The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) participated in a five-day International Media
Mission to Nepal,
with a representative of the IFJ-sponsored South Asia Media Solidarity Network
(SAMSN) and several other international organisations engaged in press freedom
campaign and advocacy work.
The Mission reviewed the status of press freedom under Nepal’s
new political order, met with key members of the government and the media
community, and made an urgent call for hastening the process of writing the new
republican constitution, incorporating strong protections for freedom of speech
and expression.
The Mission underlined the need for addressing the crisis of
livelihoods among Nepal’s
journalists, in part by improving the coverage and implementation of the Working Journalists’ Act, as adopted in
1993 and amended in 2006.
Mission members
also visited the two district towns of Biratnagar (Morang district) and
Janakpur (Dhanusha district) in the southern plains of Nepal, where
recent political conflicts have posed fresh hazards and challenges for journalism.
The Mission met with the
Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal, the Chairman of the Constituent
Assembly and leaders of the main political parties, aside from senior editors,
journalists and civil society actors.
The Federation of
Nepali Journalists, an IFJ-affiliate, hosted the Mission, which concluded with an agreed joint
declaration on February 27.
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0950
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
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