The October 2020 Freedom House report titled: “Democracy under Lockdown: The impact of Covid-19 on the Global Struggle for Freedom” compiled by Sarah Repucci and Amy Slipowitz acknowledges that “the Covid-19 pandemic has fueled a crisis for democracy around the world.
“Since the outbreak began, the condition of democracy and human rights has grown worse in 80 countries. Government have responded by engaging in abuses of power, silencing their critics, and weakening or shuttering important institutions, often undermining the very systems of accountability needed to protect public health”, states the report in part.
The new Freedom House research on the impact of Covid-19 on democracy and human rights, produced in partnership with the survey firm GQR, based its report on a survey of 398 journalists, civil society workers, activists, and other experts as well as research on 192 countries by freedom House’s global network of analysts, producing the most in-depth effort to examine the condition of democracy during the pandemic. The research was conducted from January to August 2020.
The Freedom House report also observed that the crisis of democratic governance, having begun long before the pandemic, is likely to continue after the health crisis recedes, as the laws and norms being put in place now will be difficult to reverse. Among the experts surveyed, 64 percent agreed that the impact of Covid-19 on democracy and human rights in their country of focus will be mostly negative over the next three to five years.
“Yet even amid devastation and disruption, some have responded to the pandemic with hope and rejuvenation. Journalism has thrived in certain countries as people seek out factual information, and investigative reporting has persisted in several of the most hostile environments”, states the report adding that “democracy is suffering around the world, but the public’s demand for it has not been extinguished”.
The report also found that abuses of power during the pandemic have had a disproportionate impact on communities that were already marginalized. Among the experts surveyed, 29 percent said a lack of protection for minorities and vulnerable populations was one of the three issues most affected by the corona-virus response; 25 percent said new or increased restrictions on ethnic and religious minorities have been put in place as a result of the corona-virus outbreak in their countries of focus.
“In some countries, lockdown measures have been applied in an openly discriminatory to specific segments of the population”, states the report adding that “marginalized groups and societies have faced disproportionate sanctions” as governments and societies continued to use marginalized groups as scapegoats, “blaming them for spreading the virus”.
As international attention remained focused on combating the corona-virus, government and other actors have been able to escalate ongoing abuses against vulnerable groups with little scrutiny and despite these grave developments, some bright spots have appeared. The government in Portugal, for instance, granted migrants temporary citizenship rights so they could secure public services. Sustained, inclusive measures have the potential to pave way for greater equality after the health crisis has subsided, which in turn can foster better outcomes for future crises.
The Freedom House report states that authoritarian and democratically elected leaders alike have failed to be candid about the impact of the corona-virus. Among the surveyed experts, 37 percent, representing 65 countries, named government transparency and information about corona-virus as one the three issues most affected by the response to the pandemic. In fact, shortcomings in transparency and official information ranked highest among the 15 issues suggested to respondents. For experts focused on countries that Freedom in the World classifies as Not Free, the response was even stronger, with 46 percent citing transparency as a chief concern.
Experts from around the world expressed broad skepticism of government information on the corona-virus. A 62 percent majority of survey respondents said the “distrust what they are hearing about the pandemic from the national government in their country of focus”, and among Not Free countries, 77 percent distrust such information.
About half (52 percent) of respondents, representing 66 countries, said the virus has “led to a proliferation of disinformation coming from the government”. A 56 percent majority of respondents have confidence in what the media in their country are reporting about the virus. In open-ended written responses to the survey, some experts referred to “outright government denial of the virus” and in a response to a question about the most disturbing practice they have seen, one expert said, “dead bodies buried at night”.
The Freedom House survey corroborates the idea that corruption thrives when transparency declines, 31 percent of respondents representing 45 countries included “corruption and money in politics” among the top three issues they see as most affected by the pandemic response. Massive government outlays to assist with public health and the economy, often distributed hastily with no meaningful mechanisms in place to monitor the funds, have provi9ded opportunities for corruption.
Other experts shared stories about the disappearance of supplies, or suspicious contracts with uncertified medical providers. “As the pandemic drags on, public attention will inevitably turn elsewhere, permitting even further abuses to go unchecked. The burden of preventing degraded norms from taking hold will largely fall on democracy advocates and independent journalists, who must continue to place pressure on governments to remain transparent and adhere to the rule of law”, observes the report.
It is also observed in the report that independent media have often been stifled during the pandemic, making accountability difficult and hampering the dissemination of vital information. Based on the Freedom House research, at least 91 of 192 countries (47 percent) experienced restrictions on news media as part of the response to the corona-virus outbreak.
The media in 62 percent of Partly Free countries and 67 percent of Not Free countries under review experienced such constraints. Journalists covering the crisis have been arrested and targeted with violence, harassment, and intimidation. Governments have exerted control over content, revoked outlets’ registrations, suspended printing of newspapers, denied press credentials, and limited independent questioning at press conferences.
New legislation against spreading “fake news” about the virus has been passed, while websites have been blocked and online articles or social media posts removed. The increased public need for impartial information during a pandemic makes such varied methods of suppression particularly egregious.
In addition to specific control on the news media, government restrictions on free speech and criticism of the government have been imposed on at least 72 countries (38 percent); 56 percent of Partly Free and 57 percent of Not Free countries under review saw limits on free expression.
“Freedom of expression and belief has precipitously deteriorated during the 14 consecutive years of decline in overall global freedom observed by Freedom in the World. The pandemic has aggravated thi9s negative trajectory, particularly in countries where independent journalism was already under pressure. In Rwanda, where several legal restrictions are in place and a journalist went missing last year, there has been “a lot of restriction in matters of independent reporting from non-government institutions. Some journalist(s) who were broadcasting via (You Tube) channels were arrested, and others have been reprimanded from covering issues of Covid-19”, laments the Freedom House report.
Several countries that experienced a large decline in freedom during 2019 have imposed new or increased restrictions on the media since the outbreak began. One of these countries is Tanzania, where the media has effectively been barred from covering the pandemic. Another is Nigeria, where a respondent wrote that there have been “increased cases of journalists detained for their opinions of government policies”, while the presidency has limited accreditations for press conferences.
“These intentional restrictions help enable governments to act with impunity, sometimes with the assistance of a subservient legislature or judiciary. Even when governments seem to be providing accurate information, quarantines and restrictions on travel may hinder the ability of the media to monitor and question them…Governments and citizens must recognize that press freedoms and freedom of expression are essential tools for exposing misconduct and assessing the effectiveness of the pandemic response. Public health depends on the protection of these core democratic values”, explains the Freedom House report.
