Title: Responding to widening 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 in promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance on World Press Freedom Day.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution condemns threats to freedom of the press around the world. It also remembers the bravery of journalists and media workers around the world and those who have died carrying out their work. It calls on the President and the Department of State to build upon U.S. leadership on press freedom issues.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1095 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1095

 Responding to widening 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 in promoting democracy, human 
        rights, and good governance on World Press Freedom Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2022

Mr. Schiff (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Ms. Bass, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. Johnson 
of Georgia, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Malinowski, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. 
   Norton, Mr. Peters, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Raskin, Ms. 
    Schakowsky, Mr. Vargas, and Mr. Welch) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Responding to widening 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 in promoting democracy, human 
        rights, and good governance on World Press Freedom Day.

Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 
        adopted at Paris, December 10, 1948, states, ``Everyone has the right to 
        freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold 
        opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart 
        information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.'';
Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed May 3 of each 
        year as ``World Press Freedom Day''--

    (1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of freedom of the press;

    (2) to evaluate freedom of the press around the world;

    (3) to defend the media against attacks on its independence; and

    (4) to 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 unequivocally condemns all attacks on, and violence 
        against, journalists and media workers, including torture, extrajudicial 
        killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation 
        and harassment in conflict and nonconflict situations;
Whereas the theme for World Press Freedom Day 2022 is ``Journalism under 
        Surveillance'', which will spotlight how developments in surveillance by 
        state and nonstate actors, as well as big data collection and artificial 
        intelligence, impact journalism, freedom of expression, and privacy, as 
        well as the associated challenges to media viability during the digital 
        age, threats to public trust that arise from surveillance, and digitally 
        mediated attacks on journalists, and the consequences of all this on 
        public trust in digital communications;
Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who recognized the importance of the press in a 
        constitutional republic, wisely declared, ``were it left to me to decide 
        whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers 
        without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the 
        latter.'';
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 annual country reports on human rights practices of the Department 
        of State;
Whereas, Freedom House's publication ``Freedom in the World 2022'' noted that 
        global freedom has declined for 16 consecutive years and a total of 60 
        countries suffered declines over the past year, while only 25 improved, 
        and, as of today, some 38 percent of the global population live in ``Not 
        Free'' countries, the highest proportion since 1997;
Whereas according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law and the 
        European Center for Not-for-Profit Law--

    (1) some governments have incorporated surveillance technology into 
their efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19 without fully considering the 
privacy and human rights implications, including building sunset provisions 
into emergency declarations;

    (2) at least 112 countries have declarations of emergency in place in 
response to COVID-19 pandemic; and

    (3) at least 62 countries have enacted measures in response to COVID-19 
that negatively affect freedom of expression;

Whereas the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without 
        Borders, notes, ``journalism, which is arguably the best vaccine against 
        the virus of disinformation, is totally blocked or seriously impeded in 
        73 countries and constrained in 59 others [out of 180], which together 
        represent 73 percent of the countries evaluated'';
Whereas Reporters Without Borders also reports that since 2020, more journalists 
        were deliberately targeted and killed in countries considered ``at 
        peace'' than in conflict zones;
Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2021--

    (1) at least 27 journalists were killed around the world for their 
work, of which at least 21 were singled out for murder;

    (2) the two deadliest countries for journalists on assignment were 
India and Mexico;

    (3) the vast majority of journalists killed were citizens covering the 
news in their home countries;

    (4) 293 journalists worldwide were in prison, a new global record, with 
China, Myanmar, Egypt, Vietnam, and Belarus responsible for more than half 
of the jailed journalists; and

    (5) at least 250 journalists were jailed in retaliation for their work 
for the sixth consecutive year;

Whereas online violence against female journalists has increased 
        ``significantly'' according to a United Nations Educational, Scientific 
        and Cultural Organization and International Center for Journalists 2021 
        report, with three-quarters of the 900 female journalists from 125 
        countries surveyed responding that they had experienced online abuse, 
        and one-quarter responding that they had been physically threatened, 
        which is especially troubling given increasing evidence that online 
        harassment against female journalists is correlated with increased 
        violence offline;
Whereas the People's Republic of China maintains one of the worst media 
        environments in the world and seeks to curtail political speech inside 
        and outside the country, including by--

    (1) targeting independent and foreign media in China through systematic 
harassment including the denial of visas to foreign journalists, 
imprisonment, the denial of medical care to imprisoned journalists, and 
curtailing access to legal representation;

    (2) pervasively monitoring and censoring online and social media 
content, including through the banning of virtual private networks;

    (3) spreading propaganda to foreign audiences through the United Front 
Work Department and related activities;

    (4) indiscriminately stifling dissent and freedom of expression in Hong 
Kong, especially through the arbitrary use of the 2020 National Security 
Law, which has led to the suppression of all meaningful political dissent, 
including the closure of several independent news organizations and the 
imprisonment of numerous journalists, including Jimmy Lai, the founder of 
Apple Daily, who is facing charges that could result in life imprisonment; 
and

    (5) championing a ``sovereign Internet'' model and exporting technology 
to enhance the ability of like-minded authoritarian regimes to suppress 
dissent online and monitor the activity of their people;

Whereas the Russian Federation has escalated from restricting freedom of the 
        press and expression to a full assault against all independent media 
        actors both inside Russia and across the Caucasus region, including by--

    (1) passing broad legislation which criminalizes any public opposition 
to or independent news reporting about the war against Ukraine;

    (2) labeling independent news outlets as ``foreign agents'' and relying 
on restrictive legislation as justification to harass, fine, and freeze the 
assets of organizations, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty;

    (3) arresting and detaining journalists covering peaceful protests;

