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The struggle for press freedom: a constant effort
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by Alain Modoux
Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace
As UNESCO, the United Nations, professional media organisations and the international journalistic community celebrate World Press Freedom Day, journalists and other media professionals can rejoice at the advances made in promoting this most basic of human rights -the cornerstone of any democratic society. Yet, at the same time a closer examination reveals that a great deal remains to be done.
Freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press, have become a basic element of democratic societies. In some developed countries, it is so taken for granted that World Press Freedom Day goes largely unnoticed. However, in many less fortunate countries where freedom of the press is at best barely consolidated and at worst non-existent, 3 May gives journalists and citizens the opportunity to freely express themselves fully and freely.
Press freedom means independent and pluralistic media and journalists, But as journalists themselves often point out and one Washington Post editorial echoed (IHT, 23 November 99), "to be independent is dangerous in many parts of the world". And the dangers come not only from governments or authorities. Armed conflicts, political violence and, increasingly, criminal elements are also responsible for violence directed at the media. According to professional media associations, the number journalists killed because of their work reporting the news continued to grow during 1999. With ever more news and information at people's fingertips, there is a tendency to forget that collecting that information can still be hard and dangerous work.
However, freedom of the press is more than just a basic human right enjoyed by journalists. It is also a major factor in the economic and social development of societies. The President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn has clearly stated: "A free press is not a luxury. A free press is at the absolute core of equitable development, because if you cannot enfranchise poor people, if they do not have a right to expression, if there's no searchlight on corruption and inequitable practices, you cannot build the public consensus needed to bring about change. Most striking, what sets the poor apart from the rich is a lack of voice".
For all these reasons, it is vital for the promotion of press freedom to be a struggle that never lets up. One way of doing this is to keep giving maximum publicity to such initiatives as the celebration of World Press Freedom Day. Last year, 3 May was celebrated in Colombia, where violence against journalists is a major problem. This year, the venue will be quite different. Switzerland has no freedom-of-the-press problems, but holding celebrations in Geneva, one of the world's most international cities, in the presence of representatives of international organisations and journalists from the world over is of considerable symbolic importance.
As the joint appeal by the leaders of the UN, UNESCO and the UNHCHR clearly suggests, press freedom must be encouraged all the time in all corners of the globe.
[March 2000]
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