The Human Truth Foundation

Which are the Best Mediterranean Countries at Human Rights, Freedom and Tolerance?

http://www.humantruth.info/mediterranean_human_rights_tolerance.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2022

#equality #human_rights #morals #politics #prejudice #The_Mediterranean #tolerance

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020)1
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank1
1Albania59.6
2Algeria111.2
3Bosnia & Herzegovina63.4
4Croatia58.3
5Cyprus46.7
6Egypt113.6
7France24.8
8Greece58.3
9Israel83.5
10Italy37.3
...
20Tunisia91.8
21Turkey82.6
22Palestine138.0
The Mediterranean Avg76.9
World Avg87.7
q=22.

The best countries in The Mediterranean at protecting human rights, engendering tolerance and supporting equality, are France, Spain and Slovenia. The worst countries are Palestine, Syria and Libya.


1. Results by Country

#equality #gender_equality #human_rights #morals #politics #prejudice #tolerance

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020)1
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank1
1Afghanistan140.8
2Albania59.6
3Algeria111.2
4Andorra84.3
5Angola136.2
6Antigua & Barbuda105.4
7Argentina43.8
8Armenia71.6
9Australia24.1
10Austria22.5
11Azerbaijan87.1
12Bahamas105.3
13Bahrain112.9
14Bangladesh113.2
15Barbados85.3
16Belarus78.9
17Belgium26.1
18Belize94.1
19Benin95.9
20Bhutan114.4
21Bolivia53.8
22Bosnia & Herzegovina63.4
23Botswana95.0
24Brazil52.3
25Brunei147.1
26Bulgaria46.5
27Burkina Faso76.3
28Burundi126.3
29Cambodia102.5
30Cameroon115.4
31Canada21.2
32Cape Verde75.3
33Central African Rep.121.2
34Chad130.6
35Chile40.1
36China92.0
37Colombia64.4
38Comoros141.2
39Congo, (Brazzaville)115.2
40Congo, DR126.9
41Cook Islands144.5
42Costa Rica36.7
43Croatia58.3
44Cuba97.7
45Cyprus46.7
46Czechia37.9
47Denmark14.7
48Djibouti140.9
49Dominica105.6
50Dominican Rep.83.3
51Ecuador58.1
52Egypt113.6
53El Salvador66.9
54Equatorial Guinea128.6
55Eritrea139.8
56Estonia42.9
57Ethiopia116.9
58Fiji102.4
59Finland23.9
60France24.8
61Gabon95.4
62Gambia117.4
63Georgia64.3
64Germany24.9
65Ghana88.1
66Greece58.3
67Grenada128.6
68Guatemala63.0
69Guinea116.8
70Guinea-Bissau117.3
71Guyana102.9
72Haiti86.6
73Honduras72.1
74Hong Kong24.3
75Hungary52.6
76Iceland20.1
77India96.9
78Indonesia111.2
79Iran133.8
80Iraq124.5
81Ireland38.5
82Israel83.5
83Italy37.3
84Ivory Coast100.5
85Jamaica64.6
86Japan42.1
87Jordan102.2
88Kazakhstan97.9
89Kenya92.6
90Kiribati138.4
91Kosovo54.2
92Kuwait106.7
93Kyrgyzstan79.6
94Laos108.3
95Latvia52.6
96Lebanon98.8
97Lesotho95.0
98Liberia118.0
99Libya115.0
100Liechtenstein73.9
101Lithuania53.2
102Luxembourg23.9
103Macedonia82.2
104Madagascar100.6
105Malawi123.4
106Malaysia127.3
107Maldives110.7
108Mali82.4
109Malta46.3
110Marshall Islands134.6
111Mauritania144.7
112Mauritius72.6
113Mexico56.6
114Micronesia128.8
115Moldova81.5
116Monaco94.2
117Mongolia60.5
118Montenegro71.8
119Morocco102.8
120Mozambique95.1
121Myanmar (Burma)128.7
122Namibia69.7
123Nauru123.4
124Nepal90.1
125Netherlands15.8
126New Zealand17.5
127Nicaragua74.5
128Niger94.0
129Nigeria107.1
130N. Korea146.8
131Norway14.7
132Oman121.5
133Pakistan141.5
134Palau131.0
135Palestine138.0
136Panama59.9
137Papua New Guinea122.4
138Paraguay70.5
139Peru54.0
q=225. No data: 612

The best countries in the world at ensuring human rights, fostering equality and promoting tolerance, are Sweden, Norway and Denmark3. These countries are displaying the best traits that humanity has to offer. The worst countries are The Solomon Islands, Somalia and Tuvalu3.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are statistics on commentary in Human Rights Watch reports, its nominal commitment to Human Rights, speed of uptake of HR treaties, supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms, supporting press freedom, eliminating modern slavery, opposing gender inequality, the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators), the year from which women could participate in democracy, its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice, LGBT equality and freethought. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe3, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Micronesia and Australasia3.