    (4) allegedly kidnapping, torturing, detaining, and disappearing 
journalists in Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine; and

    (5) excessive blocking of internet access and applications, including 
independent news sites, social media platforms, and other tools Russian 
citizens rely on to access independent information and opinions and to 
connect with each other and the outside world;

Whereas the Belarussian regime has stripped the accreditation of and detained 
        numerous journalists to suppress independent information and freedom of 
        expression, including former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalists 
        Ilhar Losik and Aleh Hurzdzilovich, who have been sentenced to 15 years 
        and 18 months in prison, respectively, and Andrey Kuznechyk, who has 
        been held in pretrial detention on unpublished charges since November 
        2021;
Whereas a 2021 survey by Reporters Without Borders and the Afghan Independent 
        Journalists Association shows a total of 231 media outlets have had to 
        close and more than 6,400 journalists have lost their jobs since the 
        Taliban took power in August 2021, and female journalists have been most 
        impacted, with 4 out of 5 no longer working;
Whereas freedom of the press continues to be under assault throughout Southeast 
        Asia, especially in Vietnam, where more than 30 journalists and bloggers 
        are being held in jails, some with sentences of up to 15 years for their 
        independent reporting, including Pham Doan Trang, a female journalist 
        who had been awarded the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize 
        for Impact in 2019;
Whereas governments are enacting legislation, such as Cambodia's proposed 
        National Internet Gateway, which would give them unprecedented power to 
        monitor online activity, collect user data, and censor communications, 
        further threatening already severely restricted freedom of expression;
Whereas Washington Post journalist and United States resident Jamal Khashoggi 
        was murdered by a team of Saudi operatives while visiting the Saudi 
        Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, and it is likely that the 
        perpetrators' trial in Turkey will be transferred to Saudi Arabia, 
        making it unlikely that they will ever be held accountable;
Whereas the Senate unanimously approved a resolution stating that Mr. 
        Khashoggi's murder was carried out at the behest of Crown Prince 
        Mohammed bin Salman;
Whereas the detention of journalists without charges in Ethiopia, including 
        Associated Press Freelance journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro who was detained 
        without charges for 4 months, serves as an example of the country's 
        deteriorating media freedom, following positive movements after the 2018 
        election of Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Abiy Ahmed;
Whereas across Latin America and the Caribbean, authoritarian regimes in Cuba, 
        Nicaragua, and Venezuela continue their long-standing practice of 
        curbing dissent by threatening, harassing, and detaining independent 
        journalists and other media actors;
Whereas in Mexico, which remains the most dangerous country in the Western 
        Hemisphere for journalists--

    (1) murders, death threats, and legal impunity cause journalists to 
self-censor their reporting out of fear;

    (2) it is estimated that 12 journalists have been murdered in the first 
three months of 2022;

    (3) the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders 
and Journalists lacks the resources and political support to provide 
adequate protection to all journalists under threat who have requested 
protection; and

    (4) Roberto Toledo, a camera operator and video editor for news website 
Monitor Michoacan, was shot and killed on January 31, 2022, in Zitacuaro, 
making him the fourth media worker killed in Mexico in less than a month;

Whereas across Western Europe, physical attacks on journalists have more than 
        doubled between 2019 and 2021, with 33 attacks recorded in 2019, 51 in 
        2020, and 76 in 2021, according to the Council of Europe;
Whereas the world's growing cadre of ethical and hard-hitting investigative 
        journalists, including those contributing to the Organized Crime and 
        Corruption Reporting Project--

    (1) adhere to the highest professional standards;

    (2) uncover abuses and corruption being committed in their own 
countries; and

    (3) deserve the international community's support and praise for taking 
on the risky job of fostering accountability and transparency in their 
respective countries;

Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for Global Media, the 
        United States Government provides financial assistance to several 
        editorially independent media outlets, including Voice of America, Radio 
        Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio y Television Marti, 
        and the Middle East broadcast networks--

    (1) which report and broadcast news, information, and analysis in 
critical regions around the world; and

    (2) whose journalists regularly face harassment, fines, and 
imprisonment for their work; and

Whereas freedom of the press--

    (1) is a key component of democratic governance and socioeconomic 
development; and

    (2) enhances public accountability, transparency, and participation in 
civil society and democratic governance: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns threats to freedom of the press and free 
        expression around the world;
            (2) remembers the bravery of journalists and media workers 
        around the world who, despite threats to their safety, play an 
        essential role in--
                    (A) promoting government accountability;
                    (B) defending democratic activity; and
                    (C) strengthening civil society;
            (3) remembers journalists who have lost their lives 
        carrying out their work;
            (4) calls on governments abroad to implement United Nations 
        General Assembly Resolution 74/157 (2019) by thoroughly 
        investigating and seeking to resolve outstanding cases of 
        violence against journalists, including murders and 
        kidnappings, while ensuring the protection of witnesses;
            (5) condemns all actions around the world that suppress 
        freedom of the press;
            (6) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of the press to 
        efforts of the United States Government to support democracy, 
        mitigate conflict, and promote good governance around the 
        world; and
            (7) calls on the President and the Secretary of State--
                    (A) to preserve and build upon the leadership of 
                the United States on issues relating to freedom of the 
                press, on the basis of the protections afforded the 
                American people under the First Amendment to the 
                Constitution of the United States;
                    (B) to improve the rapid identification, 
                publication, and response by the United States 
                Government to threats against freedom of the press 
                around the world;
                    (C) to urge foreign governments to transparently 
                investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of 
                attacks against journalists; and
                    (D) to highlight the issue of threats against 
                freedom of the press in the annual country reports on 
                human rights practices of the Department of State and 
                through diplomatic channels.
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