Ethiopia Declines to ‘Not Free’ in Freedom House’s Ranking

Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights, released its findings from the latest edition of Freedom in the World, the annual survey of global political rights and civil liberties, on January 13, 2011.

Freedom House’s Definition:
A Partly Free country is one in which there is limited respect for political rights and civil liberties. Partly Free states frequently suffer from an environment of corruption, weak rule of law, ethnic and religious strife, and a political landscape in which a single party enjoys dominance despite a certain degree of pluralism.
A Not Free country is one where basic political rights are absent, and basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied.

The annual Freedom House’s report ranks countries in the world as Free, Partly Free and Not Free based on their respect for political rights and civil liberties.
The latest report notes that Ethiopia’s ranking has dropped from ‘Partly Free’ in 2009 to ‘NOT FREE’ in 2010 due to the heightened political repression, and the clampdown on independent media and nongovernmental organizations. Freedom House also notes that Ethiopia’s decline is the most significant drop in the ranking in the sub-Saharan Africa as well as the world in 2010.

“The most significant setback occurred in Ethiopia, which declined from Partly Free to Not Free. Ethiopia has experienced steady, incremental declines in recent years, and in 2010 the pace of erosion accelerated due to massive repression that accompanied national elections.”Read More