Arab and Western Reports Draw Similar Conclusions

Last month the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) published its third annual report on the State of Press Freedom in the Arab World, which was significant not only for its comprehensive analysis but also because it tracks closely with the results of other international reports reviewing media freedoms in the region. 

For example, both the ACHRS report and the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, published earlier this year by Reporters without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres - RSF), note the vital importance of freedom of expression and the press as foundations for democracy and basic human rights, while providing rank lists of Arab states that are notable for their similarity. 

On the first page of the ACHRS report, by way of answering its own question on the reason for producing this study, the authors state: “Freedom of expression and freedom of press are a necessity for every human, and without them there is no possibility to apply freedom and rights to elect or to constitute associations, political parties nor any peaceful groups.”

ACHRS then ranks Arab states on their level of press freedom, with Mauritania, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) listed at the top, while Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Libya are seen as failing to adhere to free press standards. 

Likewise, RSF lists Mauritania and Kuwait at the top of its list, followed by the UAE and Qatar.  And again, much like ACHRS, the bottom ranked countries include Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya, and lastly Iraq.  (Please see full chart at the bottom.) 

In the past, some governments in the Middle East and North Africa have criticized and even dismissed RSF and other Western press monitoring organizations for the conclusions they draw in their reports, arguing these NGOs are not locally-based and do not understand the situation in the region.  

ACHRS is based in Amman, Jordan, and serves as an independent, regional, scientific, advocacy center for studies, research, and training on issues of human rights and democracy.  Its board of trustees is made up of eminent Arab professors, scholars, researchers, and other experts, who have agreed on a methodology used to produce its annual press freedom report.

Similarities in the two reports stretch beyond comparable rankings of Arab states to the recommendations provided by both organizations.  The RSF report notes that: “Confiscation of newspaper issues, temporary closures of newspapers, summonses for questioning, imprisonment and severe sentences will leave lasting scars on the journalistic community, which is now very mistrustful of the government’s promises of reform.”

Meanwhile, in its report, ACHRS recommends to “free the media and press sector from the proprietorship of Arab governments…amend the Arab penal laws on the issues of the press and publications to become compatible with the international criteria and guarantee the right of criticism by the press.”

ACHRS Ranking of the press freedom in the Arab countries
compared with the scale of Reporters without Borders

State	ACHRS scale	RSF scale
1	Mauritania	Mauritania
2	Kuwait	Kuwait
3	Qatar	UAE
4	UAE	Qatar
5	Lebanon	Lebanon
6	Morocco	Morocco
7	Jordan	Palestine
8	Bahrain	Bahrain
9	Iraq	Jordan
10	Palestine	Algeria
11	Sudan	Sudan
12	Yemen	Yemen
13	Algeria	Tunisia
14	Egypt	Egypt
15	Tunisia	Saudi Arabia
16	Syria	Syria
17	Saudi Arabia	Lybia
18	Lybia	Iraq