Today marks the 30th Anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. To commemorate this important day, over 200 stakeholders including journalists, youths, representatives from civil society organizations, activists, and development partners gathered yesterday morning in Phnom Penh to:
- recognize the effort of journalists, remind duty bearers of their commitment to press freedom, and serve as a reminder to tackle current challenges with solutions going forward.
- raise public awareness about the free press situation and the work done by journalists in Cambodia.
- promote the protection mechanisms for professional, ethical and independent journalists and media houses, and
- enhance solidarity of all stakeholders including government, civil society and mass public for professional, ethical and independent journalists and media houses
The event also served as a platform for stakeholders to discuss latest trends in the state of press freedom in the country and call for solutions to those challenges.
CamboJA and a dozen of other civil society organizations which jointly organized this event urged the government to ensure a free, safe, and secure environment favourable for journalists and news outlets to perform their professional role without restriction and fear, especially before, during and after the upcoming July national elections.
We also called on development partners to increase support for the work of independent media and civil society organizations which provide protection services and emergency support to journalists who are at risks as a result of their journalistic practices. Read our full list of requests in this joint statement: https://www.camboja.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Final-EN-Joint-Statement-WPFD2023.pdf