The UN marked World Press Freedom Day with an appeal to all countries, societies and individuals to defend press freedom as a fundamental right and an important contribution to achieving and sustaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and advancing the post-2015 development agenda.
6 May 2014: The UN marked World Press Freedom Day with an appeal to all countries, societies and individuals to defend press freedom as a fundamental right and an important contribution to achieving and sustaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and advancing the post-2015 development agenda.In a joint message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said implementing the post-2015 development agenda will require the fundamental rights of freedom of opinion and expression, which are essential: to democracy, transparency, accountability and the rule of law; and for human dignity, social progress and inclusive development.
During a briefing at UN headquarters on ‘Media freedom for a better future: shaping the post-2015 development agenda,’ Ban said: a free media is indispensable for development, social media and mobile technologies offer “new tools for accelerating citizen participation and economic and social progress”; and the media is essential for holding governments, businesses and others accountable. John Ashe, President of the UN General Assembly, said freedom of expression and the press is fundamental for strong democratic societies, and that “when journalists are able to report freely, they support informed citizen participation in political and social processes and promote civic engagement.”
UNESCO also convened a conference, titled ‘Media Freedom For a Better Future: Shaping the Post-2015 Development Agenda,’ from 5-6 May 2014, in Paris, France, during which participants discussed: safety of journalists; the struggle against impunity; the growing importance of new forms of journalism; and the need to include freedom of expression and freedom of the press among the next set of development goals.
World Press Freedom Day, designated by the UNGA in 1993, aims to highlight the importance of independent, free and pluralistic media, and supports the sentiment that good governance can only exist when journalists are free to monitor, investigate and criticize policies and actions. [UN Press Release, 3 May] [UN Press Release, 1 May] [UNESCO Press Release] [World Press Freedom Day Webpage] [Joint Message by UN Secretary-General and UNESCO Director-General]