Restrictions to media freedoms, access to information and the right to protest have hurt Solomon Islanders' civil rights, according to a new report.
Residents in the Solomon Islands have had their civic freedoms downgraded from "open" to "narrowed", according to a new report.
The People Power Under Attack 2021 report was released on Wednesday by online research platform CIVICUS Monitor, after examining the civic rights and freedoms of people in 196 countries around the world.
The CIVICUS Monitor combines several different sources of data looking at things like the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and ‘expression’.
Countries are then given a ranking ranging from closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open.
The report said restrictions to media freedoms, access to information and the right to protest were all indicators that led to the Solomon Islands' downgrade.
“Excessive restrictions on civic freedoms imposed by the government under the guise of preventing COVID-19 led to the downgrade of the Solomon Islands," CIVICUS Asia-Pacific Civic Space researcher Josef Benedict said.
"Constant threats to ban Facebook and attempts to vilify civil society have also resulted in the failure of the Solomon Islands to retain a top spot in our global rights rankings."
The report also revealed nine out of 10 people in the world are living with their civil rights restricted.
The most concerning violation CIVICUS has reported is the detainment of protesters around the world, followed by intimidation, restrictive laws and attacks on journalists.
Source: CIVICUS Monitor and sbs.com.au