Freedom House places Somaliland among the ranks of – and at par with – more established, fully-fledged nations in the world in its assessment of a number of fundamental freedoms enjoyed or denied to citizens in the countries cited.
This year’s report covering 2016 is compiled by Arch Puddington and Tyler Roylance, has been aptly named ‘Populists and Autocrats:The Dual Threat to Global Democracy‘.
The report in one of its opening paragraphs states that there was a ‘troubling impression created by the year’s headline events is supported by the latest findings of Freedom in the World. A total of 67 countries suffered net
declines in political rights and civil liberties in 2016, compared with 36 that registered gains. This marked the 11th consecutive year in which declines outnumbered improvements’,
The reports points out that ‘populist and nationalist political forces made astonishing gains in democratic states, while authoritarian powers engaged in brazen acts of aggression, and grave atrocities went unanswered in war zones across two continents’, which made the observance of basic human rights across the globe even more alarming than preceding years.
The report cites many of the major, leading democracies in the world in not so unflattering terms:
..the major democracies were mired in anxiety and indecision after a
series of destabilizing events. In the United States, the presidential victory of Donald Trump, a mercurial figure with unconventional views on foreign policy and other matters, raised questions about the country’s future role in the world. Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, the collapse of the Italian government after a failed referendum on constitutional reform, a
series of anti-democratic moves by the new government in Poland, and gains by xenophobic nationalist parties elsewhere in Europe similarly cast doubt on the strength of the alliances that shaped the institutions of global democracy.
The report charts the state of various freedom issues in the world dividing them into ‘free’, ‘partly free’ and ‘not free’, as the maps and charts below (and above) indicate.
Somaliland (Republic of) is in the category where all of the fundamental rights which are the accepted requisites for all-encompassing development are not intact, scoring 40 (100 best) in the world ranking. Hence, Somaliland is placed within the category ‘partially free’ as are many other nations. The reasons are either explained or left to the readers, as many of the countries in the latter category had been denied even of the basic right of ‘self-determination’ and ‘freedom of political association.
In contrast, Somalia, as the table below indicates, is placed among the 11 worst states in the world categorised as the ‘Worst of the worst’.
The 2017 report concludes that:
- With populist and nationalist forces making significant gains in democratic states, 2016 marked the 11th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
- There were setbacks in political rights, civil liberties, or both, in a number of countries rated “Free” by the report, including Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Tunisia, and the United States.
- Of the 195 countries assessed, 87 (45 percent) were rated Free, 59 (30 percent) Partly Free, and 49 (25 percent) Not Free.
- The Middle East and North Africa region had the worst ratings in the world in 2016, followed closely by Eurasia.
Please find the complete here:Â FH_FIW_2017_Report_Final
