Press freedom around the world is being threatened by the very people who should be its guardians, the political authorities. In Mozambique, "the re-election of Filipe Nyusi and the fragile peace agreement with former rebels have not slowed down the worrying decline in press freedom".

The conclusion comes from the World Press Freedom Index 2024: Journalism under political pressure released on Friday, May 3, International Press Freedom Day, by the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which registers a global average drop of 7.6 points.

Mozambique dropped three places and is now in 105th place. However, among the Portuguese-speaking African countries, the highlight goes to Angola, which left the group of states in a difficult to problematic situation and rose from 125th position in 2023 to 104th in 2024, out of a total of 180 analyzed.

The other Lusophones in Africa, according to a publication by the VOAfell in the Index.

Cape Verde continues to be the best placed and the only one in the group of countries in a satisfactory situation, but it has fallen eight places, from 33rd to 41st.

Guinea-Bissau slipped from 78th place to 92nd, down 14 places, Mozambique fell from 102nd to 105th, down three places, and both remain in the group of countries in a difficult situation.

São Tomé and Príncipe was not included in the Index.

In the analysis by country, although still very brief, the document says that in Angola, "the inauguration of a new President, João Lourenço, in September 2017, put an end to four decades of government by the Dos Santos family, but did not mark a turning point for press freedom" and stresses that "censorship and control of information still weigh heavily on Angolan journalists".

In Guinea-Bissau, RSF says, the "sharp deterioration in the safety of media professionals, combined with political and economic pressures, has put the practice of journalism to the test in recent years".

In Mozambique, "the re-election of Filipe Nyusi and the fragile peace agreement with former rebels have not slowed down the worrying decline in press freedom".

The Index points out that "Cape Verde stands out in the region for having a favorable working environment for journalists, freedom of the press is guaranteed by the Constitution", however, the heads of the state media, who dominate the media landscape, are appointed directly by the government".

The guardians of freedom have failed

At a global level, the Paris-based non-governmental organization notes in the report that "this year there is a clear lack of political will on the part of the international community to enforce the principles of protection of journalists, especially UN Security Council Resolution 2222, with violations against journalists and the media since October 2023."

More than 100 Palestinian reporters have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces, including at least 22 in the course of their work, highlights the Index, which places Palestine in 157th place.

"As more than half the world's population goes to the polls in 2024, RSF warns of a worrying trend revealed by the 2024 World Press Freedom Index: a decline in the political indicator, one of the five indicators detailed in the Index. States and other political forces are playing a diminishing role in protecting press freedom," writes RSF's director in the introduction to the report.

Anne Bocandé says that "this loss of power is sometimes accompanied by more hostile actions that undermine the role of journalists, or even instrumentalize the media through harassment or disinformation campaigns", and concludes, "journalism worthy of the name is the opposite".

Violence against journalists in sub-Saharan Africa

In the chapter on Africa, the document notes that the elections in sub-Saharan Africa resulted in a great deal of violence against journalists and the media by political actors and their supporters.

"This is what happened in Nigeria (ranked 112th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index), where almost 20 reporters were attacked in early 2023, in Madagascar (100th) 10 were attacked for political activities during pre-election protests, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (123rd), politicians often try to intimidate media personnel, such as the case of the arrest of journalist Stanis Bujakera who was prevented from covering the election because he was arrested on a trumped-up charge," reads the document.

"During elections, politicians have also tried to use the media as instruments to exert influence and impose authority," warns RSF, which presents the cases of Senegal, DRC and Nigeria, "where politicians have sometimes created their own media."

Other countries in the region have used the method of manipulating media regulators - whose members often support political authorities or follow their orders - to suspend the media without reference to any judge.

Although Zimbabwe (116th) and Gabon (56th) moved up the Index, "the political authorities in both countries tightened their control over news and information in the run-up to the elections, arbitrarily shutting down the Internet, expelling foreign journalists or disrupting foreign media coverage."

Such practices have also been observed in Guinea.

RSF reveals that restrictions on access to information have increased even more in the Sahel, "where several countries have suspended the local broadcasting of foreign media, mainly French.

"Niger (80th) fell 19 places as a result of the draconian measures adopted by the military junta that seized power in a coup d'état in July 2023, the situation is far from brilliant in Burkina Faso (86th), which fell 28 places, and Mali (114th)."

The document highlights that it is precisely an African country, Eritrea (180th), that ranks last in the 2024 Index, being "a desert of information over the years".

Meanwhile, Tanzania and Mauritius saw a brief improvement.

Best and worst

The 2024 World Press Freedom Index recalls that 12 journalists have been killed around the world this year, and that to date 544 journalists and 26 media professionals have been imprisoned.

The RSF ranking is headed by Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and at the bottom are Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea.

The United States is in 55th place, 10 places lower than in 2023, Portugal, which is part of the group of countries in a good situation, has risen two places to 7th, and Brazil has risen 10 places to 82nd.