International Center on Conflict and Negotiation (ICCN)

WORST OF THE WORST

Of the 47 countries designated as Not Free, nine have been given the survey’s lowest possible rating of 7 for both political rights and civil liberties. These worst-rated countries represent a narrow range of systems and cultures. One—North Korea—is a one-party, Marxist-Leninist regime. Two— Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—are Central Asian countries ruled by dictators with roots in the Soviet period. Libya is an Arab country under the sway of a secular dictatorship, while Sudan is ruled by a leadership that has elements of both radical Islamism and a traditional military junta. The remaining worst-rated states are Burma, a tightly controlled military dictatorship; Equatorial Guinea, a highly corrupt regime with one of the worst human rights records in Africa; Eritrea, an increasingly repressive police state; and Somalia, a failed state.

The one worst-rated territory in the survey, Tibet, is under Chinese jurisdiction.
An additional 10 countries and territories received scores that were slightly above those of the worst-ranked countries, with ratings of 6,7 or 7,6 for political rights and civil liberties: Belarus, Chad, China, Cuba, Guinea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, South Ossetia, Syria, and Western Sahara.

Overview

Freedom House has prepared this report as a companion to our annual survey on the state of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World. We are publishing this report to assist policymakers, human rights organizations, democracy advocates, and others who are working to advance freedom around the world. We also hope that the report will be useful to the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The reports are excerpted from Freedom in the World 2010, which surveys the state of freedom in 194 countries and 14 select territories. The ratings and accompanying essays are based on events from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2009. The 17 countries and 3 territories profiled in this report are drawn from the total of 47 countries and 7 territories that are considered to be Not Free, and whose citizens endure systematic and pervasive human rights violations.

Included in this report are nine countries judged to have the worst human rights conditions: Burma, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Also included is one territory , Tibet, whose inhabitants suffer similarly intense repression. These states and territories received the Freedom House survey’s lowest ratings: 7 for political rights and 7 for civil liberties (based on a 1 to 7 scale, with 1 representing the most free and 7 the least free). Within these entities, state control over daily life is pervasive, independent organizations and political opposition are banned or suppressed, and fear of retribution for independent thought and action is ubiquitous.

The report also includes eight additional countries near the bottom of Freedom House’s ratings scale: Belarus, Chad, China, Cuba, Guinea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. The two territories of South Ossetia and Western Sahara are also included in this group. These countries and territories—all of which received ratings of 7 for political rights and 6 for civil liberties—offer very limited scope for private discussion while severely suppressing opposition political activity, impeding independent organizing, and censoring or punishing criticism of the state.

Massive human rights violations take place in nearly every region of the world. This year’s roster of the “worst of the worst” includes countries from the Americas, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and East Asia; they represent a wide array of cultures and levels of economic development. This report focuses on states and territories that have seen some of the world’s most severe repression and most systematic and brutal abuses of human dignity. It seeks to focus the attention of the United Nations Human

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Rights Council on states and territories that deserve investigation and condemnation for their widespread violations.

Despite a net 37-year gain in support for the values of democracy–multiparty elections, the rule of law, freedom of association, freedom of speech, the rights of minorities and other fundamental, universally valid human rights–the last four years have seen a global decline in freedom. The declines represent the longest period of erosion in political rights and civil liberties in the nearly 40-year history of Freedom in the World. New threats, including heightened attacks on human rights defenders, increased limits on press freedom and attacks on journalists, and significant restrictions on freedom of association have been seen in nearly every corner of the globe. The countries identified in this report represent some of the worst examples of these threats, and their populations live under regimes that use every means necessary to prevent progress in democratic governance.

By absolute historical standards, the world is still freer than it was thirty years ago. Dozens of states have shed tyranny and embraced democratic rule and respect for basic civil liberties. According to our global survey, Freedom in the World 2010 (whose findings can be accessed online at www.freedomhouse.org), of the 194 countries in the world, 89 (46 percent) are Free and can be said to respect a broad array of basic human rights and political freedoms. An additional 58 (30 percent) are Partly Free, with some abridgments of basic rights and weak enforcement of the rule of law. In all, some 3 billion

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people—46 percent of the world’s population—live in Free states in which a broad array of political rights are protected. This progress makes the overall global decline, including the current state of this set of countries and territories, all the more disturbing.
There is growing evidence that most countries that have made measured and sustainable progress in long-term economic development are also states that respect democratic practices. This should hardly be surprising, as competitive, multiparty democracy provides for the rotation of power, government transparency, independent civic monitoring, and free media. These in turn promote improved governance and impede massive corruption and cronyism, conditions that are prevalent in settings where political power is not subject to civic and political checks and balances.

