The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD): GFMD speaks in favor of ensuring robust commitments to access to information, media freedom, and Public-Interest Journalism in the Pact for the Future
Today journalists and media around the world face severe challenges, which in many contexts nears an extinction-level event, while access to information and freedom of expression that empower people to address shared needs is in jeopardy.
To this regard, GFMD called upon the UN and its Member States to ensure robust commitments to access to information, media freedom, and public-interest journalism as they negotiate the final text of the Pact for the Future in advance of the Summit of the Future. The Pact for the Future is the Summit’s primary outcome document, intending to boost the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as the roadmap for overcoming crises and securing a better future for all. By suggesting and urging the UN to incorporate recommended language through an official statement, GFMD contributes to ensuring that the Pact for the Future reinforces existing commitments on access to information and media freedom.
As a result, public-interest journalism and resilient information ecosystems are encouraged and empowered to play their vital role in delivering on the promise of a better future for all. As underscored in a joint statement by the Presidents of the UN General Assembly, the General Conference of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the UN Human Rights Council on World Press Freedom Day 2024: “the media’s role as a watchdog, and a catalyst for action cannot be overstated.”