Press freedom: An own goal for UkrainePARIS, FRANCE / DARMSTADT, GERMANY: As the European Football Championships drew to a close yesterday, with the spotlight on Ukraine, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), Article 19, Freedom House, Open Society Foundations (OSF), and the Ukraine Association of Press Publishers today release their joint report on the country's press freedom situation. Entitled "Make freedom of expression a reality, Mr President" - A Report on Press Freedom in Ukraine, the report outlines the findings of a research mission conducted at the beginning of April that found serious corruption issues and other problems and recommends steps to improve freedom of expression in the country. "This report lists concrete actions that the government of Ukraine should urgently consider in order to raise press freedom standards," noted Erik Bjerager, president of the World Editors Forum, the organisation within WAN-IFRA for newsroom executives, which was a member of the April delegation. WAN-IFRA is holding its 64th Annual World Newspaper Congress and 19th World Editors Forum in Kiev in September and will use the opportunity to further highlight the Ukrainian governments responsibilities in relation to freedom of expression. "We are going to Kiev to stand in solidarity with the local independent press, which struggles daily under great pressure, often in isolation," Bjerager continued. "By holding our events in Kiev, we will provide them with an opportunity to share their experiences with the international newspaper community... and offer moral support." The report highlights a number of areas where urgent action is required if Ukraine's democratic pretensions are to be maintained through the measure of a free and independent press. The report calls for calls for:
Learn more about WAN-IFRA's on-going commitment to press freedom in Ukraine, and its engagements to defend freedom of expression worldwide, at http://www.wan-ifra.org/pressfreedom. |