Human Rights House Network (HRHN) press release says that the theme for this year’s World Press Freedom Day is “Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms - This Is Your Right!”.
Khadija Ismayil is this year’s winner of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize she remains imprisoned in Azerbaijan for exposing high-level corruption in the country through her work as an investigative journalist. HRHN repeats its call for her freedom.
"Freedom of press is important for all people to understand what is true,” commented Emin Huseynov, Director of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety. “Khadija's work is so important and people deserve to know her findings. International bodies need to make concrete actions to develop the culture of free press and access to information. The alternative is propaganda and manipulation.”
In 2016, World Press Freedom Day coincides with three important milestones:
The 250th anniversary of the world’s first freedom of information law, covering both modern-day Sweden and Finland
The 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration of press freedom principles
The year 2016 is also the first year of the 15 year life-cycle of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This year’s WPFD focuses on three different aspects of press freedom:
* freedom of information as a fundamental freedom and as a human right
* protecting press freedom from censorship and surveillance overreach
* ensuring safety for journalism online and offline
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference. Since then, 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day. It is an opportunity to: celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; assess the state of press freedom throughout the world; defend the media from attacks on their independence; and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty
*Khadija Ismayil is an independent investigative journalist in Azerbaijan. Since 5 December 2014, she is behind bars in her country, solely due to her reporting. -02D-
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