[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 179 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 179
Recognizing widening threats to freedoms of the press and expression
around the world, reaffirming the centrality of a free and independent
press to the health of democracy, and reaffirming freedom of the press
as a priority of the United States in promoting democracy, human
rights, and good governance in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day
on May 3, 2019.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 1, 2019
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Casey, Mr. Moran, Mr. Markey,
Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Kaine, Mrs.
Shaheen, Mr. Coons, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing widening threats to freedoms of the press and expression
around the world, reaffirming the centrality of a free and independent
press to the health of democracy, and reaffirming freedom of the press
as a priority of the United States in promoting democracy, human
rights, and good governance in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day
on May 3, 2019.
Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
adopted at Paris December 10, 1948, states, ``Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.'';
Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed May 3 of each
year as ``World Press Freedom Day''--
(1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of freedom of the press;
(2) to evaluate freedom of the press around the world;
(3) to defend the media against attacks on its independence; and
(4) to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while
working in their profession;
Whereas, on December 18, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted
Resolution 68/163 on the safety of journalists and the problem of
impunity, which unequivocally condemns all attacks on, and violence
against, journalists and media workers, including torture, extrajudicial
killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation
and harassment in conflict and nonconflict situations;
Whereas the theme for World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019 is ``Media for
Democracy: Journalism and Democracy in Times of Disinformation'';
Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who recognized the importance of the press in a
constitutional republic, wisely declared, ``. . . were it left to me to
decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or
newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to
prefer the latter.'';
Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-166;
22 U.S.C. 2151 note), which the Senate passed by unanimous consent and
President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010, expanded the examination
of the freedom of the press around the world in the annual country
reports on human rights practices of the Department of State;
Whereas the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without
Borders, warns ``The number of countries regarded as safe, where
journalists can work in complete security, continues to decline, while
authoritarian regimes tighten their grip on the media.'';
Whereas, Freedom House's publication ``Freedom in the World 2019'' noted that
global freedom of expression has declined each year for the past 13
years;
Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2018--
(1) at least 54 journalists were killed around the world for their
work, of which at least 34 were singled out for murder;
(2) the 2 deadliest countries for journalists on assignment were
Afghanistan and Syria;
(3) the most dangerous subject for a journalist to report on was
politics, followed by war;
(4) 251 journalists worldwide were in prison, with Turkey, China, and
Egypt responsible for more than \1/2\ of the jailed journalists;
(5) 13 percent of the journalists in jail were female, an increase from
8 percent in 2017;
(6) 70 percent of the journalists who were imprisoned around the world
faced anti-state charges, such as belonging to or aiding groups deemed by
authorities as terrorist organizations; and
(7) the number of journalists imprisoned on charges of false news rose
to 28 globally, compared with 9 such imprisonments in 2016;
Whereas, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, recipients of the 2018
PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award--
(1) were arrested in December 2017 for investigating the murder by the
Burmese military of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Dinn in Rakhine
State; and
(2) were sentenced in September 2018 to 7 years in prison on fraudulent
charges of breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, and remain
unjustly imprisoned;
Whereas freedom of the press has been under considerable pressure in recent
years throughout Southeast Asia, including in the Philippines, where the
government has waged a campaign of judicial harassment against the news
website Rappler and its editor, Maria Ressa;
Whereas, Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-Nafjan, recipients of
the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, who wrote in opposition to
Saudi Arabia's repressive Guardianship system, have been subjected to
imprisonment, solitary confinement, and torture by the Government of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since May 2018 in an apparent effort to suppress
dissent and silence the voices of women;
Whereas, Washington Post journalist and United States resident Jamal Khashoggi
was murdered by a team of Saudi operatives while visiting the Saudi
Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey;
Whereas the Central Intelligence Agency concluded with high confidence, and the
Senate unanimously approved a resolution stating, that Mr. Khashoggi's
murder was carried out at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman;
Whereas journalist Mimi Mefo Takambou was jailed for 4 days in Cameroon in
November 2018 on charges of spreading false news while investigating the
death of an American missionary, where 4 out of the 7 total journalists
imprisoned in Cameroon were jailed for spreading false news, which is a
rising trend in Cameroon and elsewhere around the world;
Whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 26
journalists were killed in Honduras since 2007, making it one of the
most deadly countries for journalists in the Americas, and where
journalist Leonardo Gabriel Hernandez was murdered in March 2019 after
receiving threats related to his work;
Whereas in Nicaragua, Miguel Mora and Lucia Pineda Ubau, the directors of the
country's only 24-hour cable news network, have been jailed since
December 2018 on charges of fomenting hate, spreading fake news, and
terrorism, and prominent journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro has fled
the country as President Daniel Ortega cracks down on free expression in
a bid to silence dissent and end the protests against him;
Whereas in Mexico, which remains the most dangerous country in the Western
Hemisphere for journalists--
(1) murders, death threats, and legal impunity cause journalists to
self censor their reporting out of fear; and
(2) Rafael Murua Manriquez was abducted and murdered in January 2019
after reporting threats from an official in the municipal government for
critical reporting;
Whereas Slovakian journalist Jan Kuciak and his partner Martina Kusnirova were
murdered in February 2018, allegedly in retaliation for his
investigative reporting of tax fraud in connection to a businessman with
close ties to Slovakia's ruling party, where the perpetrator awaits
trial, just 4 months after the murder of another European journalist,
Malta's Daphne Caruana Galizia, for her reporting on corruption;
Whereas the world's growing cadre of ethical and hard-hitting investigative
journalists, including those contributing to the Organized Crime and
Corruption Reporting Project--
(1) adhere to the highest professional standards;
(2) uncover abuses and corruption being committed in their own
countries; and
(3) deserve the international community's support and praise for taking
on the risky job of fostering accountability and transparency in their
respective countries;
Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for Global Media, the
United States Government provides financial assistance to several
editorially independent media outlets, including Voice of America, Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio y Television Marti,
and the Middle East Broadcast Networks--
(1) which report and broadcast news, information, and analysis in
critical regions around the world; and
(2) whose journalists regularly face harassment, fines, and
imprisonment for their work; and
Whereas freedom of the press--
(1) is a key component of democratic governance, activism in civil
society, and socioeconomic development; and
(2) enhances public accountability, transparency, and participation in
civil society and democratic governance: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) expresses concern about threats to freedom of the press
and free expression around the world on the occasion of World
Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019;
(2) commends journalists and media workers around the
world, despite threats to their safety, for their essential
role in--
(A) promoting government accountability;
(B) defending democratic activity; and
(C) strengthening civil society;
(3) pays tribute to journalists who have lost their lives
carrying out their work;
(4) calls on governments abroad to implement United Nations
General Assembly Resolution 163 (2013) by thoroughly
investigating and seeking to resolve outstanding cases of
violence against journalists, including murders and
kidnappings, while ensuring the protection of witnesses;
(5) condemns all actions around the world that suppress
freedom of the press;
(6) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of the press to
efforts of the United States Government to support democracy,
mitigate conflict, and promote good governance domestically and
around the world; and
(7) calls on the President and the Secretary of State--
(A) to preserve and build upon the leadership of
the United States on issues relating to freedom of the
press, on the basis of the protections afforded the
American people under the First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States;
(B) to improve the rapid identification,
publication, and response by the United States
Government to threats against freedom of the press
around the world;
(C) to urge foreign governments to transparently
investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of
attacks against journalists; and
(D) to highlight the issue of threats against
freedom of the press in the annual country reports on
human rights practices of the Department of State and
through diplomatic channels.
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