Palau has claimed the top spot in the Media Freedom Index 2023, released this week by the Pacific Freedom Forum during the 7th Pacific Media Summit in Niue.
In the ranking system—where 5 signifies the most freedom and 1 indicates significant challenges—Palau received a score of 4.5. This places it first among 14 Pacific Island countries surveyed, excluding Australia and New Zealand.
The report indicates that social, cultural, and economic pressures pose the most significant challenges to media freedom in Palau. However, the nation faces minimal legal, political, or safety challenges regarding its media landscape.
The Pacific Media Freedom Index, centered on the theme “For Us, By Us, and About Us,” was compiled based on feedback from media practitioners across all 14 Pacific Island nations, who assessed the media freedom conditions in their countries. This index represents the first focused effort to evaluate media freedom specifically within the Pacific region, as reported by local journalists.
“This is a starting point that can undoubtedly help us grow the base of knowledge about media freedom in our region, to inform and stimulate healthy democratic debate about how to best address the challenges identified in this index,” said Robert Luke Irogo, Freedom Forum Chair for Melanesia.
Palau’s media and freedom of expression are strongly protected under Article IV, Section 2 of its Constitution, which states, “The government shall take no action to deny or impair the freedom of expression or the press. No bona fide reporter may be required to divulge or be jailed for refusal to divulge information obtained in the course of professional investigation.”
The Pacific Freedom Forum has been monitoring media freedom across the Pacific since 2008, inspired by Article 19 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights.