UNESCO calls for safety of journalists
(Nigeria) UNESCO on Tuesday called for safety of journalists across
the globe ahead of this year’s World Press Freedom Day scheduled for May 3.
This is contained in a statement by Mr Oluseyi
Soremekun, the National Programme Officer Communication and Information, UNESCO
in Abuja.
It urged countries to promote a safe and enabling
environment for journalists to perform their work independently, without undue
interference.
It expressed concern over the increased threat to
journalists by non-state actors, adding that the precondition for press freedom
was a free, independent, and pluralistic media environment.
The statement said that building a culture to support press
freedom was generally a lengthy process.
It said that the gains achieved so far of a free press could
also be lost when negative forces take control of leadership of a country.
``The potential for progress has become possible in many
cases through changes such as in countries touched by the Arab Spring as well
as in Myanmar and South Sudan. Decades of political regimes that were not conducive for
press freedom are making way for a new environment that holds great promise,’’
the statement said.
The statement said that the international community was
working with authorities and the citizenry in countries of the world to ensure
positive developments that would translate into long-lasting freedom of
expression and press freedom.
``One major development in this international cooperation on
press freedom is the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the
Issue of Impunity, which was endorsed in 2012 by the chief executives of all
component UN bodies,`` it said.
World Press Freedom day was officially proclaimed during the
UN General Assembly in 1993.
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