The UNESCO Observatory of Killed Journalists notes that since 1993 a total of 1,450 journalists have been killed in the line of duty. In just the first three months of this year, a total of 15 media workers have already lost their lives, paying the ultimate price for pursuing their work and their views.
On the occasion of this year’s World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, The Times Kuwait pays tribute to all those who laid down their lives in pursuit of a free, independent and pluralistic media worldwide. A free and independent media remains a guardian for good governance — which refers to the ability of society to provide an open and accountable government — and to guarantee the rule of law and free speech to all citizens and residents in the country.
Only when journalists are free to monitor, investigate and criticize a society’s policies and actions can good governance take hold. Besides upholding governance and transparency, a free and independent media also contributes to empowering vulnerable sections of the population, and helping develop a sustainable economy and equitable society for all people.
World Press Freedom Day, held each year on 3 May, marks the date of adoption of the Windhoek Declaration, which called for creating an environment that fosters a free, independent and pluralistic media. The Windhoek Declaration was a statement of press freedom principles by African newspaper journalists, which was published at a UNESCO seminar, organized from 29 April to 3 May of 1991, and held in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. In December 1993, following recommendation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek on 3 May as World Press Freedom Day.
Since then, 3 May has been celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day. The day serves as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. It is an opportunity to: celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; assess the state of press freedom throughout the world; defend the media from attacks on their independence; and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Promoting the safety of journalists and combating impunity for those who attack them are central elements within UNESCO’s support for press freedom on all media platforms, said UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay. On average, every five days a journalist is killed for bringing information to the public. Attacks on media professionals are often perpetrated in non-conflict situations by organised crime groups, militia, security personnel, and even local police, making local journalists among the most vulnerable. These attacks include murder, abductions, harassment, intimidation, illegal arrest, and arbitrary detention.
Impunity for crimes against the media fuels and perpetuates the cycle of violence and the resulting self-censorship deprives society of information and further affects press freedom. It directly impacts the United Nations’ human rights based efforts to promote peace, security, and sustainable development. The UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity is the first concerted effort within the UN system to address these issues via a multi-stakeholder and holistic approach and brings together UN bodies, national authorities, media, and civil society organizations. It contributes directly to the achievement of the 2030 Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The World Press Freedom Day theme for 2021, ‘Information as a Public Good’ serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good, and exploring what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content to strengthen journalism, and to advance transparency and empowerment while leaving no one behind.
This year’s theme is of urgent relevance worldwide as it recognizes the changing communications system that is impacting our health, our human rights, democracies and sustainable development. To underline the importance of information within our online media environment, World Press Freedom Day 2021 will highlight three key topics: Steps to ensure the economic viability of news media; Mechanisms for ensuring transparency of Internet companies; and, Enhanced Media and Information Literacy (MIL) capacities that enable people to recognize and value, as well as defend and demand, journalism as a vital part of information as a public good.
This year, on the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, the Global Conference held annually on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, is being co-hosted by UNESCO and the Government of Namibia. The event, which is being held from 29 April until 3 May in Windhoek, is a physical and digital event amalgamating virtual and in-presence participation by media leaders, activists, policymakers, media and legal experts, artists and researchers from all over the world. Organized annually since 1993, the Global Conference provides an opportunity to journalists, civil society representatives, national authorities, academics and the broader public to discuss emerging challenges to press freedom and journalists’ safety, and to work together on identifying solutions.
This year’s Global Conference is calling for urgent attention to the threat of extinction faced by local news media around the world, a crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will put forward ideas to tackle the challenges of our online media environment, push for more transparency of internet companies, strengthen safety of journalists, and improve their working conditions. The Conference will also call to support independent media and empower citizens to face these challenges.
After 30 years, the historic connection made between the freedom to seek, impart and receive information and the public good remains as relevant as it was at the time of its signing. Special commemorations of the 30th anniversary are planned to take place in countries around the world during the World Press Freedom Day International Conference.
International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. Over the past year it has become evident that efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic have been undermined by a concurrent global ‘infodemic’. It has also become clear that public interest media have become more needed and yet more threatened than ever.
A panel discussion organized by the UN’s Department of Global Communications in cooperation with Luminate, an international philanthropic organization that aims to empower people and institutions to work together and help build just and fair societies, will be held on the occasion of the Global Conference. The panel will discuss the roles of public interest media, technology platforms and global institutions such as the UN, one year into the infodemic. It will delve into what actions should be taken to strengthen our responses and ensure that trusted, impartial information is accessible to all.
The health crisis has also created new challenges to the safety of journalists and considerably exacerbated existing ones. In this regard, UNESCO has issued two statements regarding safety of journalists covering the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing solidarity with journalists who passed away and calling for protection of journalists and condemning interference with press freedom in the context of the health crisis. Aside from alerting to different kinds of safety threats faced by journalists covering the pandemic, UNESCO also called on Member States to ensure that journalists can report on the crisis without interference or undue limitations. UNESCO’s dedicated Resource center of responses to COVID-19, includes references and examples of good practices to ensure the safety of journalists in this context.
As part of supporting the freedom and independence of media reporting, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize is awarded annually on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. Created in 1997, the annual Prize honors a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when achieved in the face of danger. The $25,000 Prize is funded by the Guillermo Cano Isaza Foundation (Colombia), the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation (Finland) and the Namibia Media Trust and is awarded annually after the deliberations of an independent jury of renowned journalists from all regions.
Investigative journalist and media executive Maria Ressa of the Philippines has been named as the 2021 laureate of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. The award ceremony will take place at the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference. Maria Angelita Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist and author, the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. A former Asia lead investigative reporter for US network CNN and head of domestic network ABS-CBN News, Ressa now manages the news website Rappler whose reporting has attracted the wrath of Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte.
In awarding this year’s prize, UNESCO said that Ressa has been involved in many international initiatives to promote press freedom, and was arrested several times “for alleged crimes related to the exercise of her profession”. She has also been subject to a sustained campaign of gendered online abuse, threats, and harassment, the agency said in a statement. “Maria Ressa’s unerring fight for freedom of expression is an example for many journalists around the world,” jury chair Marilu Mastrogiovanni said in the statement. “Her case is emblematic of global trends that represent a real threat to press freedom, and therefore to democracy,” Mastrogiovanni added.