Prime Minister commends media on World Press Freedom Day

Every May 3 media organizations celebrate the fundamental principles of the freedom of the press. They evaluate this freedom around the world; they defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

 

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Prime Minister Hon. Sarah Wescot-Williams, would like to congratulate the media of Sint Maarten on World Press Freedom Day and encourages them to constantly challenge themselves to reach and maintain the highest professional ethics while carrying out their duties, especially when faced with the choice of fast or first news versus balanced and fair reporting.

The 2012 themes for this day are: Media Freedom has The Power to Transform Societies; Difficulty in The Access to Quality Information Undermines Media Freedom; and Challenges to Media in A New Environment.

World Press Freedom Day was jointly established in 1991 by UNESCO and the United Nations Department of Public Information, in the framework of a conference held in Windhoek, Namibia.

The conference emphasized that the idea of press freedom should be understood as necessitating pluralism and independence for the mass media at large.

3 May was proclaimed World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the 26th session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.

The Prime Minister who is responsible for the Ministry of General Affairs is also responsible for the Department of Communications which falls under the Ministry.