Namibia maintains freedom
Namibia got a solid ‘A’ for its freedom index, ranking 77 out of a possible 100 points, for the third year in a row.
The Freedom in the World Report, an annual report assessing the condition of political rights and civil liberties around the world, has shown that Namibia is one of the freest countries in the world.
Namibia received a total score of 77 out of 100, maintaining the same score since 2015. For its freedom, civil rights and political rights Namibia received a rating of two out of seven.
“Namibia is a stable multiparty democracy, though the ruling party, Swapo, has overwhelmingly won every election since independence. Protections for civil liberties are generally robust.
“Minority ethnic groups claim that the government favours the majority Ovambo—which dominates Swapo —in allocating funding and services, and the nomadic San people suffer from poverty and marginalization.
“Other human rights concerns include the criminalization of same-sex sexual relations under colonial-era laws and discrimination against women under customary law and other traditional societal practices,” the report says.
It said the issue of land reform remained a contentious with a small white minority owning just under half of Namibia’s arable land, and redistribution has been slow and fraught with disagreement.
Top of the freedom list with the maximum 100 points came the Scandinavian countries Finland, Norway and Sweden.
In comparison to other South African countries, Botswana scored 72, South Africa 78, Zimbabwe 30 and Angola 26.
The “worst of the worst” countries as the report labels them are Syria, South Sudan, Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan. These are some of the 49 countries designated not free.
The Freedom in the World Report is composed of ratings and descriptions for 195 countries and 14 territories. ‘Freedom in the World’ has been published since 1973, allowing Freedom House to track global trends in freedom over more than 40 years. It has become the most widely read and cited report of its kind, used on a regular basis by policymakers, journalists, academics, activists, and many others.
Democracy faced its most serious crisis in decades in 2017 with political rights and civil liberties around the world deteriorated to their lowest point in more than a decade.
Seventy-one countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties, with only 35 registering gains. This marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
The United States retreated from its traditional role as both a champion and an exemplar of democracy amid an accelerating decline in American political rights and civil liberties.
Over the period since the 12-year global slide began in 2006, 113 countries have seen a net decline, and only 62 have experienced a net improvement.
ELLANIE SMIT
Namibia received a total score of 77 out of 100, maintaining the same score since 2015. For its freedom, civil rights and political rights Namibia received a rating of two out of seven.
“Namibia is a stable multiparty democracy, though the ruling party, Swapo, has overwhelmingly won every election since independence. Protections for civil liberties are generally robust.
“Minority ethnic groups claim that the government favours the majority Ovambo—which dominates Swapo —in allocating funding and services, and the nomadic San people suffer from poverty and marginalization.
“Other human rights concerns include the criminalization of same-sex sexual relations under colonial-era laws and discrimination against women under customary law and other traditional societal practices,” the report says.
It said the issue of land reform remained a contentious with a small white minority owning just under half of Namibia’s arable land, and redistribution has been slow and fraught with disagreement.
Top of the freedom list with the maximum 100 points came the Scandinavian countries Finland, Norway and Sweden.
In comparison to other South African countries, Botswana scored 72, South Africa 78, Zimbabwe 30 and Angola 26.
The “worst of the worst” countries as the report labels them are Syria, South Sudan, Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan. These are some of the 49 countries designated not free.
The Freedom in the World Report is composed of ratings and descriptions for 195 countries and 14 territories. ‘Freedom in the World’ has been published since 1973, allowing Freedom House to track global trends in freedom over more than 40 years. It has become the most widely read and cited report of its kind, used on a regular basis by policymakers, journalists, academics, activists, and many others.
Democracy faced its most serious crisis in decades in 2017 with political rights and civil liberties around the world deteriorated to their lowest point in more than a decade.
Seventy-one countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties, with only 35 registering gains. This marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
The United States retreated from its traditional role as both a champion and an exemplar of democracy amid an accelerating decline in American political rights and civil liberties.
Over the period since the 12-year global slide began in 2006, 113 countries have seen a net decline, and only 62 have experienced a net improvement.
ELLANIE SMIT
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