U.S. Envoy Rice on World Press Freedom Day
May 3, 2012
Statement by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the
United Nations, on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2012
On World Press Freedom Day, we salute the world's journalists and honor all
who serve the cause of press freedom - particularly those who do so at great
risk.
The right to free expression is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, reinforced by a range of international treaties, and written into
numerous national constitutions. In July 2011, a Syrian non-governmental
organization earned consultative status in the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations for its work on the
issue, underscoring the regard held by the international community for all who
labor to protect this fundamental human right.
Today, the organization's founder is languishing behind bars. Mazen
Darwish's arrest on February 16 without charge or trial - and continuing
detention by the Syrian government in solitary confinement - should inflame the
conscience of all decent people. It should also be far less common. According to
the Committee to Protect Journalists, 179 journalists were jailed worldwide as
of last December. Already in 2012, 17 journalists have been killed, six of them
in Syria - including the veteran American reporter Marie Colvin.
Earlier this year, President Obama said, "When universal human rights are
denied, when the independence of judiciaries or legislatures or the press is
threatened, we will speak out." Today, we raise our voices for all who risk
their lives for the idea that no one should be silenced.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State.)
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