IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 357 
Responding to growing threats to freedom 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 Government in promoting democracy, 
human rights, and good governance on World Press Freedom Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 2, 2023 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
COHEN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Responding to growing threats to freedom of the press and 
expression around the world, reaffirming the centrality 
of a free and independent press to the health of democ-
racy, and reaffirming freedom of the press as a priority 
of the United States Government in promoting democ-
racy, human rights, and good governance on World Press 
Freedom Day. 
Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights, adopted at Paris, December 10, 
1948, states, ‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opin-
ion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold 
opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and 
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impart information and ideas through any media and re-
gardless of frontiers.’’; 
Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations International Cov-
enant on Civil and Political Rights adopted on December 
16, 1966, states, ‘‘Everyone shall have the right to free-
dom of expression; this right shall include freedom to 
seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all 
kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or 
in print, in the form of art, or through any other media 
of his choice.’’; 
Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly pro-
claimed May 3 of each year as ‘‘World Press Freedom 
Day’’ to— 
(1) celebrate the fundamental principles of freedom 
of the press; 
(2) evaluate freedom of the press around the world; 
(3) defend the media against attacks on its inde-
pendence; and 
(4) 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 unequivo-
cally condemns all attacks on, and violence against, jour-
nalists 
and 
media 
workers, 
including 
torture, 
extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary de-
tention, and intimidation and harassment in conflict and 
nonconflict situations; 
Whereas the theme for World Press Freedom Day 2023 is 
‘‘Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as 
a Driver for All Other Human Rights’’, which signifies 
the essential role of press freedom, independent, plural-
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•HRES 357 IH 
istic, and diverse media, and freedom of expression in en-
abling the enjoyment and protection of all other human 
rights, and which will highlight the essential role of the 
media and journalists in verifying and disseminating 
facts, giving voice to the voiceless, creating spaces for 
ideas to be debated, and rendering complex matters intel-
ligible for the public at large; 
Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who recognized the importance 
of the press in a constitutional republic, wrote in 1786, 
‘‘Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and 
that cannot be limited without being lost.’’; 
Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 
(Public Law 111–166; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note), signed into 
law by President Barack Obama in 2010, expanded the 
examination of the freedom of the press around the world 
in the Department of State’s annual country reports on 
human rights practices; 
Whereas Freedom House’s publication ‘‘Freedom in the 
World 2023’’ noted that global freedom has declined for 
17 consecutive years, and over the past year, media free-
dom came under pressure in at least 157 countries and 
territories assessed in the report; 
Whereas Freedom House data show that freedom of expres-
sion, for the media and individuals, has declined more 
than any other civil liberty over the last 17 years, and 
infringement on free expression is one of the biggest driv-
ers of democratic backsliding globally; 
Whereas the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by 
Reporters Without Borders, expresses concerns about an 
increase in polarization amplified by information chaos, 
and notes that within democratic societies, divisions are 
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growing due to the spread of opinion media and 
disinformation amplified by social media, while at the 
international level, democracies are being weakened by 
the asymmetry between open societies and despotic re-
gimes that control media and online platforms while wag-
ing propaganda wars; 
Whereas attempts to silence the media continue to multiply 
around the globe, with traditional methods of censorship, 
violence, and harassment being accompanied by increas-
ingly pervasive digital surveillance, intimidation, and at-
tacks; 
Whereas the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 
journalists and media outlets around the world have been 
targeted by sophisticated spyware products that pose a 
severe risk to their safety and the safety of their sources; 
Whereas Freedom House reports that journalists and others 
exercising their freedom of expression continue to be vic-
tims of transnational repression, tactics used by govern-
ments beyond their borders to silence dissent among 
diasporas and exiles, including assassinations, unlawful 
deportations, detentions, renditions, physical and digital 
threats, harassment, and coercion by proxy, and journal-
ists have been the victims in 11 percent of incidents of 
physical transnational repression identified by Freedom 
House since 2014; 
Whereas, according to Freedom House’s ‘‘Freedom on the 
Net 2022’’ report, people in 53 countries faced arrest or 
imprisonment for expressing themselves online, includ-
ing— 
(1) online journalists targeted for their reporting; 
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