2018 World Press Freedom Day Celebrations

All is well that ends well. Colin Powell once said "there are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failures. “This is exactly what Ghana has experienced in hosting the 25th edition of World Press Freedom Day attended by about 700 Journalists, media practitioners, editors and media owners all over the world. That three day event was declared by UNESCO, the organisers as very successful. This is no exaggeration. It provided the platform to inform the global community of fundamental issues of press freedom and highlighted critical matters such as threats and violence against Journalist. The forum also reminded governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and professional ethics. There is no gain saying the fact that Journalists the world over are often exposed to violence, threats and self-censorships. These include psychological violence, humiliation, intimidation, limitation, slandering and smear campaigns. It is therefore least surprising that in a 71 point resolution dubbed the Accra Declaration, participants denounced attacks on freedom of expression and media freedom in whatever form they take and whoever perpetrates them, be it public authorities, political actors and internet intermediaries. According to numbers released by Reporters without Borders a Paris-based media freedom group, 65 Journalists were killed on the job globally in 2017. Thirty-five of these were killed in countries where there is armed conflict to bombing or shell attacks while 39 were targeted for being journalists reporting on corruption or organised crime. We pay tribute to jailed Egyptian Photographer Shawkan who was honoured at the 2018 World Press Freedom Day awards dinner though he is still behind bars, arrested in the line of duty.

It is instructive to note calls by the participants on media outlets for the provision of safety equipment and training to staff who are at risk of attacks for the information they disseminate including specialised training for women. It is against the background that we laud the prompt response of the Association of Women in the Media, Ghana against the attack on a lady journalist in the line of duty by one Hajia Fati. Such irresponsible acts must not be tolerated in any way. We further commend the call by participants on Journalists to take seriously their own responsibilities to respect human rights including privacy and freedom of expression especially in so far as they play a role in mediating the expressive activities of their users or potentially exposing private information. We definitely need to refabricate the protection of Journalistic endeavour through the laws of copyrights as one of the resolutions pointed out. This will help strengthen the profession at a crucial time when in increasing its role in accountability and tackling corruption.

One other point by participants that cannot be glossed over is the call on UNESCO to among others share good practices on the media's role in elections by supporting the work of the Inter-Agency Coordination mechanism for UN Electoral Assistance. It must support further training of judges, judicial officers, administration of justice actors and security forces on freedom of expression. If the 2018 World Press Freedom Day will go down in history as one of most well organised activities on the calendar of UNESCO then tons of commendation should go to the Ministry of Information, the Ghana Journalists Association and all collaborators for the splendid organisational skills exhibited. We pray for the immediate release of all Journalists and media actors currently languishing in jail and pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of all media personnel killed in the line of duty.

We say Ayekoo to all participants and delegates to the 2018 World Press Freedom Day for their comportment and diligence but for which the celebrations would not have been that successful. We are proud of you.

BY: JUSTICE MINGLE, A JOURNALIST.

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