International Media Support celebrates 250 years of media freedom with Sweden
On 2 December 1766, the Swedish Parliament passed the Freedom of the Press Act, the first legislation of its kind anywhere in the world. International Media Support’s director Jesper Højberg hails the achievement of the Swedish government as part of the #250 Words on Free Speech campaign
By Jesper Højberg, Director, IMS
A pen, a laptop plus a notebook – seemingly innocuous tools, but in the hands of journalists those remedies hold enormous potency. The men and women wielding them helps to keep those in power in check by exposing human rights violations and inconvenient truths. They enable us all to access independent information. However, as mighty as pen and paper can be, it unfortunately cannot shield media workers from attacks and violence.
As International Media Support celebrates Sweden’s pioneering landmark 250 years of media freedom, we must also remember that journalists worldwide are exposed to arbitrary arrests, harassment and even murder. Of these, nine out of ten are local journalists. These numbers call for urgent action.
Governments need to step up to ensure safety and protection of journalists. A good place to start will be to hold perpetrators of crimes against journalists accountable. Impunity sends a disturbing signal that attacks against journalists pays off. It normalises violence and greately undermines freedom of expression and citizens’ right to information.
The UN Human Rights Council’s landmark resolution on the safety of journalists sets a comprehensive agenda for states to end impunity for violence against journalists; release arbitrarily detained journalists, reform laws impeding the work of journalists and no interference with digital security tools enabling anonymity.
Governments must translate their commitments to the UN resolution and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – of which goal 16.10 focus on “public access to information and the protection of fundamental freedoms” – into concrete and assertive actions. The UN Plan of Action on the Safety and Protection of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity is one such tool that can be used by multiple stakeholders around the world to work together to strengthen media safety.
Protecting journalists and media workers is not only a matter of guaranteeing their safety. It is a matter of protecting the core of open and democratic societies.
Read more about the celebrations at the site of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the designated blog #250Words on Free Speech
