Freedom House: Yet again, Belarus is among the ten countries with the least press freedom situation
28.04.2016 |Society| EuroBelarus Information Service,
By results of 2015 human rights activists from Freedom House placed Belarus among the ten countries that have the least freedom of speech state in mass media. Our country came 192nd out of 199 states.
A U.S.-based rights watchdog says press freedom in the world declined in 2015 to its lowest level in 12 years, under increased pressure from a combination of political, criminal, and terrorist elements, RFE/RL quotes the report.
“Belarus’s media environment remained extremely restrictive in 2014 as the government of President Aliaksandr Lukashenka continued to suppress independent journalism,”claims the report.
“The regime was facing pressure to move toward European integration as well as political meddling by the Kremlin, and these tensions took on new urgency in light of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine”, Freedom House says.
The paper described Russia as "an innovator of modern state propaganda" that tightened information control at home and also stepped up efforts to manipulate the media in "geopolitically significant" neighbor states such as Ukraine, Moldova, and the Baltic and Central Asian states.
Traditionally, the leaders of the rate are Norway, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Syria, Iran, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Crimea, Eritrea, and Cuba have worse situation than that in Belarus that is ranked 192nd.
Freedom of the Press report assesses media freedom in 199 countries and territories, each country and territory receiving a score from 0 (most free) to 100 (least free), which serves as the basis for a status designation of "free," "partly free," or "not free."
The Belarus Committee of ICOMOS announces the collection of cases on the effectiveness of the State List of Historical and Cultural Values as a tool of the safeguarding the cultural monuments.
On March 27-28, the Belarus ICOMOS and the EuroBelarus held an online expert workshop on expanding opportunities for community participation in the governance of historical and cultural heritage.
It is impossible to change life in cities just in three years (the timeline of the “Agenda 50” campaign implementation). But changing the structure of relationships in local communities is possible.
"Specificity is different, but the priority is general." In Valożyn, a local strategy for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed.
The campaign "Agenda 50" was summed up in Ščučyn, and a local action plan for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed there.
The regional center has become the second city in Belarus where the local plan for the implementation of the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed.
Representatives of the campaign “Agenda 50” from five pilot cities discussed achievements in creating local agendas for implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
It is noteworthy that out of the five pilot cities, Stoubcy was the last to join the campaign “Agenda 50”, but the first one to complete the preparation of the local agenda.
On May 28, the city hosted a presentation of the results of the project "Equal to Equal" which was dedicated to monitoring the barrier-free environment in the city.
On March 3, members of the campaign "Agenda 50" from different Belarusian cities met in Minsk. The campaign is aimed at the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
In Stolin, social organizations and local authorities are implementing a project aimed at independent living of persons with disabilities, and creating local agenda for the district.
He said Belarus would likely face economic tightening not only as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but also a Russian trade oil crisis that worsened this past winter.
In his report, philosopher Gintautas Mažeikis discusses several concepts that have been a part of the European social and philosophical thought for quite a time.
It is impossible to change life in cities just in three years (the timeline of the “Agenda 50” campaign implementation). But changing the structure of relationships in local communities is possible.