World Press Freedom Day
TODAY marks the 26th celebration of World Press Freedom Day (WPFD). Jointly organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the African Union Commission, and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, WPFD 2019 has theme “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.”
This year’s theme supports the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which seeks to promote “an Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice, and the rule of law.” Recognizing how current realities put the contribution of free, pluralistic, independent and safe journalism to democracy under unprecedented stress, WPFD 2019 will also address the following sub-themes: how the digital era is affecting electoral communications, new attempts to undermine media’s role in democracy: discrediting professional journalism and disrupting Internet access, and media’s potential to contribute to a culture
of sustainable peace and democracy.
The WPFD 2019 global conference took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 1-3, 2019. The event will provide a platform for various actors to discuss current issues, threats, and achievements concerning freedom of the press as well as find ways to address the current challenges faced by media in elections, along with the media’s potential in supporting peace and reconciliation processes. Another highlight of the celebration was the awarding of the UNESCO/ Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize on May 2, 2019. Sharing this year’s award are journalists Kyaw SoeOo and Wa Lone (Myanmar) who were arrested in Yangon on December 12, 2017, while working for the Reuters news agency, reporting on alleged human rights violations in Myanmar’s state of Rakhine. They are now serving sevenyear prison sentences.
WPFD was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December, 1993, following the recommendation of the UNESCO General Conference. The Windhoek declaration is a statement of press freedom principles by African newspaper journalists in 1991. It was produced at a UNESCO seminar, “Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press,” held in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, on April 29-May 3, 1991. The date of the Declaration’s adoption, May 3, was subsequently declared as WPFD to serve as a venue 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.
WPFD 2019 is a major opportunity to advance the agenda of deepening democracy and sustainable development in digital times. There is an imperative to defend free and fearless journalism, online and offline, to better empower citizens and make them informed individuals who can exercise their democratic rights.
“Conflict-sensitive journalism can play a pivotal role [by bridging] divides through accurate reporting, break down stereotypes, cover human stories, and present solutions. Such journalism can help prevent polarization, violence, and war.” Journalists should not be thwarted from carrying out their paramount role and supreme responsibility to society.