Guinea Bissau
Guinea Bissau, a small West African country located on the Atlantic coast, moved up 14 places in 2023’s World Press Freedom Index (WPFI). The country is in the 78 position out of 180 countries.
The World Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of 180 countries organized by an international non-governmental organization called Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Their mission is to “act for freedom, pluralism and independence of journalism and defend those who embody these ideals.” They do so by creating a ranking based on five criteria: political context, legal framework, safety, economic and sociocultural context.
Guinea-Bissau’s move from 92 to 78 place in WPFI’s ranking is not because of improvement in the country’s media but due to worsened media situation in countries that were previously higher on the list such as Peru, Malta, and Serbia.
The Freedom House, another non-profit organization that creates rankings to asses different country’s freedom, claims that there is no recent progress in the country’s press freedom. In its 2023 report, the organization gives one out of four points for media freedom in Guinea Bissau. This result has not changed since 2020 when it had two out of four. The result declined to one because in 2020 soldiers with weapons occupied the state radio and television.
“In recent years in Guinea Bissau, a sharp deterioration of the security environment for journalists, combined with political and economic pressures have created a tough environment for journalism,” RSF describes.
Guinea Bissau has been facing political and economic instability. According to data from the BBC, there have been nine attempted coups in the past 30 years and the country’s economy is relying heavily on foreign aid.
The Constitution of Guinea Bissau guarantees media freedom, but the reality is different.
RSF announced that on 7 February 2022 there was an armed attack on Capital FM radio station. This radio station is known for being very critical of the government and supportive of the opposition. Seven people were injured, and one was severely harmed. One day later, shots were fired at the home of another Capital FM journalist.
Even though there were no documented cases of murder or incarceration of journalists in 2022, journalists’ lives were still endangered, and many were threatened with imprisonment.
RSF reports that in 2022 the government raised privately owned radios’ license fees. Radio station owners were threatened with closure and three years in prison if they do not pay. Only 12 have managed to pay the fee and 79 were ordered to stop broadcasting.
According to the BBC, Guinea Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economic issues and increased poverty have contributed immensely to the problematic score of media freedom in the RSF’s ranking. Sales of newspapers are minimal and privately owned radios must pay impossibly high license fees.
“Many journalists, who earn an average of 50 euros a month, find themselves forced to affiliate with a political party in order to survive” states the RSF. As a result, sensitive topics like corruption, embezzlement, and drug trafficking are barely discussed in mass media.
However, there is hope for Guinea Bissau’s media.
Non-governmental organizations such as the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), have taken action to improve the freedom of media in the country. On 15 July 2022, the organization launched a three-year program whose aim is to enhance the abilities of local media organizations and professionals to create high-quality, factual, and ethical content.
“The project will work with key state actors such as the Police, Military, and the Human Rights Commission to jointly develop a National Comprehensive framework on safety of journalists,” explains the MFWA.
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Janina Ormanova is pursuing a double degree in Journalism and Political Science at the American University in Bulgaria. She is interested in topics related to media freedom in different countries.
