A key topic for the Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization is the protection of freedom of expression. The aim is “the free flow of ideas by word and image”, indicating the possibility to share information through a variety of means of expression with freedom and independence. Indeed, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression is defined as “the right of every individual to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. This means that everyone should be able to communicate openly without any physical or social barriers. UNESCO runs a campaign for the establishment of policies that foster press freedom with regards to the safety of journalists and of their ethical-based work. This is because, by having access to pluralistic and diverse media, audiences can make more informed and better choices. Moreover, defending journalism implies that information on development can be easily shared. Besides, media can promote gender equity as all individuals, including women, are empowered and given a voice. UNESCO’s aim to promote freedom of expression around the world follows Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – which states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression” and is supported by media projects like the International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC). This program tackles the question of media development in LDCs and has been operating over the past 30 years. Thanks to this organization, not only was the achievement of the UN goals of media pluralism achieved but also the creation of extended community media, radio and television, new and effective news agencies, and training of media professionals was promoted. Nowadays, building media projects empowers people to gain equitable access to knowledge and express themselves through free and pluralistic media.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION PER REGION
- Europe – This continent has always led the highest results for the respect of democracy and human rights, and expression is considered to be 86% free. The respect of rights has slightly decreased with regards to the treatment of immigrants and minorities, and press freedom is threatened in various countries (press is 66% free) but generally, people have a say in their choices and communication. Moreover, the states that impeded freedom of expression in the Balkans are improving their situation through democratic institutions for citizens, and the Freedom House in Brussels collaborates with every country to address democracy issues. All states are considered “free”, with the exception of Turkey – regarded as “not free”, and Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania (partly free). Therefore, the situation in Europe is mostly positive.
- Americas – America has the highest percentage of freedom of expression after Western Europe (69% free, with 40% press free). Yet, violent crime and populism are increasing, limiting people’s freedom. The American Freedom House works towards democracy by addressing the restrictions of freedom in government and homes. Moreover, this non-governmental organization aims at making all countries free, since many states are not completely free: Mexico, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay are partly free, and Cuba and Venezuela are not free.
- Asia-Pacific – This region in Asia has had a steady progress over the past five years in increases political rights and civil liberties. Freedom of expression is at 38% and press freedom at 5%, due to the denial of fundamental rights in Southeast Asia. In addition, it is home to China and North Korea, that are respectively the country where half of the world’s not free population lives, and the nation that is least free. In fact, China, North Korea, Afghanistan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Brunei are not free. Also, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papa New Guinea, Fiji and Philippines are partly free. This implies that few people out of the 4 billion living in this area reside in free countries.
- Sub-Sharan Africa – Next, with a huge jump in the percentage of freedom, we have Sub-Saharan Africa, where people have 12% of freedom of expression, and press only has 1%. Actually, in this area, we can find some of the nations that respect the most human rights, but there is a very unbalanced development. Besides, some of the highest performers like South Africa got worse lately, and Cambia and Ethiopia have some of the world’s worst-case scenarios regarding democracy. Often, laws on freedom of expression are infringed, corruption impedes communication, and women and the LEGBT are discriminated against and cannot express their beliefs. Therefore, the Freedom of House’s work in this area involves good governance, open elections and the protection of human rights. Furthermore, the organization would like to attain independent media, as sharing truthful and unbiased information on news and digital platforms is very difficult. The only states to be free are Senegal, Ghana, Benin, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius. This is a low number of countries considering that 50 nations have been included in the list for Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Middle East and North Africa – This is the second-worst region in the world, where just 5% of the population is free, and where the press has no freedom at all. Actually, freedom has increased since the Arab Spring in 2011 with the fall of dictatorial regimes before which this region had the least freedom of expression. Let us hope that this recent wave of change will enable a full democratic transition and the allowance of fundamental human rights to all men, women and children. This development process is being supported that Freedom House, which is raising awareness of democratic opportunities ad setting up programs that facilitate people’s freedom of expression. The only states to be free in Middle East and North Africa are Tunisia and Israel, and Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan and Kuwait are partly free.
- Eurasia – Eurasia is considered the worst region for freedom of expression, as no percentage of the population is free, whether or not in the press. In fact, the majority of the countries in this list are among the worst-ranked by Freedom House. Most nations – except for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova that have recently worked more in favor of human rights – are completely antidemocratic. Only Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan are partly free. Therefore, the main targets in Eurasia in order to begin development are: the respect of basic human rights and of the most important international laws, and independent news and analysis.
MEDIA PLURALISM AND DIVERSITY
Media pluralism and diversity is linked to press freedom and sharing facts through different media. To achieve effective and complete media pluralism and diversity, information should be publicly available, and access should be facilitated for the poor, children, women, and hard-to-reach communities. As part of public services, one of them is community-based media, involving access to facts, news and views that promote citizens’ media and information competencies (the training and use of different forms of communication enhances technological media capacities and the exchange of ideas). Moreover, the information we receive impacts the way our brain functions and reflects, as well as out decisions, thoughts, beliefs and attitude. Therefore, if we do not know enough detail about an event, if we received biased information or if we are told truthful and complete facts about it, we will have different points of view on the same event. This means that, in order to make the best choices for us, we need information from different sources to be able to evaluate situations and be more knowledgeable about them.
LINK TO SUSTAIANBLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Freedom of expression is crucial for better democracies and citizen’s participation in governments’ and in the United Nations’ work. This right contributes to the achievement of Goal 16, as communication promotes peaceful and inclusive societies, encourages access to information, and safeguards people’s freedom.
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