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Minister Shahid emphasizes importance of press freedom

Mariyam Malsa
10 December 2020, MVT 16:14
Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid during an earlier address to the United Nations General Assembly. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Mariyam Malsa
10 December 2020, MVT 16:14

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, on Wednesday, expressed the necessity of ensuring press freedom and ending the culture of impunity against journalists.

The minister made the statement virtually via a pre-recorded video for the Ministerial Roundtable on the Safety of Journalists on the margins of the World Press Freedom Conference 2020.

Hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Stef Blok, the event resulted in the formulation of the Hague Commitment, an outcome document stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of journalists and media workers.

During the statement, Minister Shahid stated that the free press played a crucial role in connecting a diverse and polarised world through continuous discourse.

He went on to express concern over the challenges faced by journalists throughout their efforts to hold governments accountable and uphold democratic ideals across the world.

"The need for the protection of journalists has become more crucial than ever, as we seek a comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic".

The foreign minister provided an overview of the history of press freedom in Maldives, stating that the election of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in 2018 had "paved the way to end a culture of repression and impunity against journalists".

Minister Shahid attributed the progress achieved in ensuring press freedom to the abolition of the Anti-Defamation Act of 2016 and the reconstitution of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission.

The minister particularly highlighted that the establishment of the Presidential Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances was a testament to the incumbent administration's resolve to guarantee media freedom, since the move was intended to secure justice for missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

Concluding the address, Minister Shahid reiterated that freedom of speech and expression was a fundamental human right recognised throughout history.

"Our presence here today to defend this very right is a symbolic reminder that the answer to any human dilemma lies within unity and dialogue", the minister stated.

For 2020, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) listed Maldives at the 79th rank of the World Press Freedom Index, with a global score of 29.93.

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