Journalists at South Asia Meet Reaffirm Commitment to Press Freedom and Social Justice

Media Release: SAMSN

25 July 2013

 

Journalists and media practitioners from all eight countries of South Asia met at Kathmandu between July 21 and 23 for the eleventh annual meeting of the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN). The meeting took note of the continuing deterioration in press freedom in the region and resolved that as the key platform for collective union action in South Asia, SAMSN would continue its campaign of advocacy on the many challenges faced by journalists in the region.

 

SAMSN seeks to be the common voice of journalists from South Asia. It represents all regional affiliates of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in coalition with journalists' organisations and press freedom partners working for a free and fair media founded on sound and ethical journalism.

 

The eleventh annual meeting of SAMSN took serious note of the growing recourse to extra-legal action by state and non-state actors intent on silencing journalism. Of over six hundred journalists killed world over in the last twelve years, one-sixth have been in Pakistan and one-fourth in South Asia. Overt and covert threats of violence continue being used to silence journalists engaged in reporting in the public interest.

 

In countries that have just emerged from years of conflict, such as Sri Lanka and Nepal, processes of national reconciliation have been halting and hesitant and journalists who dare to speak up for justice and human rights face numerous hazards. In the conflict-prone regions of India, journalists function under a regime of extra-legal coercion where constitutional rights are violated on almost a daily basis.

 

The convergence of media investments with other political and other business interests, threatens the free practice of journalism in all of South Asia. In Bangladesh, the integration of the media industry with other lines of business is compounded by political rivalries which deepen the polarisation among journalists and undermine the possibility of collective action on issues of vital concern.

 

SAMSN reaffirms its commitment to partners in Bhutan and the Maldives as they seek to establish themselves as viable collective bargaining agents, safeguarding journalists’ wages and working conditions.

 

SAMSN endorses the efforts made by partner organisations to push back against the threats they face. It resolves to use international covenants that national governments in South Asia are party to, such as the U.N. human rights instruments and the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to improve freedom, diversity and choice for media practitioners and audiences.

 

SAMSN welcomes the initiation of the U.N. Action Plan Against Impunity for attacks on journalists in the partner countries of Nepal and Pakistan. It resolves to evolve a common template for the monitoring of media rights in all countries of South Asia. Factors and circumstances that militate against ethically sound journalism are common to all eight countries and allow for a shared regional approach.

 

SAMSN will continue to engage in collective cross-border solidarity actions to uphold the causes it is committed to. As part of building its campaign capacity, SAMSN resolves to create an online resource or a digital hub which would host a broad range of content relevant to its principal concerns.

 

SAMSN endorses the charter of principles agreed in 2008 and authorises its steering group members to function as focal points for in-country deliberations and campaign planning upto its twelfth annual session, scheduled for 2014.

 

 

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0918

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