World Press Freedom Day, report highlights decline in press freedom in Iraq
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – As the world commemorates World Press Freedom Day on May 3 each year, a sobering report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF - Reporters sans frontières) sheds light on the concerning decline in press freedom in Iraq.
According to the latest press freedom report released by Reporters Without Borders, this year's political indicators registered the lowest scores among the five measures of press freedom, contributing to a global average decline of 7.6 points.
🔴 #RSFIndex | RSF unveils the 2024 World Press Freedom Index
— RSF (@RSF_inter) May 3, 2024
1: Norway🇳🇴
2: Denmark🇩🇰
3: Sweden🇸🇪
10: Germany🇩🇪
21: France🇫🇷
55: United States🇺🇸
101: Israel🇮🇱
162: Russia🇷🇺
172: China🇨🇳
178: Afghanistan🇦🇫
179: Syria🇸🇾
180: Eritrea🇪🇷https://t.co/fdZ3RWSFjN pic.twitter.com/y30fUGVUQ2
The report attributed part of this decline to the escalation of press freedom violations during the Gaza war, with over 100 Palestinian journalists reportedly killed by the Israeli army, including at least 22 while on duty.
Iraq's Index breakdown according to the report:
| Indicators | Index 2024 | Index 2023 | ||
| Score | Ranking out of 180 | Score | Ranking out of 180 | |
| Political | 20.65 | 162 | 39.25 | 152 |
| Economic | 22.14 | 173 | 28.04 | 170 |
| Legislative | 26.44 | 170 | 31.13 | 161 |
| Social | 29.46 | 167 | 36.36 | 158 |
| Security | 28.69 | 163 | 29.90 | 165 |
Iraq's press freedom score plummeted from 32.94 last year to 25.48 in 2024, further exacerbating its ranking. The country slipped two places to 169th out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom, according to the report.
The deterioration was particularly pronounced across various indicators, with political indicators dropping from 39.2 to 20.6, economic indicators from 28 to 22.1, social indicators from 36 to 29.4, and security indicators facing a decline as well.
World Press Freedom Day, established by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek and serves as a global reminder of the importance of press freedom.
Despite the challenges, it is a day to reaffirm the essential role of a free press in upholding democracy, fostering transparency, and safeguarding human rights worldwide.