For more, see:

The table on the right shows the full results list for The Mediterranean.

Compare The Mediterranean to other regions of the world: Compare International Statistics by Region and Continent.

2. Human Rights & Tolerance

2.1. Human Rights Watch Comments

#human_rights

Human Rights Watch Comments (2017)4
Pos.Higher is better
Score4
1Algeria-8
2Bosnia & Herzegovina-6
3Croatia4
4Cyprus5
5Egypt-7
6France9
7Greece5
8Israel-5
9Italy5
10Lebanon-5
11Libya-9
12Malta5
13Morocco-4
14Slovenia5
15Spain5
16Syria-10
17Tunisia-2
18Turkey-2
The Mediterranean Avg-0.8
World Avg-1.9
q=18. No data: 45

Human Rights Watch comments concentrate mostly on negative issues, however, they also make positive comments for those countries that engage in human rights defence around the world, or who make improvements at home. By adding up positive and negative comments (including double-points for negatives that involve large scales and crimes against humanity), the Social and Moral Index turns HRW commentary into quantified values. Some countries may be unfairly penalized because HRW have not examined them, and, some countries "get away" with abuses if they manage to hide it, or if it goes unnoticed - a negative point has been given for those countries in which HRW specifically state that access to investigators has been barred. The points were limited to a minimum of -10 because there are some points at which things are so bad, with abuses affecting so many, it is difficult to be more specific about the depths of the issues.

2.2. Nominal Commitment to HR

#human_rights

Nominal Commitment to HR (2009)6
Pos.Higher is better
Treaties6
1Albania20
2Algeria18
3Bosnia & Herzegovina21
4Croatia22
5Cyprus20
6Egypt16
7France21
8Greece19
9Israel12
10Italy22
11Lebanon12
12Libya15
13Malta18
14Monaco16
15Montenegro21
16Morocco17
17Slovenia23
18Spain23
19Syria14
20Tunisia18
21Turkey17
The Mediterranean Avg18.3
World Avg15.1
q=21. No data: 17

There are many international agreements on human rights, and, many mechanisms by which countries can be brought to account for their actions. Together, these have been the biggest historical movement in the fight against oppression and inhumanity. Or, putting it another way: these are rejected mostly by those who wish to oppress inhumanely. None of them are perfect and many people object to various components and wordings, but, no-one has come up with, and enforced, better methods of controlling the occasional desires that states and peoples have of causing angst for other states and peoples in a violent, unjust or inhumane way. Points are awarded for the number of human rights agreements ratified by the country, plus the acceptance of the petition mechanisms for disputes. The maximum possible score in 2009 was 24.

2.3. HR Treaties Lag

#human_rights #international_law #micronesia #politics #small_islands

HR Treaties Lag (2019)8
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Yrs/Treaty8
1Albania10.94
2Algeria9.95
3Bosnia & Herzegovina9.17
4Croatia10.65
5Cyprus5.81
6Egypt4.52
7France5.61
8Greece8.44
9Israel10.97
10Italy6.56
11Lebanon10.14
12Libya5.61
13Malta9.60
14Monaco12.76
15Montenegro14.20
16Morocco5.44
17Slovenia11.13
18Spain4.60
19Syria7.02
20Tunisia3.65
21Turkey9.48
22Palestine17.21
The Mediterranean Avg8.79
World Avg10.02
q=22.

Human Rights (HR) Treaties Lag is a count of how long it took each country to sign each of 11 key HR treaties. From the date of the first signatory of each treaty, all other countries have one point added to their score for each day they delayed in signing. Results are presented as average time in years to sign each one. The lower a country's score, the more enthusiastically it has taken on international Human Rights Treaties - which are, of course, minimal standards of good governance. The slowest are the countries of Micronesia, Melanesia, Australasia and Polynesia all lagged by over 12 years per treaty. The best regions are The Americas, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.

