World Press Freedom Day

In 1993, May 3rd was declared World Press Freedom Day. This declaration came after a recommendation was made in 1991 at the 26th General Conference session of UNESCO.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right and the press plays an important role in informing the public about the happenings in their country and around the world.

As per UNESCO, the day aims to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess the state of press freedom around the world, defend the media against the attacks on its independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while performing their duty.

In 1948, it was emphasized in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has the Right to Freedom of opinion, everyone has the right to express their opinion without fear and everyone has the right to receive and impart their ideas to the people through press and media.

This year, the theme of World Press Freedom Day is ‘Journalism under digital siege’. The theme aims to highlight the multiple ways freedom of press is being attacked through surveillance and digitally-mediated attacks on journalists.

This year’s event is shining a light on journalists who have been killed in war zones, with the conflict in Ukraine taking center stage. It is believed up to seven journalists have been killed in the Ukrainian conflict since the war broke out.

Citizens and media workers alike across the world, including in Ethiopia, India, Syria, Ukraine, and Turkey have faced years of attacks on their freedom of expression as they were increasingly targeted for repression, arrested, silenced, threatened, and more.

The President of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Jodie Ginsberg says violence against journalists is not only happening in authoritarian regimes, “They’re happening right here in the United States, in the UK, in Europe.”

UNESCO said 55 journalists and media workers were killed in 2021. Meanwhile, the U.N. is calling for greater protections for people seeking to report the truth.

U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said, “The threats to journalists and media workers are growing by the day. From global health to the climate crisis, corruption and human rights, they face increased politicization of their work and attempts to silence them from any sides”.