Last Tuesday 3rd of May, All the world celebrated the importance of the press freedom. This post is a summary of the concept note released by UNESCO. The theme of this year is, "Access to information and fundamental freedoms, this is your right! And this is also the title of this concept note. It was published in November of 2015 at http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/WPFD/WPFD2016_Concept-Note.pdf
World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) is celebrated across the globe every 3 May, representing an opportunity to advance the fundamental principles of press freedom and to pay solemn tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. In 2016, World Press Freedom Day coincides with three important milestones: 1) The 250th anniversary of the world's first freedom of information law, covering Sweden and Finland. 2) The 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration of press freedom principles. 3) 2016 is also the first year of the 15 year life-cycle of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The WPFD in 2016 highlights also the links between press freedom, a culture of openness and the right to freedom of information, and sustainable development in the digital age. The common thread in all these is the role of journalism, and the importance of safeguarding those who bring this service to the public. This year's WPFD will examine the questions from three different perspectives: 1) Freedom of information as a fundamental freedom and as a human right. 2) Protecting press freedom from censorship and surveillance overreach. 3) Ensuring safety for journalism online and offline. The world's first freedom of information law, in Sweden and Finland is a historic milestones which gave legal recognition to two inter-related norms that have had global repercussions: 1) Citizens should have the right to express themselves outside of interference by the state, and of particular importance. 2) Information held by the state should be available to citizens. In this perspective, the state should not constrain citizens's realm of information, and neither should it conceal information from them, It is a position that puts a limit on arbitrary state interference in public dialogue on one hand, and reinforces the accountability if state power on the other. The adoption of the Windhoek Declaration in 1991 in Namibia gave rise to WPFD being recognized by the United Nations. This declaration highlighted that press freedom is constituted by media freedom, pluralism and independence. Each year, the Day serves as an occasion around the world for stakeholders to celebrate and strengthen this right. These three elements of press freedom, the right to information, and sustainable development, are interconnected through the role of journalism as a specialised exercise of the right to free expression that uses professional standards and public interest as its lodestar. This interconnection means that any limitations in the imparting side of communications impact on the receiving side, and vice versa. The degree to which a society has a rich and open information environment therefore depends in the conditions for freedom in both dimensions. In its dual dimensions, freedom of expression is a right of high significance to other rights. It is also highly significant to sustainable development. It is clear that public access to information and fundamental freedoms are not only an end in themselves, but also an important mean to SDG. Press freedom and the related safety of journalists impact directly on the information environment to which the public has access. Conversely, the better the public access to information, the better the climate for respecting fundamental freedoms including safety for journalists, and the creative cultural expression as well. These insights are amplified by the emerging digital age. As information becomes more and more a necessity for development, so the right to information, securing press freedom and ensuring journalism safety become of increasing significance. The right to information is linked to wider transparency in society, as highlighted in the 2015 UNESCO study, "Keystones to foster inclusive knowledge socities: Access to information and knowledge, freedom of expression, privacy, and ethics on a global internet." Again, journalism is central to all these aspects. A major obstacle to open access to information is overreach in governmental secrecy. States should be able to keep some information confidential in line with legitimate purpose and processes set out in international human rights laws. However, information from administrative and executive authorities, concerning for example laws and public expenditure, should be accessible to everyone. hence, freedom of information both helps provide oversight over governmental bodies, as well as the possibility to hold them accountable, and this right strengthens the relevance of an independent journalism. Another issue is that even in countries where there are freedom of information laws or legal provisions, journalists may have difficulty in accessing, understanding, and subsequently using the raw data or information. This is where data journalism can play a role in accessing and interrogating data and mashing up datasets to produce results that inform audiences "something new about the news" When journalists are empowered to use freedom to use freedom of information laws to bring hidden information to light, they can amplify their potential to enhance the accountability of institutions as part of the SDG conception of development. Proactive steps by states to open up records can also greatly help to ensure transparency in public administration. In the digital age, press freedom is confronted by growing challenges of arbitrary blocking access to online information, and arbitrary intrusions on digital privacy. These developments impact on those who do journalism, on others who express themselves online, and also on those who receive online information through multi-step flows. They may also unjustifiably limit the diversity of cultural expression. There are serious implications of the increasing number of measures which regulate internet content through blocking of websites and communications tools in ways that exceed international standards requiring legality, proportionality and legitimate purpose. These steps constrain the ability of society to make informed choices about development and democracy. An inter-related issue is the challenge of possible surveillance overreaching. The right to privacy is well-established as a precondition for freedom of expression, and for the protection of journalists confidential sources. Privacy intersects also with anonymity, and with the use of encryption. An absence of these facilities can seriously inhibit the free flow of information, something that may have particular implications for people seeking to challenge gender inequality, for example. Where journalistic source protection is compromised, there may be cover-ups of corruption, intimidation and exposure of sources' identities with repercussions on them. In the long term, this can contribute to sources of information running dry and to self-censorship in society at large. It is crucial that journalists can safely access and produce information both online and offline. Assuring the physical and psychological well-being of journalists including digital security is one of the most pressing issues in recent times. It is a matter with many dimensions. It is a matter that impacts directly on the environment for public access to information, including on the confidence of the public to speak freely. Technological advances and the rise of citizen journalism have cemented the notion that journalism today should be understood in terms of an activity rather than a status. While not every blogger and social activist engages in journalistic activities, those who do so can risk harassment, threats, and attacks, akin to journalists working within traditional media. Accordingly, all those who generate public interest journalism should be especially protected as increasingly recognized by the international community in recent resolutions across the U.N. More and more attention worldwide is being given to the safety of journalists and of ending impunity. The killing of journalists is the ultimate form of censorship and UNESCO systematically condemns such crimes, and reports on impunity. Other inter-governmental organizations are also increasingly taking measures. The Council of Europe has launched an online platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. Media and civil society groups are stepping up their activities, for example with regard to alerts, training, campaigning and developing policy for freelancers. However, awareness can be further strengthened, impunity remains a huge problem and there is a need to address weaknesses in building strong institutions to protect journalists and punish perpetrators of attacks. Press freedom and access to information are essential to democracy. Journalism helps make this so. Sometimes referred to as a "watchdog" of political and societal institutions, journalism is also much more: it demonstrates freedom of expression for society at large, it puts new questions on the development agenda, and it empowers citizens with information. It provides a context in which the diversity of cultural expressions can flourish. For all these reasons, strengthening journalism is key to developing a culture of openness, access to information and fundamental freedoms. To this end, WPFD 2016 seeks to advance the right to information, press freedom, and the environment for journalism to done in safety.