For more, see:

2.4. Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom

#freedom #politics

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom (2014)9
Pos.Lower is better
Rank9
1Albania50
2Algeria152
3Bosnia & Herzegovina54
4Croatia44
5Cyprus33
6Egypt144
7France31
8Greece48
9Israel52
10Italy28
11Lebanon108
12Libya159
13Malta16
14Montenegro44
15Morocco131
16Slovenia39
17Spain36
18Syria156
19Tunisia123
20Turkey73
The Mediterranean Avg76.1
World Avg79.7
q=20. No data: 210

The Human Freedom Index published by the Fraser Institute is...

... a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. It uses 79 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas: Rule of Law, Security and Safety, Movement, Religion, Association, Assembly, and Civil Society, Expression, Relationships, Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Access to Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business. [...]

The highest levels of freedom are in Western Europe, Northern Europe, and North America (Canada and the United States. The lowest levels are in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. [...]

Countries in the top quartile of freedom enjoy a significant higher per capita income ($37,147) [compared with] the least-free quartile [at] $8,700). The HFI finds a strong correlation between human freedom and democracy.

"The Human Freedom Index" by The Fraser Institute (2016)11

2.5. Press Freedom

#democracy #freedom #Freedom_of_Speech #Good_Governance #mass_media #politics #UK

Press Freedom (2013)12
Pos.Lower is better12
1Albania3088
2Algeria3654
3Bosnia & Herzegovina2686
4Croatia2661
5Cyprus1383
6Egypt4866
7France2160
8Greece2846
9Israel3297
10Italy2611
11Lebanon3015
12Libya3786
13Malta2330
14Montenegro3297
15Morocco3904
16Slovenia2049
17Spain2050
18Syria7853
19Tunisia3993
20Turkey4656
21Palestine4309
The Mediterranean Avg3357
World Avg3249
q=21. No data: 113

The freedom to investigate, publish information, and have access to others' opinion is a fundamental part of today's information-driven world, and is linked with Freedom of Speech and Good Governance. Scores on the Press Freedom Index are calculated according to indicators including pluralism - the degree to which opinions are represented in the media, media independence of authorities, self-censorship, legislation, transparency and the infrastructure that supports news and information, and, the level of violence against journalists which includes lengths of imprisonments. The index "does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted". The rankings are used as one of the datasets of the Social and Moral Development Index14

It must be noted that press freedom is not an indicator of press quality and the press itself can be abusive; the UK suffers in particular from a popular brand of nasty reporting that infuses several of its newspapers who are particularly prone to running destructive and often untrue campaigns against victims. The Press Freedom Index notes that "the index should in no way be taken as an indicator of the quality of the media in the countries concerned".

2.6. Slavery

#burundi #eritrea #france #human_rights #indonesia #slavery

Slavery (2018)15
Pos.Lower is better
% Victims15
1Albania0.69
2Algeria0.27
3Bosnia & Herzegovina0.34
4Croatia0.60
5Cyprus0.42
6Egypt0.55
7France0.20
8Greece0.79
9Israel0.39
10Italy0.24
11Lebanon0.17
12Libya0.77
13Montenegro0.59
14Morocco0.24
15Slovenia0.22
16Spain0.23
17Syria0.73
18Tunisia0.22
19Turkey0.65
The Mediterranean Avg0.44
World Avg0.65
q=19. No data: 316

The taking of slaves has been an unwholesome feature of Human cultures since prehistory17. Private households and national endeavours have frequently been augmented with the use of slaves. The Egyptian and Roman empires both thrived on them for both purposes. Aside from labourers they are often abused sexually by their owners and their owners' friends18. The era of colonialism and the beginnings of globalisation changed nothing: the imprisonment and forced movements of labour continued to destroy many lives except that new justifications were invented based on Christian doctrine and the effort to convert non-Christians. By 1786 over 12 million slaves had been extracted from Africa and sent to colonial labour camps, with a truly atrocious condition of life19. But they were not the only ones to blame; in Africa internal nations such as the Asantes sold and bought tens of thousands of slaves20.

The abolition of the slave trade was a long and slow process. Until a relatively modern time, even philosophers, religious leaders and those concerned with ethics justified, or ignored, the problem of slavery21. The first abolitionists were always the slaves themselves. Their protests and rebellions caused the industry to become too expensive to continue. After that, it was the economic costs of maintain slave colonies that led the British to reject and then oppose the slave trade globally. Finally, the enlightenment-era thinkers of France encouraged moral and ethical thinking including the declaration of the inherent value of human life and human dignity22. A long-overdue wave of compassionate and conscientious movements swept across the West, eliminating public support for slavery, until the industries and churches that supported it had no choice but to back down.

