World Press Freedom Day 2013
From Costa Rica to Somalia to Nepal, IMS and its partners mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May in over a dozen locations around the world
Under the theme of “Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of Expression in All Media”, World Press Freedom Day events around the world on 3 May focus on the safety of journalists, the issue of impunity, and online safety.
Together with UNESCO and a range of other international organisations, IMS is marking the day at the main World Press Freedom Day event in Costa Rica.
In over a dozen locations around the world, IMS’ partners are also celebrating the day. Find out where.
Concerted approach to keeping journalists safe
In the last 10 years alone, between 500 and 1000 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide for reporting the news, according to Committee to Protect Journalists and the International News Safety Institute.
To counter the trend, this year’s main event in Costa Rica brings together a range of international organisations and media professionals to discuss how to improve the safety of media workers, the issue impunity for those who attack the media, and new challenges for staying safe online.
A special session organised by IMS together with Open Society Foundations and UNESCO deals with the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. The Plan of Action is a concerted approach bringing together media and civil society organisations, UN bodies and crucially governments to ensuring safe and enabling working environments for journalists around the world.
With IMS partners and other speakers from Pakistan, Colombia, Nepal, the session presents some of the good practices and lessons learned in working with safety and implementing the UN Plan of Action.
Less than 14% of world population has free press
Although the past year has seen improvements in press freedom worldwide, the number of people with access to a free press has fallen to 14% – its lowest level in over a decade, according to Freedom House.
A general downturn in global media freedom in 2012 was accentuated by a dramatic decline in Mali, and a further tightening of controls in Latin America.
Two years on from historic revolutions, conditions remained uneven in the Middle East and North Africa, with Tunisia and Egypt experiencing some backsliding, says Michael Irving Jensen, Head of IMS’ MENA Department.
”The new government leaders in countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen have yet to show significant interest in ensuring the legal framework for press freedom. In most cases, they have in fact sought to limit the media’s freedom,” says Michael Irving Jensen.
Despite the overall downturn in press freedom worldwide, countries such as Myanmar have also seen positive progress, with a range of improvements including the abolishment of pre-publication censorship. With the country’s first ever code of ethics for journalists, Côte d’Ivoire’s media also saw significant progress in 2012.
Journalist-to-journalist assistance
With over 70 journalists killed on the job in 2012, the year was one of the deadliest ever for the world’s media, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. IMS has been assisting journalists victimised as a direct result of their journalistic work for several years. In October 2011, the assistance was bolstered with new funds from the Danish Union of Journalists.
Since then, the Safety Fund has assisted 68 journalists in peril across five continents.
Consisting of urgent legal and medical help, financial assistance and evacuation the support is made possible through money donated by Danish journalists in solidarity with their international colleagues under threat.
World Press Freedom is marked every year on 3 May to celebrate the principles of a free and independent press and to pay tribute to the journalists who are attacked, harassed, imprisoned, tortured and killed for doing their job.
In over a dozen locations around the world, IMS’ partners are celebrating the day. Find out where.
