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Chamber and committees

World Press Freedom Day

  • Submitted by: Ruth Maguire, Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party.
  • Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2024
  • Motion reference: S6M-12852
  • Current status: Achieved cross-party support

That the Parliament recognises 3 May 2024 as World Press Freedom Day; understands that World Press Freedom Day is dedicated to what it sees as the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis; acknowledges that the aim is to highlight what it considers the significant role that the press, journalism and access to and dissemination of information play in ensuring and securing a sustainable future that respects the rights of individuals and their diversity of voices, as well as gender equality; notes the support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding the right to freedom of expression, which it understands has been further affirmed and enshrined in numerous international instruments, including the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and 2007 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; commends the UNESCO Observatory for remembering the reported 1,663 journalists who have been killed since 1993, including 11 killed in 2024 so far, and notes the support for the promotion of the fundamental principles of press freedom, which are to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on its independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.


Supported by: Karen Adam, Clare Adamson, Jeremy Balfour, Miles Briggs, Sharon Dowey, Jackie Dunbar, Annabelle Ewing, Russell Findlay, Murdo Fraser, Kenneth Gibson, Bill Kidd, John Mason, Ivan McKee, Stuart McMillan, Colin Smyth, Kevin Stewart, David Torrance, Evelyn Tweed, Tess White, Elena Whitham, Brian Whittle