'Modern slavery' includes forced labour (often of the under-age), debt bondage (especially generational), sexual slavery, chattel slavery and other forms of abuse, some of which can be surprisingly difficult to detect, but often target those fleeing from warzones and the vulnerable.23. Some industries (diamond, clothing, coal) from some countries (Burundi24, Eritrea24, Indonesia25) are a particular concern. The Walk Free Foundation, say that in 2016, 40.3 million people were living in modern slavery26.

For more, see:

See:

3. Gender Equality

3.1. Gender Inequality

#gender #gender_equality #human_rights #misogyny #women

Gender Inequality (2015)27
Pos.Lower is better27
1Albania0.27
2Algeria0.43
3Bosnia & Herzegovina0.16
4Croatia0.14
5Cyprus0.12
6Egypt0.57
7France0.10
8Greece0.12
9Israel0.10
10Italy0.08
11Lebanon0.38
12Libya0.17
13Malta0.22
14Montenegro0.16
15Morocco0.49
16Slovenia0.05
17Spain0.08
18Syria0.55
19Tunisia0.29
20Turkey0.33
The Mediterranean Avg0.24
World Avg0.36
q=20. No data: 210

The UN Human Development Reports include statistics on gender equality which take into account things like maternal mortality, access to political power (seats in parliament) and differences between male and female education rates. Gender inequality is not a necessary part of early human development. Although a separation of roles is almost universal due to different strengths between the genders, this does not have to mean that women are subdued, and, such patriarchalism is not universal in ancient history. Those cultures and peoples who shed, or never developed, the idea that mankind ought to dominate womankind, are better cultures and peoples than those who, even today, cling violently to those mores.

For more, see:

See:

3.2. Gender Biases

#gender #gender_equality #prejudice #women

Gender Biases (2022)28
Pos.Lower is better
%28
1Algeria98.729
2Cyprus81.830
3Egypt99.630
4France57.231
5Greece64.930
6Italy64.431
7Lebanon95.630
8Libya99.730
9Morocco93.730
10Slovenia61.129
11Spain53.529
12Tunisia96.830
13Turkey91.630
14Palestine98.229
The Mediterranean Avg82.62
World Avg83.93
q=14. No data: 832

The Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) looks at gender biases across seven criteria; the % given here is for the total people who are biased across any of those criteria. By subtracting the value from 100%, you can see that those who do well on this index, you are seeing a count of those who do not appear to be biased against women in any of the criteria, and so, doing well on this index is a very positive sign for any country.

The data was included in UN (2022) with full results in Annex table AS6.7.1; their data stems for ranges between 2005 and 2022, depending on the country in question.

See:

3.3. Year Women Can Vote

#christianity #gender_equality #human_rights #politics #women

Year Women Can Vote
Pos.Lower is better
Year
1Albania1920
2Algeria1962
3Bosnia & Herzegovina1949
4Croatia1945
5Cyprus1960
6Egypt1956
7France1944
8Greece1952
9Israel1948
10Italy1945
11Lebanon1952
12Libya1964
13Malta1947
14Monaco1962
15Morocco1963
16Slovenia1945
17Spain1931
18Syria1953
19Tunisia1959
20Turkey1934
The Mediterranean Avg1950
World Avg1930
q=20. No data: 233

Women now have equal rights in the vast majority of countries across the world. Although academic literature oftens talks of when a country "grants women the right to vote", this enforces a backwards way of thinking. Women always had the right to vote, however, they were frequently denied that right. The opposition to women's ability to vote in equality with man was most consistently and powerfully opposed by the Catholic Church, other Christian organisations, Islamic authorities and some other religious and secular traditionalists.

For more, see:

See:

4. Prejudice

4.1. Anti-Semite Opinions

#antisemitism #christianity #germany #indonesia #israel #jordan #judaism #laos #morocco #netherlands #pakistan #philippines #religion #religious_violence #saudi_arabia #spain #sweden #turkey #UK #vietnam

Anti-Semite Opinions (2014)34
Pos.Lower is better
%34
1Algeria87
2Bosnia & Herzegovina32
3Croatia33
4Egypt75
5France37
6Greece69
7Italy20
8Lebanon78
9Libya87
10Montenegro29
11Morocco80
12Slovenia27
13Spain29
14Tunisia86
15Turkey69
The Mediterranean Avg55.9
World Avg36.8
q=15. No data: 735

Anti-Semitism is the world given to irrational racism against Jews. It is not the same as anti-Judaism (involving arguments against the religion) nor the same as anti-Zionism (arguments against Israel). In history, influential Christian theologians concocted the arguments against Jews that led, very early on, to widespread Christian action against Jews36,37,38,39. As Christianity rose to power in the West and presided over the Dark Ages, there were widespread violent outbursts against Jews of the most persistent and horrible kind. The Crusades were frequently aimed at them and the feared Spanish Inquisition paid Jews particular attention. The horror of the holocaust instigated by German Nazis in the 1940s was followed (finally) by the era of European human rights and a movement against racism in general.

