Muscat – Oman has advanced 18 places in World Press Freedom Index 2024 issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The sultanate ranked 137th, earning 42.52 points, compared to 37.87 last year, when it was ranked 155th.

The index assesses the state of press freedom in 180 countries and regions, and uses five indicators to evaluate the freedom – political, legislative, economic, social and security.

In the GCC, Bahrain is ranked 173^rd, Saudi Arabia 166^th, UAE 160^th, Kuwait 131st and Qatar at 84^th.

Norway topped the index, followed by Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland making the top five, while Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea were at the bottom of the ranking.

This year is notable for a clear lack of political will on the part of the international community to enforce the principles of protection of journalists, especially UN Security Council Resolution 2222, RSF stated.

The war in Gaza has been marked by a record number of violations against journalists and the media since October 2023. More than 100 Palestinian reporters have been killed by Israel Defence Forces, including at least 22 in the course of their work.

Occupied and under constant Israeli bombardment, Palestine is ranked 157th out of 180 countries and territories surveyed in the  2024 index, but it is ranked among the last ten with regard to security for journalists.

The index showed that the situation in the Middle East and North Africa region is ‘very serious’ in nearly half of the countries. The United Arab Emirates joins eight other countries in the red zone on the map: Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine, Iraq, Bahrain, Syria and Egypt.