Bangladesh's press freedom lowest in South Asia after Afghanistan
Unesco awards World Press Freedom Prize to Palestinian journalists in Gaza
Bangladesh has slipped two notches on the World Press Freedom Index as it has ranked 165th among 180 countries in the 2024 report – placing at the bottom among the South Asian nations after Afghanistan.
The country scored 27.64 out of 100 in the 2024 index published Friday (3 May) by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. Bangladesh's score last year was higher at 35.31 (rank 163rd).
In 2022, Bangladesh's position was 162nd with a score of 36.63. It ranked 152nd with a score of 50.29 in the 2021 index.
Nepal now leads South Asia in press freedom, coming out 74th globally this year, scoring 60.52. It is followed by the Maldives as it ranked 106th, with a score of 52.36.
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Bhutan, the last year's topper, now stands in the third position in the region, scoring 37.29 and fell to 147th from 90th globally last year. Placed fourth regionally, Sri Lanka scored 35.21 and ranked 150th globally. Pakistan stands fifth in the region, claiming 152nd position.
India took the sixth position in the region and notched up to 159th globally from last year's 161st position, and India is followed by Bangladesh. This year Afghanistan came at the bottom in the region as it fell 26 notches to 178th position, with a score of 19.09.
The report mentioned, "In the Asia-Pacific region – the world's second most difficult region for practising journalism – five countries are among the world's ten most dangerous countries for media personnel: Myanmar (171st), China (172nd), North Korea (177th), Vietnam (174th) and Afghanistan (178th)."
Norway tops the global index with 91.89 points for the eighth time in a row, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland and Germany occupying the top ten spots.
The 2024 World Press Freedom Index evaluated the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories using five contextual indicators that reflect the press freedom situation in all of its complexity: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.
The report stated that "Press freedom around the world is being threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors – political authorities. This is clear from the latest annual World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). This finding is based on the fact that, of the five indicators used to compile the ranking, it is the political indicator that has fallen most, registering a global average fall of 7.6 points."
Press freedom during Israel-Gaza war
Unesco yesterday awarded its 2024 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza.
"In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances," said Mauricio Weibel, chair of the international jury of media professionals.
"As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression."
Meanwhile, Israel, currently involved in a bloody war in Gaza, has ranked 101 with a 53.23 score, slipping from its previous rank of 97.
The report said more than 100 journalists were killed in six months in Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces since the start of war on 7 October 2023.
Pressure on journalists has increased with disinformation campaigns and repressive laws multiplying in Israel, said the report.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) puts the tally of journalists killed by Israel at 97 as of 3 May.
This makes it the deadliest period for journalists since 1992, when the CPJ started collecting data.
The press rights organisation also mentioned that 16 journalists were reported injured, four missing, and 25 arrested since the Israel-Gaza war began.
