By Beaven Dhliwayo
Harare – In ‘post truth’ era, leaders must defend objective, independent media to counter prevailing misinformation, the United Nations says on World Press Freedom Day (WPFD).
WPFD celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
WPFD was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991 in response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a statement to mark WPFD said in a “post-truth” world with “fake news” on the rise, and media accountability and credibility falling under question, free, independent and professional journalism has never been more important.
“We need leaders to defend a free media. This is crucial to counter prevailing misinformation. And we need everyone to stand for our right to truth,” he said.
He said this year’s theme highlights media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies and builds on the theme ‘Critical Minds for Critical Times.’
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova in a statement also said the 2017 commemoration comes at a time when “free, independent and pluralistic media has never been so important to empower individual women and men.
He said it helped to ‘strengthen good governance and the rule of law, and take forward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’
She said the agency is also tasked with defending press freedom and the safety of journalists, and is spearheading the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
“Far too often, murder remains the most tragic form of censorship and 102 journalists were killed in 2016.
“Facing a crisis of audience identity, journalism stands before a horizon where old challenges are merging with new threats which include the internet’s blurring of the lines between advertising and editorial material, businesses pushing for profits and private censorship,” she added.
WPFD serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom – a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.
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