom of expression and dissent. While the Gambian government says the bill is important in serving as a ‘comprehensive legislative framework to combat crime facilitated by or directed at computing devices,’ Diaz-Jogeix says that Article 19 are calling for the draft legislation ‘to be reviewed and completely aligned with international standards, which is currently not [the case].’
Ultimately, Diaz-Jogeix explains, the measures leaders put in place after toppling autocratic figures are what matters. Brazil for instance saw major improvements in freedom of speech as a result of new policies enacted after President Lula da Silva defeated Jair Bolsonaro in 2022.
In 2023, Donald Tusk became Poland’s Prime Minister and the Law and Justice Party left government. The European Commission has since ended its Article 7 procedure against the country. Policies aimed at safeguarding the right to protest and protecting journalists from harassment, and the withdrawal of laws targeted at non-government organisations that restrict civic space, should be top of Tusk’s agenda, says Diaz-Jogeix. ‘There is very serious work that needs to be done,’ he says. ‘It’s going in the right direction, but we need to see those changes.’
LIana/AdobeStock.com