3rd May 2016 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
World Press Freedom Day
Today is World Press Freedom Day. This is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the importance of freedom of information and to pay tribute to those journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Of course advancing freedom of the press is a global issue, yet I’m struck by how much it resonates in Yemen particularly during the current conflict.
The right to access information and the role of the press in enabling this right are fundamental in any democracy. Guaranteeing the public’s right to independent and reliable news should be considered a vital part of modern society. The UN in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that “freedom of opinion and expression” implies the right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
In times of conflict the importance of this freedom becomes even more apparent. If journalists were not free to report the facts, uncover abuses and alert the public how could we defend human rights, tackle the problem of child soldiers or uncover disastrous humanitarian crises?
Yemen is currently suffering from all of these problems and more, which is exactly why journalists should be able to carry out their work free from harassment, violence or even murder. Yet the figures released last month in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index paint a very dark picture. Freedom of the press in Yemen received a truly terrible score ranking at 170 out of 180 countries. Furthermore according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Yemen is the deadliest country in the world for journalists so far in 2016. We have already seen 3 journalists killed this year taking the total number of journalists or media workers killed since 2014 to 13. Not to mention those journalists being unlawful detained inside Yemen. Estimates suggest at least 17 journalists are currently being held by armed groups. This needs to end.
The press is a vital source of information when it comes to documenting human rights abuses or monitoring the dreadful humanitarian conditions across Yemen. This work allows us to direct urgent aid to those that need it most and hold those that abuse human rights accountable. And yet this work is being impeded.
Yemen needs a free and democratic press not only in the current conflict but as the country looks to rebuild and recover from the recent destruction. When we promote freedom of the press we are promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, where everyone has access to justice and where institutions are effective, accountable and inclusive at all levels. A free press is vital to the rebuilding and the sustained development of Yemen.
As Yemeni parties sit around a table this month in Kuwait to negotiate a peace settlement and help shape a brighter future for the country, all those in Yemen will be watching. Yemenis have the right to watch these parties reach an agreement, the right to hold their leaders accountable and the right to have their voices heard as the country moves towards democracy. A free press helps to guarantee all these rights and we must therefore do our best to uphold it.
Yemen deserves a peaceful future. And there is no doubt that a free press is a vital part of this. If journalists are to help Yemen achieve peace, they need to be able to do their work free from harassment or harm.