Making the United Nations Relevant to all People– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
3 May 2019
Your Excellency, Amal Mudallali, Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations and Vice-Chair of the General Assembly Committee on Information,
Your Excellency, Fatima Kyari Mohammed, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations,
Alison Smale, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications,
Valeria Robecco, President of the UN Correspondents Association,
Excellencies, members of the media,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very grateful to the Department for Global Communications and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for organizing this event to mark World Press Freedom Day; and for giving me the opportunity to address you today.
I do so with a heavy heart.
Last year, the UNESCO Observatory recorded the murder of ninety-nine journalists.
Hundreds of media workers have been intimidated or imprisoned. Reporters Without Borders chose to give its 2019 World Press Freedom Index the title: “a cycle of fear.”
This Day should be a celebration of journalists, editors, photographers, film-makers, publishers, policy-makers – of all those who contribute to, and create the conditions for, a free, pluralistic and independent media.
But it has also become a sobering occasion; as the media space shrinks across the world, as restrictive laws and policies are enacted. It has become a chilling occasion, as media workers – and their families – are subjected to threats and reprisals.
As in so many fields, women are disproportionately affected – contending with sexist abuse and sexual harassment online, as well as physical sexual violence, including rape. Too often, these attacks go unpunished.
At a time when nationalist populism and extremism are on the rise, when hate speech, rumors and lies can spread like wildfire, we need journalism – high-quality, independent and diverse media – more than ever.
It is journalists who shine a spotlight on abuse and corruption. It is journalists who tell the stories that need to be told. It is journalists who can give voice to those to whom nobody listens. It is journalists who hold up a mirror to society. And if we don’t like what we see, our response should be to address the issues, not shoot the messenger.
It is journalists who shine a spotlight on abuse and corruption. It is journalists who tell the stories that need to be told. It is journalists who can give voice to those to whom nobody listens. It is journalists who hold up a mirror to society. And if we don’t like what we see, our response should be to address the issues, not shoot the messenger.
Dear friends,
I commend UNESCO for its efforts to defend the media from attacks; to support a free, vibrant and diverse press; and to protect and promote press freedom – working with governments, regulators, media organizations and NGOs.
And to all the journalists out there, working hard to uncover the truth and to the cover the stories – bad and good – that we need to hear: I thank you.
Thank you very much.