World Press Freedom Day – Digitial Era Makes Free Press More Relevant than Ever, by Ambassador mo

Freedom of expression remains as important as ever in the digital age, serving as a basis for democracy and human dignity everywhere, UN officials stressed today as World Press Freedom Day was observed by the UN around the globe. (From UN News Centre Press Release)
From a book fair in Egypt to a march in Timor-Leste, and from an exhibition of photographs and blog entries in Moldova to a conference in Ecuador and a training session for journalists in Nigeria, the UN is staging events to coincide with this year’s theme – “21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers.”
In Washington, D.C., Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization will award the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize in absentia to the Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi, who is currently imprisoned in his home country.

A joint statement, below, was issued on behalf of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova.

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“World Press Freedom Day was born twenty years ago in the vision of a group of journalists gathered in Windhoek, Namibia. The Windhoek Declaration was a call to arms to protect the fundamental principles of the freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration Human Rights. It was also a bell mringing in change across the world.
Twenty years on, the media landscape has changed beyond recognition, but our objective remains the same: to promote freedom of expression as the foundation for human dignity and the cornerstone of democracy.
Our times feature great paradox. We enjoy unprecedented opportunities for expression thanks to new technologies and media. More and more people are able to share information and exchange views, within and across national borders. This is a blessing for creativity, for healthy societies, for including everyone in new forms of dialogue.
At the same time, new threats are arising. In a context of rapid change, these combine with older forms of restriction to pose formidable challenges to freedom of expression. New measures to block, filter and censor information emerge every day. Challenges take different features, but they share the same face as violations of a fundamental human right.
The United Nations is dedicated to ensuring that the Internet becomes a truly global public resource, to which all have access and where all voices are heard. This underlines the importance of quality content. This calls for action to defend the integrity and safety of online reporters. All principles of freedom of expression must be brought to the on-line world.
And they must be protected. Over the last decade, more than 500 journalists lost their lives in the pursuit of their profession. Sixty killings were reported worldwide in 2010 alone. Every week brings more reports of journalists and bloggers suffering from intimidation and violence.
Violations of fundamental human rights cannot go unanswered. State authorities must do everything to counter impunity and to protect the safety of journalists. We will never forget the courage of journalists who paid with their lives for our right to know.
The media revolution is triggering new debates about freedom of expression, about the nature of regulation, about the balance between expression and responsibility. We must not shy away from exploring all angles of these questions. We must all rise to the occasion and accept the responsibility of change.
Twenty years after Windhoek, events every day show that promoting freedom of expression remains as important as ever. On this 2011 World Press Freedom Day, we call on all governments to join forces with the United Nations to guarantee and to promote freedom of expression in print, on the airwaves, and online.
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In a separate statement, Frank La Rue, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, noted the vital role played by new media in the pro-democracy movements that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East this year.
“I commend and stand in solidarity with these courageous individuals, including journalists, bloggers and activists, who have risen above fear to express their legitimate grievances and to demand reforms, democracy and transparency, using at great risk their freedom of expression and new information communication technologies,” he said.
Mr. La Rue voiced sadness that so many journalists, as well as human rights activists and opposition figures, continue to be targeted in such countries as Libya, Syria and Yemen.
“I believe that we are currently in a historic moment. Never in the history of humankind have individuals been so interconnected across the globe. Social networking platforms have given individuals the means to share and disseminate information in ‘real time,’ and have played a key role in the recent demonstrations.
“As one activist tweeted during the protests in Egypt, ‘we use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world’.”

It is noteworthy that attacks, imprisonment and killing of journalists is as common as ever, and on all continent. Recent murders from Brazil to Libya have raised awareness. Also, a question not asked nor answered today: Does WikiLeaks fall into category of protected journalism, and what to do about threats?

More Reports:
---“Attacks on Press” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/attacks-on-press/24719

---“Attacks on WikiLeaks/UN Human Rights Commissioner” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/wikileaksun-human-rights-commissioner/23505

By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey
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