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Spotlight
New Delhi, 6
May 2023
World Press Freedom Day
NO REASON TO CELEBRATE
By Sabina Inderjit
May 3 this year marked three decades
since the UN General Assembly’s decision to proclaim it as an international day
for press freedom. The big question that needs to be addressed is whether there
is reason to celebrate or just mark the Day or resolve to make it meaningful.
International Federation of
Journalists, representing 600,000 media professionals from 187 trade
unions and associations in over 140 countries, President Dominique Pradalie
noted “From Peru to Iran, from Sudan to Afghanistan, governments are taking
drastic measures to impede freedom of expression and prevent the public’s right
to know, including internet restrictions, beating, jailing and intimidating
journalists, controlling media content, and introducing drastic media laws and
legislations to curb free flow of information. Since the adoption of the
Windhoek Declaration in 1991, very little has been undertaken to create
concrete conditions at international level to guarantee freedom and security
for journalists.”
Few words but raise plenty of
concern. This year UNESCO’s theme ‘Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of
expression as a driver for all other human rights,’ thus is highly debatable. Though
freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, enshrined in Article 19 of
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are governments and a new breed of
politicians who are not keeping their commitment, made at international fora
and being signatories to declarations, of respecting press freedom.
The media is facing a clampdown on
this fundamental right because of its essential role in ensuring transparency
and accountability oof governments. Worse, it’s not just under dictatorial
regimes or in conflict regions but sadly even in so-called democracies.
Press freedom is grounded in the
right of freedom of expression. It underpins human rights such as freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, among others, which the media seeks to
defend. And if this right is silenced, how can it then speak for or defend
others right to free expression. The media’s role is to help citizens make
informed decisions, but if silenced, the citizens end up being left at the
mercies of governments, unaware of their rights such as access to education,
health, and justice, but also the platform to voice their rightful demand.
Remember, press freedom facilitates
holding the powerful to account. And, in this exercise, the media houses
and journalists play an essential role. But when the fourth estate is
controlled, the powerful rule the roost and as a corollary freedom of
expression is impinged upon.
There are numerous
cases to cite but the continued detention of Julian Assange is an important
case to highlight. The
US pursuit of Assange against the public’s right to know poses a grave threat
to the fundamental tenets of democracy, which are becoming increasingly fragile
worldwide. His continued detention has an impact on media freedom and the
rights of all journalists globally. His extradition to the US will have a
chilling effect, with all journalists and media workers at risk.
Unfortunately, governments are increasingly
using every tool possible to silence independent media rather than seeing it as
a partner in democracy. They fail to realise that democracy is intertwined with
freedom of expression and a free press. Deny these and democracy itself is
compromised. The IFJ has listed 68 media staff killed in 2022 in the
course of duty. Nine
in 10 cases remain unpunished and impunity reigns. At least 375 journalists and
media workers are behind bars, with China being the world’s biggest jailer.
Other cases involve journalists being attacked, beaten, detained, harassed and
threatened. There are growing threats to digital safety with cyber-attacks,
hacking, online harassment, especially of women journalists, all creating a
safety crisis for news professionals.
These are
not just figures for behind every statistic is also human tragedy – a death, a
kidnapping, a family left without a mother, father, a brother, or sister.
Behind every statistic is a country or community left without information,
denied the human right to be properly informed. The denial of the right to exercise freedom of expression has
thus serious repercussions not just for journalists but society per se.
An IFJ report ‘Pressure and
Polarisation: Powering Media resistance in South Asia, launched in Mumbai by
UNESCO on WPFD too highlights a dismal situation in the region, wherein it has
witnessed major political and economic upheaval this past year. Notably,
citizens in this region are confronting a spectrum of new challenges to freedom
of expression and their rights, as political leaders emboldened by powers
usurped during the time of crisis seem to have developed a habit for overreach,
controls and clampdown.
Laws made in the name of national
security and emergency in recent times have sadly taken up a more permanent
place to restrict fundamental freedoms and limit vital spaces of discourse. Plus,
institutions that underpin democracy are too frequently being threatened or
destabilised. The report documents 257 media rights violations, including 13 targeted killings, 76 cases of jailings,
detention or torture, legal harassment and assaults.
The
developments in Afghanistan continue to be the worst with the media grappling
with the new normal post-Taliban takeover with scores of Afghan media outlets
becoming dysfunctional. Estimates put figures of functioning media at only 192,
out of 579 previously operating media houses. Less than half of the 476 radio
networks are still functioning. Media houses are unable to pay salaries,
and Taliban strictures against women working saw about 80% cent of women
journalists lose their jobs in the radio sector alone.
The Sri
Lankan media is adjusting to severe cuts following the economic crisis; Press
freedom continued to be a major concern under Pakistan’s new regime; religious
extremism and polarisation dogged the media in Bangladesh and Maldives; the erosion
of autonomy due to corporate take-overs of independent media was most visible
in India, which also topped the global list for the highest number of internet
shutdowns for 5th consecutive year and amid an economic crisis,
number of journalists leaving Bhutan for better opportunities is higher than
ever before.
The region
frightfully saw growing schisms between communities and along religious lines.
Hard-line positions got more entrenched, endorsed by those in power. This
polarisation was inevitably reflected in the media, and in some cases, it also
fuelled these differences. Laws enacted to regulate online content consistently
violated the right to freedom of expression and press freedom.
In these
challenging times, it’s vital institutions and governments are made
accountable. An important
prerequisite is safety of journalists, as despite many protocols, guidelines
and proposals, they still face a daily threat, and that there’s a lack of
action and, in too many cases, a lack of will to tackle the crisis of impunity,
says IFJ.
The general
human rights instruments fail to
reflect the systemic effect of attacks against journalists on societies. Unlike
most violations, such attacks have an impact on the public’s right to
information, contribute to a decline of democratic control and have a chilling
effect on everyone’s freedom of expression.
Therefore, IFJ has been demanding adoption
of a binding international instrument – its International Convention on the
Safety of journalists and Media Professionals. This is not in competition
with other initiatives like UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists,
rather it’s complementary and seeks to remove important weaknesses, specific to
the situation of journalists to ensure more effective implementation of
international law. The convention will strengthen press freedom by forcing
governments to investigate and respond to attacks against the media. Time
governments act and support the Convention. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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