General Assembly Resolution #155 “Freedom of the Press” (Category: Education and Creativity; Area of Effect: Free Press) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
The General Assembly,
Cognizant of the myriad benefits of a free and open press for the causes of accountability justice, and good governance,
Believing, however, that freedom of the press ought to be faced with minimal constraints,
Aware that the previous resolution on the subject,
GA#155: “Freedom of the Press” was well intentioned but contains several flaws that render it a toothless defense of the freedom of the press,
Finds as follows:
- The proviso in clause 2 that “international news media organisations” may operate within a nation’s borders only “when given explicit permission to do so” impedes press reporting by allowing other nations to restrict the same. Additionally, this proviso, while countered with an encouragement in clause 3, is a mandate and thus restricts the reporting of “international news media organisations”, impeding the freedom of the press as a result.
- In clause 4, the inclusion of “and” in the clause that citizens may not be punished for accessing news media that operates “both within and outside the nation's borders”, means that nations may punish citizens for accessing media originating solely within a nation’s borders or for accessing media originating from another nation such as dissident media. Thus, the resolution again undermines the goal of a free press by unintentionally restricting that media which citizens may absolutely lawfully access.
- The phrase “genuine threat to the security of the nation” in clause 5 is unable to be judged and thus open to abuse because there is no adjudicative authority, and thus claims to censor information on the basis of national security grounds can be abused.
- Additionally in clause 5, the second sentence’s overriding deference to “national freedom of expression laws and broadcasting codes of conduct” also impedes freedom of the press as national or international media may be restricted from reporting on topics that national media regulators may find obscene or which a nation may otherwise find objectionable.
Therefore let
GA#155: “Freedom of the Press” be repealed.
