Global IssuesPress Freedom Groups Condemn U.S. Withdrawal from UNESCO
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - Civil society groups have called on the United States to reverse its decision to withdraw from a UN body, citing concerns for press freedom and journalists' safety.
"This anti-Israel bias that's long documented on the part of UNESCO, that needs to come to an end," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.
"If UNESCO wants to get back and wants to reform itself and get back to a place where they're truly promoting culture and education and all of that, perhaps we could take another look at this," she continued.
Though the North American nation wants to provide input as a nonmember observer, press freedom organizations including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Article 19 called the move a major blow to press freedom and freedom of expression around the world.
"Their withdrawal from UNESCO represents an attempt to weaken that organization and that they will no longer provide input or influence on important issues that UNESCO has within its mandate which includes the protection of journalists," RSF's Advocacy and Communications Director in North America Margaux Ewen told IPS.
"The fact that the U.S. has now decided to no longer be a part of UNESCO, they essentially no longer want to be a part of this portfolio and that is really discouraging to anyone who is in favor of press freedom and protecting journalists," she added.
CPJ's Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch echoed similar sentiments, stating: "UNESCO plays a critical role in promoting the safety of journalists around the world and U.S. withdrawal will weaken UNESCO's ability to address global press freedom violations, creating a power vacuum that could very well be filled by governments that embrace authoritarian tactics."
Founded on the ashes of World War II in 1945, UNESCO is responsible for coordinating international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication along with encouraging peace and strengthening ties between nations and societies.
Among its objectives is to promote free, independent, and pluralistic media in order to enhance freedom of expression and information around the world.
Alongside its concern for press freedom, the organization has also paved the way to ensure the safety of journalists.
UNESCO has recorded the killings of almost 1,000 journalists and media workers since 2007 and it is the lead agency tasked with ensuring the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity, a document which lays out measures to strengthen work on such issues.
"Support for UNESCO is therefore intrinsically linked to ensuring that journalists are safe to do their work, including in some of the most dangerous countries," the press freedom groups said in a statement.
Though it is unclear if it reflects the ongoing trend of rejecting multilateralism and the UN, Ewen noted that the decision is in line with current violations of press freedom within the U.S.
"The current administration has been very locally against press freedom and has attacked media outlets and journalists individually for coverage that the White House doesn't like, so this kind of seems like an extension of that type of view of press freedom," she told IPS.
"Protecting free speech and ensuring journalists' safety, core US values, requires investing in multilateralism, not running away from it," he added.
Throughout his presidential campaign and since taking office, President Trump has repeatedly described media organisations including the New York Times and CNN as "fake news."
During a rally in Arizona, the President called journalists as "truly dishonest people" and criticised their coverage of his reaction to a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
Most recently, Attorney General Jeff Sessions raised the prospect of media and journalist subpoenas to reveal leakers.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has criticized President Trump's anti-media rhetoric, stating: "It's really quite amazing when you think that freedom of the press, not only sort of a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution but very much something that the United States defended over the years, is now itself under attack from the President himself…to call these news organisations ‘fake' does tremendous damage and to refer to individual journalists in this way—I have to ask the question: is this not an incitement for others to attack journalists?"
Already, repercussions of such rhetoric can be seen around the world.
In Cambodia, government spokesperson Phay Siphan threatened to take action against media outlets because they do "not reflect the real situation" while citing President Trump's expulsion of news organizations from a White House briefing earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has labeled report of atrocities against the Rohingya community "fake news" that helps terrorists.
Executive Director of Article 19 Thomas Hughes noted that President Trump's attacks on media are "more than empty rhetoric" and signal a shift away from "championing freedom of expression worldwide."
The press freedom groups called on the U.S. to reconsider its decision.
" a key player on the international stage and they have the ability to influence positive change, so we would like them to continue to be a part of this discussion and ongoing campaigns to make sure that journalists are protected while doing their job on the field," Ewen told IPS.
This is the second time that the U.S. has left UNESCO, having withdrawn in 1984 due to concerns over the Soviet Union's influence and rejoining in 2003.
In 2011, the U.S. withdrew its funding to the organization as a response to Palestine's membership.
The recent move came in the midst of UNESCO's elections for a new Director-General which saw French-Jewish former Minister of Culture Audrey Azoulay rise to the occasion. In response to the turmoil, Azoulay said that leaving UNESCO is not the answer.
"In this moment of crisis, I believe we must invest in UNESCO more than ever, look to support and reinforce it, and to reform it—and not leave it," she said.
If confirmed by the 195-member General Assembly in November, Azoulay will succeed outgoing Director-General Irina Bokova.
© Inter Press Service (2017) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service