I am pleased to be here to participate and inaugurate the launch of the Press Freedom Wall in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day (Friday, May 3).

I understand the Wall (photo) depicts 18 publications which were banned from pre-Merdeka times to date because the publications presumably contained materials which were not palatable to the powers that be then, but on grounds that they were against the security of the state.

Malaysiakini must be commended and congratulated for this innovative form of commemorating World Press Freedom Day to remind all of us the tribulations of journalism in the yesteryears and even today.

On May 3, 1991 participants in the United Nations and Unesco at a Seminar on Promoting an Independent Pluralistic African Press held in Windhoek, Namibia, adopted a declaration which is now commonly known as the Windhoek Declaration.

Next to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) the Windhoek Declaration is a landmark international instrument in particular regard to the freedom of the press.

Following this declaration and on the recommendation of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in Dec 1993 the general assembly declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day.

The first three principles of this declaration are profound and relevant to the concerns of many in Malaysia:

  1. Consistent with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development.

  • By an independent press, we mean a press independent from governmental, political or economic control or from control of materials and infrastructure essential for the production and dissemination of newspapers, magazines and periodicals.

  • By a pluralistic press, we mean the end of monopolies of any kind and the existence of the greatest possible number of newspapers, magazines and periodicals reflecting the widest possible range of opinion within the community.

    • An important human right

    International bodies and courts have made it very clear that freedom of expression is one of the most important human rights. In its very first session in 1946 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 59(I) which stated:

    Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and ... the touch-stone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.

    As this resolution notes, freedom of expression is both fundamentally important in its own right and also key to the fulfilment of all other rights. It is sometimes described as the mother of all freedoms. The protection and implementation of other rights depend on freedom of expression in two ways.

    It is only in societies where the free flow of information and ideas is permitted that individuals will be aware of their rights and seek to vindicate them. In addition, freedom of expression is essential if violations of human rights are to be exposed and challenged.

    The point is that where the free flow of information and ideas is respected and encouraged and where citizens have sufficient information to be able to speak out, they can influence the events unfolding around them.

    This link between freedom of expression and the enjoyment of other human rights can be seen across the whole range of rights with which international law concerns itself. Serious human rights abuses of all kinds, ranging from torture and disappearances to discrimination, lack of access to proper health care and education, government corruption and economic mismanagement can only be effectively challenged when citizens have access to the widest possible sources of information, can make up their own minds about issues which concern them, can make their views known, listen to the views of others, challenge accepted orthodoxies, participate in democratic debate and influence events.

    Freedom of expression is therefore at the core of a proper understanding of democracy and human rights, and respect for its requirements is a precondition of proper respect for human rights in general.

    The right to express oneself freely is itself important in a number of ways, as a core element of human dignity, to promote the truth through a marketplace of ideas and as a vehicle for participation. It is this latter aspect of freedom of expression that has been particularly emphasised in the international jurisprudence.

    Press freedom threatened

    However, press freedom and generally freedom of expression, continues to be threatened all over the world. Recently we read about the extensive curtailment of press freedom in Zimbabwe and the harassment of journalists there.

    More recently, and still reported to be continuing, is the threat to the free press in neighbouring Thailand and the harassment of journalists there and in particular the Nation Multimedia Group. Thailand has for some years prided itself on its freedom of the press.

    Why our political masters who gain power through the ballot box fear a free press is beyond comprehension. If they have nothing to hide and nothing to fear then why fear scrutiny of their conduct, deeds and actions by the press?

    By undermining the freedom of the press they in fact undermine democracy, the very process through which they gained political power.

    However, threat to freedom of expression and free press does not always emanate from the state. Non-state actors continue to be a threat to the same freedom.

    The brutal murder of journalist Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal who disappeared in Karachi on Jan 23 is a stark reminder of the viciousness of non-state actors on journalism.

    In his latest report to the 58th Commission on Human Rights my colleague, the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Expression and Opinion expressed his concern to this threat and called upon the Commission to consider how and by what means the international community could give protection and coherent attention to the question of non-state actors and action by them that infringe upon or restrict the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

    Right to information

    The past few years have witnessed a significant growth in openness in countries around the world, and in official recognition that the public has a right to know what government is doing on their behalf. This is reflected in the fact that, over the past five years, numerous countries from every region in the world have adopted freedom of information laws, giving individuals a right to access information held by public bodies.

    The attacks of Sept 11 have had an unfortunate impact on this very positive trend.

    Almost immediately after the Sept 11 attacks, US officials were calling for better protection for confidential documents, even though leaks of such documents had nothing whatsoever to do with the attacks. Reports indicate that in practice it is now more difficult to access sensitive information.

    In Nov 2001, shortly after the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, the United Kingdom put off implementation of its Freedom of Information Act, adopted in Nov 2000, until at least Jan 2005.

    It had previously been scheduled to come into force in the summer of 2002.

    Around the same time, the Canadian authorities amended their Access to Information Act by allowing the Minister of Justice to issue certificates to the effect that the records covered would not longer be subject to disclosure. This was done despite the fact that studies have indicated that the Act already provided adequate protectionto national security interests.

    The three special international mechanisms on freedom of expression  the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression  expressed concern about these developments in a Joint Declaration on Nov 20, 2001, as follows:

    Certain governments have, in the aftermath of the events of Sept 11, adopted measures or taken steps to limit freedom of expression and curtail the free flow of information; this reaction plays into the hands of the terrorists.

    When freedom of the press, including the electronic media, is curtailed by censorship, directly or self-imposed, or by control by the government then the public or certain sections of the public will be denied the space to express or impart their opinion publicly.

    This will necessarily result in the need to peaceful public demonstrations in the streets to express themselves and to be heard. There clearly is nothing wrong with that. Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights expressly provides for such a right.

    In fact, the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders imposes on governments certain obligations to recognise this right and protect the participants.

    Assertions by our political masters that participating in protests and demonstrations are not the Malaysian way of settling problems could be countered by asking whether it meant that government control of the freedom of the media is a Malaysian way of dealing with democratic rights?

    Police action to deal with the peaceful May Day demonstration and the reported arrests and detention of 17 must be deplored. I am pleased that all 17 were released.

    National assets

    To those who feel and assert that the government owned media should only support the government and the political party in power and disseminate only official information and/or that of the party in power, I refer to the words of the Ghanian Supreme Court in a 1993 judgement. The Court said, amongst others:

    "The state-owned media are national assets: they belong to the entire community, not to the abstraction known as the state; nor to the government in office, or to its party. If such national assets were to become the mouthpiece of anyone or combination of the parties vying for power, democracy would be no more than a sham".

    Let me conclude with a few words on the new technologies and in particular the Internet. The Internet is inherently democratic. It provides the public and individuals with access to information sources and enables everyone to participate actively in the communication process.

    The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion in his latest report has called upon the international community to take positive measures to promote universal access to the Internet and reception of broadcasting. He recommended that no separate rules limiting Internet content be adopted.

    I congratulate the innovative founders and editors of malaysiakini for their committed service to the promotion of freedom of expression through the Internet. In doing so they took risks and made sacrifices. They should know that they have the support of the international community

    Finally, on this occasion to commemorate World Press Freedom Day let us salute the thousands of journalists all over the world who sacrificed so much in one way or another in defence of this mother of all freedoms.

    In particular we salute the latest casualty, Daniel Pearl.

    The above is UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Param Cumaraswamys speech during the launch of Malaysiakini s Press Freedom Wall on May 2, 2002