Declaration on World Press Freedom Day

The recommendations made by media and human rights experts from around the globe were included in the " Paris Declaration," a statement released at the UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day on May 5-6. DW Akademie took an active part in the statement's development with a discussion paper as well as its engagement in the Global Forum for Media Development ( GFMD). It was this network, made up of 200 organizations from 80 countries, which formulated essential parts of the document.

The demands contained in the Paris Declaration were forwarded to the Open Working Group of the United Nations, which will determine the final version of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The international media and human rights experts taking part urged the UN to include access to information, free expression and independent media under the umbrella of "good governance."

The protection of journalists was especially emphasized in the Paris Declaration, as media workers in many countries continue to face threats, persecution, abuse and even death simply because of what they do. Often reporters lack the most basic legal protections. Even when legislation meant to safeguard journalists does exist, it is often simply ignored and violators enjoy impunity. Therefore, conference participants called for the establishment of general legal frameworks that protect freedom of the press and free expression, and which include effective, independent persecution of crimes as well as measures to prevent attacks on reporters.

"We have courage"

During the Paris conference, Turkish journalist Ahme Şik made a powerful speech to the participants. The winner of this year's UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, Şik pointed to the increasing numbers of reporters behind bars. "In Turkey, we say what we think, not because democracy and free expression are guaranteed, but because we have courage," he said.

He added that press freedom must continue to be defended, although many of his colleagues were already shut up in an "invisible jail," self-censorship. At the same time, he said, "pseudo journalists" who toe the government line were becoming leading voices in the field. The result was an increasingly polarized media and the proliferation of hate speech in his country.

Bernd Rößle, DW Akademie's regional coordinator for North Africa, made a presentation that addressed the potential for state-run media’s transformation to a public-broadcasting model. DW Akademie is now actively supporting this kind of evolution in Libya. However, the situation in Tunisia is different and Rößle does not see a similar transition happening there in the near future. "There is not yet a general willingness to fundamentally reform the state-run broadcaster," he said. Therefore, DW Akademie is focusing on strengthening community and private, regional media outlets in Tunisia instead. "In the countryside, many people have very limited access to information and their voices are not heard," he said. "We want to change that."

Enabling information access

If the world community were to create an overarching framework that includes free expression, independent media and access to information, it would be much easier for DW Akademie and other organizations active in the media development sector to implement their projects. At present, various UN panels are actively working on formulating the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Declaration is an important step towards firmly anchoring the ideals of a free press and free expression in these goals.

In the future, DW Akademie will take part in further international discussions on the SDGs. In the coming months, it will also make suggestions on how press freedom and development might be better measured and verified. The UN's General Assembly is set to release the new development goals in November 2014.