FROM MARGINAL IMPROVEMENT TO SYSTEMIC CHANGE?

Although 10 countries have upgraded ratings in 2022, there is still much room for improvement. Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan move from the closed to the repressed category, which means that people living in these countries continue to face severe restrictions when speaking out or protesting; while some improvements have been noted, structural and systemic changes that could foster an enabling environment for civil society are still pending. Côte d’Ivoire also sees a rating upgrade from the repressed to the obstructed category, as fewer civic space violations were documented compared with 2020, during which civic space violations rose due to a highly contested and controversial electoral period.