Global Expression Report 2018/19: The State of Freedom of Expression around the World

"...interrogates not just the rights of journalists and civil society, but how much space there is for all of us - as individuals and citizens - to express and communicate - how free is each and every citizen to post online, to march, to teach, to access information we need."

From ARTICLE 19, the Global Expression Report (produced annually) summarises major developments in freedom of expression around the world. Based on qualitative data covering 2018 and looking at trends over a 10-year period, the report details the factors that contribute to the health (or otherwise) of freedom of expression globally.

In 161 countries, 39 indicators were included in a Bayesian measurement model to create the XpA metric. These indicators were also used separately to create 5 other scores, which relate to different expression themes:

1. Civic space - the space to participate in public debate and political action;
2. Digital - ability to express oneself via the internet;
3. Media - the environment for outlets and publications;
4. Protection - the safety and security of those who express themselves; and
5. Transparency - the ability of people to gain information and force accountability from powerholders.

The Global analysis portion of the report provides an indication of what areas are influencing expression and where. Selected findings:

• Gains that were made between 2008 and 2013 have been eroded over the last 5 years.
• 66 countries - with a combined population of more than 5.5 billion people - saw a decline in their overall freedom of expression environment last decade.
• 2018 was characterised by mass street demonstrations, from Iran to Nicaragua through Ethiopia and France – the same is true of 2019: in the latter part of the year, protests swept across Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile – as well as Hong Kong, Iraq, and Lebanon. Yet, repressive responses to these street protests are contributing to the decline in freedom of expression around the world.
• Digital freedom of expression is lower than it was 10 years ago in every region except the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This is largely due to a rise in digital authoritarianism, with governments increasingly undermining freedom of expression online through: internet shutdowns; content restrictions; weakening encryption; increased surveillance; bans on secure messaging apps; and data localisation.
• In 2018, 99 journalists were killed - 21 more than 2017. Global impunity rates for these crimes are at over 95%. At the end of 2018, more than 250 journalists were in prison - also up from the year before. "Women journalists face specific challenges, including gender-specific attacks, online harassment, inequality within the media and general discrimination against women in society which creates barriers to working and succeeding as a journalist."
• Of the 321 human rights defenders (HRDs) killed in 2018 (up 9 from 2017), 77% were killed while working on environmental, land, and indigenous peoples' rights. Mexico and Colombia alone accounted for more than 54% of HRDs killed in 2018.

The Regional overview page offers a deeper dive into regions; for example, freedom of expression in the MENA is significantly lower than in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe and Central Asia. Although the MENA score is the only one to rise over the decade, freedom of expression is being severely suppressed by state violence, judicial harassment, and repressive laws. Despite the Arab Spring protests, leading to improvement in freedom of expression in Tunisia and Libya, freedom of expression in Egypt and Yemen has declined, suggesting that regime change must be accompanied by constitutional guarantees for human rights and steady institution-building if improvements to free speech are to be sustained.

A series of country updates take a look at focus countries from earlier reports and examine where change has happened. There is also an in-depth examination of one of ARTICLE 19's priority countries, Mexico, where the situation for expression and, in particular, journalists and human/environmental defenders, is "extremely serious".

Looking ahead, according to ARTICLE 19 Executive Director Thomas Hughes: "The future will need both: popular movements and institutional reform. Our best path forward is a public debate - held everywhere from the street to the judiciary - which both feeds into and demands accountability from our democratic structures. The structures which govern lives must become more responsive and representative, not less - they must listen and enact, not silence; and they must share and inform, not hide or obscure. We must protect and exercise our freedom of expression to breathe life and legitimacy back into our governments - to make demands of our leaders and ensure that they are met."