World Press Freedom Day 2016

GrenCHAP acknowledges UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) with the 2016 theme being: Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms — This Is Your Right. In late 2015, United Nation states adopted seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all, as part of a new 2030 sustainable development agenda.

For the first time, the link has been made between freedom of the press and sustainable development. Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, advises that “At this time of turbulence and change across the world, including new challenges that require global cooperation and action, the need for quality information has never been so important — this requires a strong environment of press freedom and well-functioning systems to ensure the people’s right to know.”

GrenCHAP acknowledges that in dozens of countries internationally, publications are censored, and journalist, editors, and other speakers of truth are often harassed, attacked, detained, and even murdered for the events they report on. Despite this, today, we advocate for freedom of information, press freedom from censorship and surveillance, and the safety of journalist both online and offline.

GrenCHAP is a sexual reproductive health and human rights advocate for marginalized populations in Grenada.