Today World Press Freedom Day provides an opportunity for people around the world to celebrate the
fundamental human right to freedom of expression. Every day,
journalists around the world face the threat of intimidation,
censorship, imprisonment and violence, including torture, for their
efforts to report on human rights violations.
The press acts as a medium of communication between the government
and the people. The free press has a huge responsibility of reporting
the truth and shaping people's opinions. Hence to mark the importance of
the press, World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every year.
World
Press Freedom Day popularly known as World Press Day is one of the
calendar events planned, organised and promoted by the United Nations,
observed annually on May 3.
The day is celebrated to raise
awareness regarding the importance of freedom of the press. The day is
reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and
professional ethics.
"A free press
can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the
press will never be anything but bad." - Albert Camus
May
3 the World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media and the
reporters right to hold the powerful to account, It is also a
day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the
pursuit of a story. As
per UNESCO, on May 3, national and local celebrations for World Press
Freedom Day will take place around the world, which includes online
debates and workshops.
World
Press Freedom Day was first proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December
1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference.
Since then, 3 May, is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day.
As per the official UNESCO Website, the World Press Freedom Day 2021
theme is 'Information as a Public Good'. As per UNESCO, this years theme
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. A theme of great importance as the Covid-19 pandemic still grips the
world and fake news and disinformation continue to harm health, human
rights and democracy alike.
World Press Freedom Day acts as a reminder to governments of the need to
respect their commitment to press freedom. That the importance of a
free press in a functioning and safe society and serves to commemorate
the journalists who have lost their lives in support of free press. In a
time when media coverage is prone to fear-mongering and sensationalism,
taking the time to appreciate and seek out journalism with integrity
has never been more important. Freedom of expression is a fundamental
human right as stated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
The day May 3 also marks the anniversary of Windhoek Declaration.A
statement of press freedom principles put together by African
journalists in 1991 to promote an independent and pluralistic African
press.
Media Worldwide is facing crises on multiple fronts, exacerbated by
the COVID19 pandemic.As the death toll mounted amidst an economic crisis of
unprecedented proportions, promoting transparent reporting was a global
necessity. Yet, several countries stand accused of acting too late in
warning the world about the timing and extent of the threat.
Worldwide, the nonpartisan group Reporters Without Borders https://rsf.org/en issued its
annual World Press Freedom Index April 20, noting that journalism, which
it calls “the main vaccine against the virus of disinformation,” is
blocked or seriously impeded in 73 countries and constrained in 59
others. Together, that represents 73% of the 180 countries evaluated. It illustrates the oppression of
journalists from North to South and a pandemic in its own right seems to
have fomented.
Ultimately, the freedom of the press can only be guaranteed by a
coordinated global effort, public awareness and a focus on the long-term
advantages of a more critical world.
In the midst of the rising pandemic of misinformation - may today remind
us of how vital press freedom is in ensuring that people have access to
verified, fact-based, and unbiased info, both on or offline. Today, citizens from various countries are voicing their concerns
about Press freedom and asking their respective governments to release imprisoned journalists. People' thoughts today are with journalists
who are facing violence and punishment for bringing out the
facts..
From Julian Assange to Jamal Khashoggi, Palestinian journalists, and others across the globe who have continued to struggle for freedom of expression and opinion indifferent to the ongoing attempts at silencing them. This day presents
itself as a great opportunity to shed some light on the violations to
press freedom faced by journalists and the difficult reality in which
they have to carry on their work. Today we pay our tributes to those who risk their freedom and lives to speak
the truth.around the world despite some being harassed, censored, attacked, detained and even murdered in the exercise of their profession..
"Freedom of the Press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose." - George Orwell.
