The Foreign Service Journal, April 2018

16 APRIL 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A ttempting to track journalistic freedom in one country is itself a daunting task, but Reporters Without Borders (RSF) does that globally. RSF ranks each country by the freedom extended to the fourth estate and displays these rankings on a colorful, interactive, map. RSF, an independent nongovern- mental organization founded 30 years ago and based in Paris, has been com- piling theWorld Press Freedom Index annually since 2002. The index is meant to be a snap- shot of media freedom based on various aspects including pluralism, independence of the media, quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each country. Norway tops the recently released 2017 list with a freedom score of 7.60, indicating the highest amount of journalistic freedom in the world. By contrast, Eritrea and North Korea sit at the bottom of the list, with scores of 84.24 and 84.98 respectively. The United States is in 43rd place on the list of 180.“Despite the bleak outlook under Trump, it bears repeat- ing that his predecessor left behind a flimsy legacy for press freedom and access to information,”RSF notes. The Obama administration prosecuted more “leakers” than any previous administration.“To this day,” RSF states,“American journalists are still not protected by a federal ‘shield law’ guaranteeing their right to protect their sources and other confidential work-related information.” With foreign sections, bureaus in 10 cities and 130 correspondents internationally, the RSF tracks and advocates for freedom of the press around the world. SITE OF THE MONTH: REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS posts across the globe continue to do their jobs in support of U.S. foreign policy objectives even as they await news on the fate of their department. Human Rights Report Missing Language on Women’s Rights? T he Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70 in December. Since the late 1970s, the State Department has been required to submit an annual report to Congress—Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—documenting “internationally recognized individual, civil, political and worker rights” as set forth in the Universal Declaration and other international agreements. On Feb. 21, Politico reported that a top aide to the Secretary of State ordered drafters of the 2017 Human Rights Report to remove language discussing women’s reproductive rights and discrimination. The directive, which came just days before the report was to be released, calls for removing passages that describe family planning, including access to contraceptives and abortion, according to Politico . It also orders that the sec- tion detailing racial, ethnic and sexual discrimination be pared down. Further, the “Reproductive Rights” subsection is expected to be changed to “Coercion in Population Control.” Coer- cive measures to control family plan- ning, such as forced abortions, are still expected to be tracked in the new report. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the depart- ment’s decision “appalling,” adding that he is alarmed at the “alleged efforts to water down or delete critical sections.” State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert responded to ques- tions about the report by noting that the changes “will sharpen the focus of the report on abuses of internation- ally recognized human rights and the most egregious issues.” She said that the way the department “presents the report’s material has changed from time to time,” insisting that “this year we are better focusing some sections for clar- ity.” But another State Department official told Politico that “this sends a clear signal that women’s reproductive rights are not a priority for this administration, and that it’s not even a rights violation we must or should report on.” On Feb. 26, a letter from 165 human rights, health and development organiza- tions was sent to Secretary Rex Tillerson “to raise our deep concern about news that the State Department’s annual Human Rights Report will no longer highlight the full range of abuses and human rights violations experienced most especially by women, girls, LGBTQI people, and other marginalized peoples around the world.” The letter calls on the Secretary to “uphold the credibility of this important human rights tool” and calls on him to intervene and reverse course.