UN chief calls for end to repression on journalists
UNB
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to all crackdowns on journalists across the world saying a free press advances peace and justice for all, reports UNB. When we protect journalists, their words and pictures can change our world, he said in a video message marking the World Press Freedom Day that falls on May 3. The UN Secretary General said journalists go to the most dangerous places to give voice to the voiceless. In the video message, he mentioned that media workers suffer character assassination, sexual assault, detention, injuries and even death. 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, Guterres said. Every year, May 3 is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, evaluate press freedom around the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tributes to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession, according to Unesco document. The international day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a recommendation adopted at the 26th session of Unescos General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.
