World Press Freedom Day

Over the last two years; there have been at least 300 internet shutdowns in more than 54 countries, severely restricting people’s access to information , according to UNESCO .The shutdowns can take different forms, such as a complete block on Internet or the blocking of access to social media platforms . The first major shutdown happened in Egypt in 2011, during the Tahrir Square protests. Hundreds of arrests and killings followed. Iran has been under an internet shutdown for 66 days, cutting access for 90 million people and threatening access to information. 2024 was the worst year on record for internet shutdowns since 2016.

 World Press Freedom Day Conference 2024  at the Plenary room - Video message from Mr. Sebastião Salgado, Social documentary photographer - Keynote remarks by Ms. Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of Rappler, Philippines Ms. Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of Rappler, Philippines. - Mr. Fredrick Mugira, Founder Water Journalist Africa, Uganda. - Ms. Minna-Liina Lind, Deputy Foreign Minister for Global Affairs and Co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, Estonia - Mr. Gael García Bernal, Actor, producer and environmental activist Moderated by Ms. Paloma Ávila Barrera, Director of CNN Futuro, Chile.

  In line with the upcoming World Press Freedom Day, the event organized by the UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression Program aims to address the challenges of freedom of expression . expression and its link with the enjoyment of the remaining rights, in a region where demands and challenges persist for the implementation of human rights standards. The event will focus on the following aspects: Strategy to adopt against speeches that silence or incite hatred against vulnerable groups that suffer structural discrimination in the region; Freedom of expression and social protest in Latin America for the protection and defense of the remaining rights; Progress of the Inter-American Human Rights System in terms of access to information for the search for truth, memory and justice for human rights violations; Milestones of inter-American jurisprudence regarding the link between freedom of expression and the ru...

 The right to access information is both the general right of the public to have access to information from a variety of sources and the right of the media to access information . International organizations are also bound by the right to access information.