Upholding press freedom

‘The freedom of a nation is always proportional to its freedom of the press, so that one cannot exist without the other.’ - Anders Chydenius (1729–1803), founding father of the first Swedish Freedom of the Press Act

Every year on May 3rd, we collectively celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom. Today we come together to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, World Press Freedom Day has reached its 25th anniversary this year.

Journalists have the important role of bringing information into public discourse. They shed light on essential issues that affect us all, and ensure transparency across different sectors of society. When the media is able to freely monitor, investigate, analyze and criticize with credibility, governments and businesses can be held accountable.

The freedom to express oneself in speech and writing, hold opinion and seek, receive and impart information and ideas are a human right codified in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This landmark declaration celebrates its 70th year anniversary this year. In Sweden, these rights date back even longer.

In 2016, Sweden marked the 250thanniversary of the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act. Signed by King Adolf Fredrik on 2 December 1766, this ground-breaking document was the first in the world to constitutionally protect freedom of the press. It pioneered not only the freedom of the press, but also declared public access to state information, making Sweden the first country in the world to officially instigate a Right to Information law.

The Freedom of the Press Act laid the very foundation of democracy in Sweden. It has been pivotal for the development of the Swedish economy, for fighting corruption and abuse of power, and for securing its citizens’ human rights. Freedom of expression and the right to seek and receive information have contributed to make Sweden a society built on transparency, accountability, and upholding the rule of law.

While the freedom of the press is serving Sweden well, this fundamental right is under threat in many countries today. The struggle for freedom of expression and right to access information is a universal one. It concerns us all, throughout history as much as it continues to do so today. A democratic society depends on respect for freedom of opinion and freedom of expression.

Having consumed Philippine newspapers and other media outlets on and off for many years – not only since I was appointed Ambassador of Sweden to the Philippines in 2016 – I am impressed with the intensity of the Philippine press and the candor and zeal for objectivity of Philippine journalists. I therefore find it disquieting that Freedom House in its 2018 Freedom in the World report classified the Philippines only as “Partly Free” and that media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranked the Philippines as 133rd country in the world (down six places) in its 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

Reporters Without Borders report that there is a trend of growing animosity towards journalists around the world. Hate speech, threats and harassment are spreading, not least in social media. Female journalists are particularly targeted. Propaganda and disinformation are commonplace. Media outlets are forced to close. It is in Europe, where press freedom is the strongest, that the Press Freedom Index has worsened most this year.

How to turn around this negative trend – in Europe and elsewhere – merits frank discussion, political leadership and decisive action. There is no better day than World Press Freedom Day to speak up about this urgent mission.

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(Harald Fries is the Ambassador of Sweden to the Philippines)