Freedom House In Turkey, a failed 2016 coup attempt has cast a long shadow over political rights and civil liberties. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) used the incident to justify the removal of key democratic checks and balances and the elimination of political rivals. This process continued in 2022, as Turkey prepared for a pivotal presidential election in the first half of 2023. Ahead of the vote, the government adopted a new law to control the selection of judges who will review challenges to election results, and approved a “disinformation” law that could further stifle opposition campaigns and independent media. The threat from incumbent leaders Democratic institutions suffered from abuses by powerful incumbents in 2022. After assuming office through elections, these leaders rejected the established democratic process and sought to rewrite the rules of the game to maintain their grip on power. Tunisia experienced the third-largest score decline of any country as a direct result of the actions of the elected president. Kaïs Saïed, who had unilaterally dismissed the prime minister and suspended the parliament in 2021, continued to consolidate power by formally dissolving the parliament in March. He then rolled out a new constitution that gave more authority to the presidency and dismantled legislative and judicial checks on the executive branch, securing approval for the document through a flawed referendum. December parliamentary elections, which were boycotted by most opposition parties, drew a voter turnout of just 11 percent and prompted calls from the opposition for Saïed to resign. In El Salvador, the parliamentary supermajority gained by President Nayib Bukele’s allies in 2021 elections continued to help him undermine democratic controls. In March 2022, the legislature approved his request for a state of exception intended to address gang violence, which has led to the indefinite detention of tens of thousands of people, with Controlling by Changing Its People CONTROLLING LAND BY CHANGING ITS Land PEOPLE Governments and occupying powers in 21 countries and territories use a variety of methods to forcibly change Governments occupying powersofina21country countries and territories a varietya culture of methods tothe forcibly change the ethnic theand ethnic composition or territory so as use to destroy or tip political balance. composition of a country or territory so as to destroy a culture or tip the political balance. CULTURAL PERSECUTION Ukraine: Russian occupation authorities have destroyed Ukrainian cultural sites, suppressed the Ukrainian language in education, and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children to Russia for adoption by Russian families. China: Communist Party authorities have forced Uyghur children to attend boarding schools away from their families and receive Mandarin-only instruction and indoctrination. MASS DETENTION AND EXPULSION Myanmar: The military has methodically destroyed the villages of Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups, forcing residents to flee. Ethiopia: Ongoing civil conflict in the Tigray region has resulted in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of people based on their ethnicity. DIRECTED SETTLEMENT West Bank: Israeli authorities have promoted the growth of Israeli Jewish settlements and demolished Palestinian housing in the occupied West Bank. Tibet: Communist Party authorities have forcibly resettled members of ethnic minorities. This infographic is from the Freedom in the World 2023 report by freedomhouse.org FreedomHouse.org 5