The places that are the least anti-Semitical are a few countries of south-east Asia (Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam) and some of the secular liberal democracies of Europe (Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK). The worst countries for antisemitism are Islamic states of the Middle East40, which are undergoing their own Dark Age. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey see the most oppressive and violent actions towards Jews41,42. Jews in Muslim countries face a host of restrictions and "ceaseless humiliation and regular pogroms"43. In 2004 the European Union Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia reported on violent anti-Jew crimes in the EU and found that that largest group of perpetrators were young Muslim males44.

For more, see:

See:

4.2. LGBT Equality

#equality #homosexuality #human_rights #intolerance #sexuality #tolerance

LGBT Equality (2017)45
Pos.Higher is better
Score45
1Albania40
2Algeria-37
3Bosnia & Herzegovina35
4Croatia45
5Cyprus40
6Egypt-27
7France78
8Greece39
9Israel48
10Italy40
11Lebanon-24
12Libya-42
13Malta63
14Monaco40
15Montenegro35
16Morocco-42
17Slovenia45
18Spain79
19Syria-84
20Tunisia-39
21Turkey25
The Mediterranean Avg17.0
World Avg12.6
q=21. No data: 17

Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) folk is rife across the world. Legal restrictions co-exist alongside social stigmatisation and physical violence46. LGBT tolerance and equal rights have been fought for country-by-country across the world, often against tightly entrenched cultural and religious opposition. Adult consensual sexual activity is a Human Right, protected by privacy laws47. Despite this, homosexual activity is outlawed in around 80 countries46. The Social & Moral LGBT Equality Index was created to compare countries and regions, granting points to each country for a variety of factors including how long gay sex has been criminalized and the extent of LGBT legal rights. Graded negative points are given for criminality of homosexuality, unequal ages of consent, legal punishments and for not signing international accords on LGBT tolerance. The signs in many developed countries are positive, and things are gradually improving. Europe is by far the least prejudiced region (Scandinavia in particular being exemplary). The Middle East and then Africa are the least morally developed, where cultural bias goes hand-in-hand with state intolerance, all too often including physical violence.

For more, see:

See:

4.3. Freedom of Thought

#europe #freedom_of_belief #freethought #human_rights #netherlands #religion #religious_tolerance #secularism #the_enlightenment

Freedom of Thought (2021)48
Pos.Lower is better48
1Albania1.8
2Algeria4.0
3Bosnia & Herzegovina3.3
4Croatia3.3
5Cyprus3.0
6Egypt4.5
7France1.3
8Greece2.3
9Israel3.8
10Italy3.3
11Lebanon4.0
12Libya4.0
13Malta2.8
14Monaco2.8
15Montenegro2.8
16Morocco4.5
17Slovenia1.8
18Spain3.0
19Syria4.5
20Tunisia4.0
21Turkey3.5
22Palestine3.8
The Mediterranean Avg3.3
World Avg3.0
q=22.

Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Belief are upheld in Article 18 the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights49. It affirms that it is a basic human right that all people are free to change their beliefs and religion as they wish50. No countries voted against this (although eight abstained). This right was first recognized clearly in the policies of religious toleration of the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe in the post-enlightenment era51 of the 19th century. In democratic countries, freedom of belief and religion is now taken for granted52. In 2016 a study found that over 180 countries in the world had come to guarantee freedom of religion and belief53. The best countries at doing so are Taiwan, Belgium and The Netherlands48,54 and the worst: Afghanistan, N. Korea, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia48,55.

Long-term studies have shown that religious violence and persecution both decrease in cultures where religious freedom is guaranteed56. Despite this, there still are many who are strongly against freedom of belief50, including entire cultures and many individual communities of religious believers. Their alternative is that you are not free to believe what you want and they often state that you cannot change religion without being punished (often including the death penalty): this is bemoaned as one of the most dangerous elements of religion57 and "the denial of religious freedoms is inevitably intertwined with the denial of other freedoms"58 and the solution is, everywhere, to allow religious freedom and the freedom of belief.

For more, see:

See: