The international rights group Freedom House said Wednesday that the prospect¹ of an international system built on democratic ideals is under greater threat now than at any point in the past quarter-century.

Freedom House said in its annual roundup Wednesday that the state of democracy in 2014 was "exceptionally grim." Syria ranked the lowest in the just released annual report, but the group recorded more declines than gains in democratic freedoms around the world.

Freedom House said the one notable exception is Tunisia, which in 2014 became the first Arab country to achieve the status of "free" since Lebanon's civil war four decades ago.

A "troubling number" of economic powers and regionally influential² nations slid backwards³ in their democratic standards, according to Wednesday's report. Dangers to freedom of expression were said to come from state surveillance, Internet restrictions⁴, and curbs⁵ on the freedom to make individual decisions on things like education, employment, and travel. Russia, Venezuela, Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, Nigeria, Kenya, Azerbaijan, and Hungary were among the nations noted⁶ for such declines.

More troubling, Freedom House said, are more explicit⁷ rejections⁸ of democratic standards, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "including the outright⁹ seizure¹⁰ and formal annexation¹¹ of Crimea," which it noted as a "prime example."

国际人权组织自由之家星期三说，在民主理念基础上建立一个国际体系的前景面临着四分之一世纪以来的最大威胁。

自由之家在星期三发表的年度报告中说，2014年的民主体制处于“特别恶劣”的状态。在刚刚发表的年度报告中，叙利亚被列为民主程度最差的国家。在世界范围内，民主自由事业有所倒退。

自由之家说，突尼斯是一个值得注意的例外。自黎巴嫩40年前爆发内战以来，突尼斯2014年成为第一个赢得自由的阿拉伯国家。

星期三发表的报告说，“数目多得令人不安”的经济强国和具有地区影响力的国家在民主方面开倒车，言论自由受到威胁，其形式包括国家监视、互联网限制以及限制个人在教育、就业和旅行等方面自由做出决定。俄罗斯、委内瑞拉、埃及、土耳其、泰国、尼日利亚、肯尼亚、阿塞拜疆和匈牙利被列为在民主自由方面倒退的国家。

自由之家说，更令人不安的是，民主标准遭到更明目张胆的弃绝。俄罗斯对乌克兰的入侵，“包括对克里米亚的公然攫取和正式吞并”被视为“突出的例子”。