‘Restricted’: Nearly 7 billion people worldwide lack full civil rights | Freedom of the Press News

Only 40 countries representing 3.5% of the world population respect all civil freedoms, revealed a new study, warning that “democracy and human rights have been attacked in the world in a way that we have not seen for decades”.

The report of the Atlas of Civil Society published By the German rescue organization, Brot Fur Die Welt (Bread for the World) said on Monday that 284 million people living in “open” countries – notably Austria, Estonia, Scandinavian countries, New Zealand and Jamaica – benefit from protection of civil rights and unrestricted freedoms.

The non -governmental organization defines a country as “open” if it allows people to train associations “without legal or practical obstacles, to demonstrate in public spaces, to receive information and are authorized to disseminate it”.

Forty-two countries representing 11.1% of the world’s population is listed in a second category in which civil rights are classified as “altered”. These include Germany, Slovakia, Argentina and the United States.

In these countries, the rights to the freedom of assembly and expression are widely respected, but there are registered violations.

“Restricted, deleted or closed”

“On the other hand, 85% of the world’s population lives in countries where civil society is limited, abolished or closed. This affects nearly seven billion people,” said the report.

“Their governments severely restrict civil freedoms and harass, stop or kill critical voices. This applies to 115 from the 197 countries,” he added.

Several European countries appear in the “restricted” category, notably Greece, the United Kingdom, Hungary and Ukraine.

Civil society is considered to be “oppressed” in 51 countries, including Algeria, Mexico and Turkey. In these countries, governments monitor, imprison or kill criticism and exercise censorship, according to data.

Finally, Russia and 28 other countries are classified as “closed” and
Characterized by an “atmosphere of fear”. Government criticism
Or the regime in these countries is seriously punished.

Brot Fur Die Welt relied on the data collected by the Civicus network of civil society organizations around the world for its annual report covering 197 countries and territories.

Nine countries have improved their assessments of freedom of expression last year, notably Jamaica, Japan, Slovenia, Trinidad and Tobago, Botswana, Fiji, Liberia, Poland and Bangladesh.

However, nine countries have been demoted compared to the previous year, notably Georgia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Peru, Ethiopia, Eswatini, the Netherlands, Mongolia and Palestinian territory.

Dagmar Pruin, president of Brot Fur Die Welt, warned that “the rule of law, the separation of powers and the protection against the arbitrariness of the States are threatened or no longer exist in more and more countries.”