This post is a summary of one article published at http://www.un.org/, on May 3, 2013, with the title above. And a report published at http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index, on may 2013 with the title of: " 2013 World Press Freedom Index: Dashed Hopes After Spring."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said, " a fundamental right on its own, freedom of expression also provides the conditions for protecting and promoting all other human rights. But its exercise does not happen automatically, it requires a safe environment for dialogue, where all can speak freely and openly, without fear or reprisal."
The world press freedom day was proclaimed by the U.N. general assembly in December 1993. Since then, May 3, the anniversary of the declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide. It is an opportunity 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.
_ Pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
There is a growing awareness that ensuring freedom of expression must also necessarily extend to safety online, and securing a free and open internet as the precondition for it. The digitalization of the media reinforces the global trend of freelancing by further expanding journalism beyond the ranks of employees and media institutions. Included in the supply of news today are citizens reporters and individuals bloggers, it is in society`s interests that they receive the same protection as professional journalists. Digitalization also means that more and more information is transmitted and stored online. Journalists have had their computer confiscated and hacking. Journalists increasingly need to know how to protect data.
On average, in past years, only about one-in-ten cases of crimes against journalists and social media producers has led to a conviction. This level of impunity is not just bad in principle in terms of flouting the rule of law, in terms of which every state has a duty to protect its citizens. On even greater concern, because of the visibility involved, impunity for attacks on journalists in particular sends a signal to the wider public to keep quiet about corruption and human rights violations. The result is a self-censorship across a society and an erosion of public faith in the judicial system. In this way, impunity also feeds a vicious cycle.
This year`s press freedom index is a better reflection of the attitudes of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term. The same three countries that headed the index last year hold the top positions again.( Finland, Netherlands and Norway ). At the other end of the index, the same three countries as ever, occupy the last three places in the index. ( Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea ).
In the Americas, just as the emergence of major protest movements ( and ensuring crackdowns ) had a big impact on the rankings of certain countries in 2011, so a decline in the protests has logically had an impact a year later. Chile, for example, rose 20 places to 60th in the index after the previous year`s student protests. For similar reasons, the U.S. rose 15 places to 32nd, recovering a ranking more appropriate to the "country of the First Amendment." The clearest new trends are to be seen in the south. Brazil fell again, this time 9 places to 108th, after falling 41 places in 2011. Its media landscape is also badly distorted. The regional media are exposed to attacks, physical violence against their personnel, and there is also court censorship orders, which also target the blogosphere. Despite a high level of physical violence against journalists, Peru rose 10 places to 105th, now topping Brazil, itself one place above Bolivia 109th, where several media were the targets of spectacular arson or dynamite attacks and both national and local polarization are having an impact.
