Promoting Freedom of Expression, Press Freedom, Independence and Pluralism of the Media 
 
  Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, UNESCO convened an informal East-West meeting of media professionals in February 1990 to discuss and assess the problems and urgent requirements of the newly independent press of Central and Eastern Europe. More than 90 representatives of independent media from the region met with representatives of major Canadian, US and Western European media. Starting in 1991, a series of regional meetings on the promotion of an independent and pluralistic press focused on national, regional and international ways and means of improving respect for the right to freedom of expression and such issues as the safety of journalists, legal obstacles to the free flow of information, and material and training requirements of the media in different regions. All the continents, one after the other adopted declarations in order to promote independent and pluralist press.

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Participants from 35 African countries and several non-governmental organizations met in Windhoek to discuss press freedom, media independence and pluralism. Organized by UNESCO, the United Nations Department of Public Information and UNDP, this first regional seminar ended with the adoption of the Declaration of Windhoek. This Declaration focused on promoting an independent and pluralistic African press and served as a basis for similar declarations in other regions.

The Declaration emphasized that the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development.

In addition to defining the concepts of press independence and pluralism, the Declaration noted that media professionals in many African countries continued to be victims of human rights violations or otherwise restricted through such economic and political pressures as restrictions on newsprint, licensing systems or visas.

The signatories called on international organizations to provide direct funding to non-governmental media that reflect the society as a whole and the different points of view within the communities they serve.

The participants also recommended that UNESCO and the United Nations proclaim 3 May as World Press Freedom Day.
 

This second major regional seminar brought together Asian media professionals and ended with the adoption of the Declaration of Alma Ata. This Declaration endorsed the fundamental principles espoused in the Declaration of Windhoek and reiterated requests for technical, material or financial assistance to Asian media professionals. This Declaration also focused on the specific requirements of newly independent States of the region and called for assistance and advice on drafting new laws to ensure respect for freedom of information and of the press, and abolish economic and legal barriers to press freedom, independence and pluralism of the media.
  At this third regional seminar, participants focused on media development and democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. The final document of this seminar, called the Declaration of Santiago, condemned continual violations and violence committed against media professionals and recalled that, in many cases, those responsible for crimes enjoyed impunity. The Declaration called for the creation of a World Press Freedom Prize to be awarded annually to honor individuals, organizations or institutions that have contributed significantly to the advancement of freedom of information.
  The fourth regional seminar, held in Sana'a, brought together media professionals from Arab States. They focused on specific issues that affect the independence and pluralism of Arab media. The Declaration of Sana'a called, among other things, for the provision or reinforcement of constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom of expression and press freedom. It also called for the establishment of truly independent, representative associations, syndicates or trade unions of journalists in those Arab countries where they do not exist. In addition, the Declaration stated that disputes involving the media should be tried under civil, not criminal, codes and procedures.
 
The United Nations and UNESCO organized this European Seminar (with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe) as the fifth and the last in the series of regional seminars in response to the democratization process under way in many regions of the world. It ended with the adoption of the Declaration of Sofia. The Seminar focused on the challenges posed by the emergence of an independent press in Central and Eastern Europe. There were debates on topics of general European interest and concern such as media ownership, defamation, privacy and insult laws, media and tolerance, violence against media, development of human resources and access to information in the new information society.
 

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June 1998
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