World Press Freedom Day Matters

May 3 is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day every year. It started with the proclamation by the U.N. General Assembly in 1993 following a recommendation adopted at the 26th session of UNESCO’s General conference in 1991. However, it came as a response to a call by African journalists in 1991 when the Windhoek Declaration was produced. This was a declaration of free press principles put together at a UNESCO seminar in Windhoek, Namibia on promoting an independent and plural press not only in Africa but worldwide.

World Press Freedom Day is an occasion to focus on the importance of press freedom, evaluate its status worldwide, defend the media against attacks, and honor those who have lost their lives in the course of their work. This is important as the work of journalists around the world can be difficult and sometimes dangerous. They face harassment, imprisonment and assaults with some even losing their lives. Reporters without Borders state that global and regional indicators show that “there has been a deep and disturbing decline in respect for media freedom throughout the world.” Journalists also face “unprecedented threats” according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The organization noted that these threats lead to the suppression of public interest news which ultimately has impact on all other freedoms.

Freedom of the press remains critical and as article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

A free press is also a core value of the United States. U.S. founding father Thomas Jefferson said, “Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it.” Jefferson also added, “[W]ere it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” The U.S. thus continuously works to advance media freedom around the world through bilateral engagement, public diplomacy, and multilateral diplomacy. This is because a diverse and independent press is crucial to holding governments accountable and sustaining democracy around the world.

An independent media ensures that people are informed about issues that are important and have direct impact on them. In addition they are able to air their opinions on policies and actions of government. Information flow between the government and the people is most effective where all feel free and safe to express their views.

An independent media helps to promote transparency by exposing corruption thus enabling citizens to hold government at all levels accountable. UNESCO notes that where press freedom is low there tends to be high corruption rates. Thus, access to government information, especially through freedom of information laws, is key and should be guaranteed in law and in practice.

Every year, the U.S. Mission to Nigeria engages in various activities to celebrate press freedom and high level Mission officials including the Ambassador take part in these activities to underscore this critical component of a vibrant democratic environment. UNESCO has announced “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies” as this year’s theme which will focus on the issue of journalist safety.

Crossroads Nigeria

A publication of the United States Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria

U.S. Mission Nigeria

Written by

United States Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria. For official information visit http://ng.usembassy.gov

Crossroads Nigeria

A publication of the United States Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade