The IPI Watch List is a list of countries in which press freedom conditions have rapidly deteriorated. The guiding principle behind the Watch List is to open up a dialogue with these countries before they slide into repression.

Sri Lanka was added to the IPI Watch List in October 2000, after then President Chandrika Kumaratunga imposed heavy restrictions on the media as a consequence of the state of emergency. However, the Board removed Sri Lanka from the Watch List in September 2003, after an IPI delegation travelled to Sri Lanka to meet with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and other ministers.

Unfortunately, the situation has deteriorated over the last 18 months, and the report of an international mission to Sri Lanka that included IPI in June 2007 noted, "the pressures on the media have multiplied,[…] with increasing fears for the safety of journalists." The report also criticised the government for a lack of progress in the investigations of murdered and attacked journalists.

The IPI Board therefore decided to place Sri Lanka back on the Watch List. In doing so, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz noted, "between 2000 and 2003, Sri Lanka reacted very positively to the pressure that came as a consequence of being on the IPI Watch List. IPI hopes to achieve the same results this time."

With regard to Ethiopia, Fritz said, "the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi continues to prosecute and jail the media profession, and the independent media in Ethiopia is slowly disappearing." Regarding Nepal, Fritz said, "widespread disrespect for press freedom still strongly affects journalists and media outlets’ ability to report freely. This makes Nepal a very dangerous country for journalists."

Concerning Russia, Fritz pointed out that "the range of methods employed by State officials and pro-government businesses to inhibit the media remains constant. In addition, the press freedom situation in Venezuela has worsened. "The Law of Social Responsibility has provided the legal framework for the attempted closure of broadcasting stations," said Fritz.

Finally, in Zimbabwe, Fritz highlighted the plight of the independent media. "The situation for journalists is desperate in spite of a fierce battle by local and regional press freedom organisations to defend the right of the Zimbabwean media to practice their profession."

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