![]() Free, independent and pluralist media have an indispensable role to play in rooting out racism and xenophobia. ![]() Meanwhile, many ethnic and religious groups - usually minorities - are prevented from using the media to communicate their views or express their identity.Įxperience has shown that even the most heinous regimes can gain popular support if they manage to muzzle the media, or to manipulate it to arouse fear and hatred among their citizens. Journalists whose work challenges such interests are liable to suffer intimidation, violence, exile, prison, and even execution or simple murder. In many parts of the world today, it is threatened by political, economic, financial, military, religious or even criminal interests. Yet, freedom of expression is always fragile and can never be taken for granted. These changes have helped to establish and strengthen democracy in many countries, by enabling citizens to make their voices heard and so to play a part in decisions that shape their own lives and the future of their countries. And, thanks to the Internet, more and more people have gained direct access to the means of mass communication. Journalists and others working in the media have become more professional. ![]() Since 1991, the press in many countries has become more independent and pluralistic. The Windhoek Declaration became the first in a series of commitments, region by region, to uphold the freedom of people everywhere to voice their opinions, and their access to a variety of independent sources of information. This fact has become more and more widely understood and accepted in the 10 years since, when African journalists gathered in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, for a regional seminar on promoting independent and pluralist media. Following is the text of a joint message, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (), from Secretary-General Kofi Annan the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Koichiro Matsuura and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson:Ī free press is one of the most essential components of a democratic society, which, in turn, is a prerequisite for sustainable social and economic development.
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