The United Nations has expressed concern for the future of Afghanistan’s media, adding that the Taliban’s intimidation, threats and attacks on Afghan journalists are intolerable.
Many journalists have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, with media outlets closing over a lack of funds or because staff left the country. Women journalists face additional hardships because of work bans and travel restrictions.
During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban barred most television, radio and newspapers in the country.
The U.N. mission in Afghanistan disclosed that although journalists continue to work, they are forced to navigate “unclear and often arbitrary boundaries of reporting against an ever-present threat of repression and closure.”
The remarks coincide with World Press Freedom Day, which is observed on May 3 every year.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, disclosed that the day was a moment to show solidarity with the Afghan journalists trying to maintain independent reporting.
“Journalists are being forced to make editorial decisions based on fear, not public interest. The persistent intimidation, threats, and attacks on journalists are unacceptable. We urge the Taliban de facto authorities to guarantee the freedom and independence of the media, and the safety of journalists, women and men alike.”
Roza Otunbayeva
In its latest World Press Freedom Index issued on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, Reporters without Borders, a media watchdog, ranked Afghanistan 152 out of 180 countries. The report noted that the environment for reporters continues to worsen and women journalists have “been literally erased from public life.”
Also, the index noted that 43% of Afghan media outlets disappeared after the Taliban takeover of August 2021. Of the 10,780 people working in Afghan newsrooms, 8,290 men and 2,490 women, at the beginning of that month, just 4,360 were still working in December, 3,950 men and 410 women.
Media Under Attack In Every Corner Of The World
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the U.N, Antonio Guterres, has warned that the media is under attack in every corner of the world and urged all nations to stop the targeting of truth and those who report it.
Guterres called the 50% increase in the killing of media workers in 2022 “unbelievable,” stressing that freedom of the press “is the foundation of democracy and justice” and it is under threat.
At least 67 media workers were killed in 2022. Digital platforms and social media have also made it easier for extremists to push false narratives and harass journalists.
“Truth is threatened by disinformation and hate speech seeking to blur the lines between fact and fiction, between science and conspiracy.”
Antonio Guterres
Guterres made these remarks in a video message for the U.N. commemoration of 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, the eve of World Press Freedom Day. World Press Freedom Day was first proclaimed by the U.N. General Assembly in December 1993 and authorized to be held every May 3.
Guterres iterated that the collapse of the media industry, which has led to closures of local news outlets and consolidation of media “into the hands of the few,” is threatening freedom of expression.
New laws passed by governments worldwide, such as Russia’s 2022 law that anyone publishing information about its military that Moscow deems to be false could face up to 15 years in prison, also threatens press freedom.
The U.N Secretary-General urged that the world must unite to stop threats, attacks and imprisonment of journalists for doing their jobs, and stop the lies and disinformation. “As journalists stand up for truth, the world stands up with them,” he said.
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