May 12 2016
A holistic approach to press freedom
     
By Daoud Kuttab
The celebration of Press Freedom Day by Jordan’s UNESCO office by means of a debate on this year’s theme of access to information revealed the gap that exists between Jordan’s public position and the reality.
For press freedom to exist and flourish, a holistic approach is needed. Such approach must also be part of a larger human rights approach.
Producing a human rights strategy and declaring that the sky is the limit for press freedom will not do if there is no serious political will in this direction.
Examples of the gap are plenty.
According to the annual report of the Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists, Jordan imprisoned 10 journalists in 2015 for what they wrote and for expressing their views.
These arrests did not go unnoticed by the US State Department, which made freedom of the press and detaining journalists its number one issue in its most recently produced human rights report about Jordan.
The gap between words and reality was evident in the statements made at the debate on access to information organised by UNESCO on Sunday. Continue Reading »