IEA marks Press Freedom Day, says it supports the media

Marking World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said it supports the media and said the day was an auspicious one for the media.

“The media can enlighten the public mind in the light of national interests and Islamic principles and mediate between the people and the system,” said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi.

He also called on all media outlets for “more commitment and good performance in the media field.”

The UN meanwhile said on Wednesday that Afghanistan’s media hangs “in the balance”.

According to a statement issued by the UN, the organization was concerned about the future of the media in the country. The UN said “journalists forced to work in climate of intimidation and fear amid increased restrictions by the Taliban (IEA) de facto authorities.”

The UN in Afghanistan said since August 2021, large numbers of media professionals have fled Afghanistan, that large numbers of media outlets have closed, “and female journalists have been disproportionately affected with additional restrictions effectively rendering them almost unable to do their job.”

UNAMA also said it had documents numerous instances of human rights violations against journalists and media workers over the past 18 months.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, said World Press Freedom Day was a moment to show solidarity with the Afghan journalists still attempting to maintain independent reporting in the country.

“Journalists are being forced to make editorial decisions based on fear, not public interest. It’s sadly part of a wider trend of declining freedom of expression and access to information,” Otunbayeva said.

This year’s celebration takes place under the theme “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights”, as the right to freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is a prerequisite and a driver for a flourishing society and the enjoyment of all other human rights.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Information and Culture officials said at a World Press Freedom Day event in Kabul that the Islamic Emirate is committed to supporting the media and that efforts are being made to deal with the problems faced by the media and journalists.

At the same time, officials of the National Union of Free Journalists of Afghanistan say that in the past year, 123 cases of violence against journalists have been registered by security officials.

Officials of the Ministry of Information and Culture say that the Media Violation Commission is up-and-running but that efforts are being made to strengthen its capacity.

May 3 is marked globally as World Press Freedom Day, which was inaugurated by UNESCO in 1993.

In the past year and a half, about 225 media outlets have closed down and of 12,000 media workers in the country, over 1,000 have left Afghanistan, over 7,000 have lost their jobs, of which 2,800 were women.

Currently there are only about 500 women still working in the media industry in the country.