Freedom House passed a law against sexual violence after a years-long advocacy campaign by civil society groups. The previous year, women’s rights activists in El Salvador secured a favorable ruling at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against the country’s broad ban on abortion. Human rights defenders are sometimes the only ones in their countries with the will and capacity to protect others against severe abuses, expose official wrongdoing, and alert the rest of the world to acts of repression, often at considerable risk to their safety. Activists in Cameroon have received death threats for documenting human rights violations amid a conflict between security forces and separatists in the country’s Anglophone regions. An activist and journalist in Vietnam who helped to expose the disastrous impact of a 2016 chemical spill was sentenced to seven years in prison the following year. In addition to facing intimidation, legal censure, harassment, and physical assaults, hundreds of rights defenders are killed every year. Democratic governments must recommit not only to standing up for these activists in their public statements and diplomacy, but also to providing concrete support and protection in the form of emergency assistance, capacity-building programs, and democracy shelters. Though unarmed, human rights defenders are on the front lines of the global struggle for freedom. They should never be treated as if the struggle is theirs alone. The desire for freedom More than anything else, five decades of Freedom in the World reports demonstrate that the demand for freedom is universal. The years have shown that popular challenges to authoritarian rule are a recurring theme in even the most repressive societies. Tanks smashed the prodemocracy movement that made its stand in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, and the CCP’s fear of renewed calls for freedom has motivated escalating PUTTING POINTS ON THE BOARD FOR DEMOCRACY Putting Points Boardaround for Democracy Despite the overall decline in freedom in 2022, small on winsthe occurred the world. Below are just a few examples of these incremental gains for justice Despiteand the democracy. overall decline in freedom in 2022, small wins occurred around the world. Below are just a few examples of these incremental gains for justice and democracy. SLOVENIA The newly elected government reversed declines that occurred under its predecessor by strengthening parliamentary oversight, promoting judicial independence, and respecting media freedoms. KUWAIT A court overturned a repressive law that had been used to prosecute transgender people, finding that it violated the right to personal autonomy. HONDURAS The new administration repealed a secrecy law that had been criticized for enabling corruption among government officials. SIERRA LEONE MALAYSIA The president signed new legislation that will guarantee greater community input on land-lease agreements and protect women’s rights to own and inherit land. Longtime opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim won elections to become the new prime minister, signaling increased competitiveness in Malaysia’s multiparty system. BOTSWANA The president vowed to fully implement a 2019 court ruling that decriminalized same-sex sexual activity and promised that he would protect LGBT+ citizens’ rights. This infographic is from the Freedom in the World 2023 report by freedomhouse.org FreedomHouse.org 19