Dakar, May 2 (APS) – The UN Secretary-General highlighted the key role of journalists and media professionals in the fight against climate change in his message made public on the eve of World Freedom Day of the press.
”The world is going through an unprecedented environmental emergency that threatens the very existence of this and future generations. Everyone must know, journalists and media professionals have a key role to play in this regard, by informing and educating,” declared António Guterres in this statement of which the APS was informed.
World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated on Friday with the theme: ”The press for the planet: Environmental crisis and the emergency of journalism”.
“Local, national and international media can put the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and environmental injustice in the spotlight,” according to the UN boss, stressing that ““Thanks to this work, people come to understand the critical situation facing our planet, mobilize and have the means to act for change.”
Noting that media freedom “is under attack from all sides”, the UN Secretary General noted that “environmental journalism is an increasingly dangerous profession”.
He noted that “dozens of journalists who covered topics such as illegal mining or logging, poaching or other environmental issues have been killed in recent decades.”
António Guterres lamented that ”in the vast majority of cases, no one has been held to account”.
Citing UNESCO, he noted that some 750 journalists or media outlets covering environmental issues have been attacked over the past fifteen years.
According to him, ”there are also legal actions, which are used to censor, silence, arrest and harass these journalists, while the propagators of false information on the climate, who are legion today, continue to defeat proven solutions, particularly renewable energies.
But, he noted, ”environmental journalists are not the only ones in danger.”
Indeed, “all over the world, media professionals are risking their lives to try to inform us on everything from war to democracy,” declared António Guterres, who said he was “shocked and dismayed by the number of journalists who were killed during Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
The UN, he said, ”welcomes the extremely valuable work that journalists and media professionals carry out to keep the public informed and engaged”.
”Without facts, we cannot fight misinformation and disinformation. Without accountability, we will not have strong policies. Without freedom of the press, we will have no freedom,” he argued.
He stressed that ”press freedom is not a choice, it is a necessity”.
Hailing the importance of press freedom, the Secretary-General called on governments, the private sector and civil society to “join” the UN “as we reaffirm our commitment to protect freedom of the press and the rights of journalists and media professionals everywhere.
OID/AB
