Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire is experiencing steady growth by being ranked 68 out of 180 countries according to the 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI), published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In 2020, Côte d’Ivoire has been classified 18 places higher than in 2016 due to progressive media law amendments after the Second Ivorian Civil War in 2011.
Côte d’Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast, is a country in West Africa with French colonial history. Ivory Coast is among the countries with middle scores in the WPFI ranking, which means that it has average levels of freedom available to journalists. The trend shows that Côte d’Ivoire is developing by gaining better positions in the rankings each year.
WPFI shows the degree of freedom to journalists among 180 countries, measured by the responses of a questionnaire organized by RSF. Media transparency, independence, and self-censorship are part of the assessment. RSF is an NGO funded by financial partners, donors, and sales of their “100 photos for press freedom” books.
Alassane Ouattara, the President of Ivory Coast, has been trying to liberalize the media over the last decade. Due to the new media law, no grounds are admissible for detaining journalists. However, the law is still not progressive enough, since insulting the President is considered a crime, according to RSF.
The status of Côte d’Ivoire is “Partially Free” with a score of 51 out of 100, according to the 2020 Freedom House’s report (FITW). FITW measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation around the world on yearly basis. The status of “Free”, “Partly Free”, or “Not Free” is being determined by the combination of the overall scores allocated for both political rights and civil liberties.
The 2020 FITW report shares, “Côte d’Ivoire continues to recover from an armed conflict that ended in 2011. While security concerns can constrain freedoms of expression and association, these are generally upheld; freedom of movement has improved, and the economy has seen steady growth.”
In addition, BBC also commented on Côte d’Ivoire’s media ownership in 2017, “The government operates the outlets with the widest reach: two radio stations, two TV stations, and the leading daily newspaper.” As stated by BBC, media has been used as propaganda during the Second Civil War and has been slowly improving ever since.
Côte d’Ivoire’s civil liberties continue to witness gradual improvement despite some suppression and violations of media rights by its government in the past, as claimed by Media Foundation For West Africa (MFWA).
The number of killed and missing journalists in the country is relatively low, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Three journalists have been killed and one journalist is missing since 2004.
Seventeen years later, that one journalist is still not found. The French and Canadian journalist Guy-André Kieffer disappeared from a parking lot of a supermarket after investigating the shady practices of a well-known cocoa producer. Both the French and the Ivory governments haven’t solved the mystery yet, according to Assane Diagne, the head of RSF’s West Africa.
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Stefani Dushilova is double-majoring in Journalism and Business Administration at the American University in Bulgaria. Her biggest desire is to pave the path for women in the male-dominated business world.