The expansion of democratic governance over the last several decades has important implications for the United Nations and other international organizations. Today, states that respect basic freedoms and the rule of law have greater potential than ever before to positively influence global and regional institutions. But they can only achieve that potential within international bodies by working cooperatively and cohesively on issues of democracy and human rights. Nowhere is the need for international democratic cooperation more essential than at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Although democracy has scored impressive gains in recent times, we have also begun to see a new drive to prevent the further spread of democracy and, where possible, roll back some of the achievements that have already been registered. A number of the countries featured in this report are prominent in this effort. In addition, many of the world’s worst violators of human rights and democratic standards have joined in loose coalitions at the United Nations to deflect attention from their records of repression. The failure of the United Nations to effectively address human rights problems played an important role in the decision to replace the old Commission on Human Rights with the new Human Rights Council. The Council is functioning under a set of procedures that should enable it to deal with the core human rights problems in the world. We offer this report in the hope that it will assist the democratic world in pressing the case for freedom at the United Nations and in other forums.

Jennifer Windsor

Executive Director, Freedom House

May 2010

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Worst of the Worst 2010:

The World’s Most Repressive Societies

Independent Countries

Related and Disputed Territories

South Ossetia
Political Rights: 7 Population: 70,000
Civil Liberties: 6
Status: Not Free
Ten-Year Ratings Timeline for Year under Review
(Political Rights, Civil Liberties, Status)

Trend Arrow: South Ossetia received a downward trend arrow due to Russia’s increased control over the economy and political system, and Russian aid that has fueled rampant corruption among local elites.

2009 Key Developments: Russia tightened its grip on South Ossetia in 2009, formalizing the presence of Russian border guards in the territory and constructing a new military base in Tskhinvali. Russian president Dmitri Medvedev pledged additional funds for South Ossetia in July, but reconstruction efforts have been painfully slow and mired in corruption. Meanwhile, a series of incidents in the summer increased the threat of new fighting with Georgia, and the more than 18,500 ethnic Georgians who fled South Ossetia during the 2008 war remained unable to return during the year.

Political Rights: Though South Ossetia conducts elections, they are not monitored or recognized by independent observers. Most ethnic Georgians have either declined to or been unable to participate in such elections. During the May 2009 parliamentary elections, opposition parties reported significant government violations, including sealed ballot boxes, observers being given limited access to polling stations, and residents allegedly being forced to vote for separatist leader Eduard Kokoity. Election laws enacted in 2008 set a 7 percent vote threshold for parties to enter the parliament and required all lawmakers to be elected by proportional representation; the rules helped to substantially decrease opposition representation in 2009. In August 2009 Kokoity appointed a Russian businessman, Vadim Brovtsev, as prime minister. Corruption is believed to be extensive, particularly in the reconstruction effort following the 2008 conflict. The territory has been linked to extensive smuggling and black-market activities, including the counterfeiting of U.S. currency.

Civil Liberties: South Ossetia’s electronic and print media are entirely controlled by separatist authorities, and private broadcasts are prohibited. The South Ossetian Orthodox Church, which is unrecognized by both the Georgian and Russian Orthodox Churches, continues to operate freely. While there were several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in South Ossetia before the war, at least one South Ossetian NGO that claims to be independent has been linked to the government. All organizations operate under close scrutiny from Tskhinvali. According to UN data cited by Amnesty International, about 30,000 people, most of them ethnic Georgians, remained displaced from their homes in and around South Ossetia as of May 2009, and 18,500 from South Ossetia faced long-term displacement. Russian authorities have barred ethnic Ossetians from entering Georgia, but they can travel freely into Russia.

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