[DRAFT] Protecting Journalistic Freedom
Posted: Thu May 14, 2020 2:56 am
Protecting Journalistic Freedom
Category: Education and Creativity | Area of Effect: Free Press | Proposed by: Kenmoria
The General Assembly,
Acknowledging the universal right of all individuals to seek and obtain knowledge of the world around them;
Recognising the press as a vital resource for people to better understand international and local events;
Believing that unnecessary restrictions on journalism often come about only as a method censorship, and that a free press is far more able to carry out its work than one laden with limitations;
Aware, therefore, that the General Assembly has an obligation to aid in the vital field of journalism wherever reasonable by removing such restrictions and upholding press freedom;
hereby,
1. Defines ‘the press’ as the collection of journalists and news-sharing companies, that provides information to individuals about events, and the causes, implications and analysis thereof;
2. Mandates that member nations do not punish any individual solely for being a member of or working with the press;
3. Requires member states to permit the press to use any available commercial technologies in the sharing of news information;
4. Obligates that member nations do not disallow any person directly associated with the press of a member nation or member nations from entering their borders, provided that the entry is solely for legitimate journalistic purposes, and that the person would not be barred entry due to quarantine, a criminal record, or any other compelling safety purpose wholly unrelated to their status as a member of the press;
5. Prohibits member states from preventing the press from reporting on any story without a compelling safety or security reason, to which a prohibition on reporting would be the easiest or most effective response;
6. Clarifies that, if a member nation does restrict the press from sharing information about a given event, details of the event must be officially released as soon as possible once the situation has been resolved such that there is no longer a compelling reason for restriction;
7. Further clarifies that reprisals from other governments, individuals or WA committees as a result of illegal behaviour by that member state do not count as a compelling reason for the purposes of clause 4;
8. Compels all member states to grant their citizens access to otherwise publicly-available information released by their national press or international press, and demands that member states do not pass any laws that would restrict this access;
9. Excludes, from the protections of this resolution, any entity associated with the press that has repeatedly and deliberately spread information that they know to be definitely untrue, not including editorial opinions marked as such; and
10. Tasks the WACLC (World Assembly Central Library Complex) with creating a repository of notable international news stories, which shall be able to be accessed by all individuals within WA member states.
“Here’s the replacement for Freedom of the Press, which will be submitted shortly after my repeal, assuming it passes.”