III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 179 Recognizing widening threats to freedoms 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 in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 1, 2019 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CASEY, Mr. MORAN, Mr. MAR- KEY, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. COONS, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Rela- tions RESOLUTION Recognizing widening threats to freedoms of the press and expression around the world, reaffirming the centrality of a free and independent press to the health of democ- racy, and reaffirming freedom of the press as a priority of the United States in promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019. Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declara- tion of Human Rights, adopted at Paris December 10, 1948, states, ‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opin- ion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 179 IS opinions without interference and to seek, receive and im- part information and ideas through any media and re- gardless of frontiers.’’; Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly pro- claimed May 3 of each year as ‘‘World Press Freedom Day’’— (1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of free- dom of the press; (2) to evaluate freedom of the press around the world; (3) to defend the media against attacks on its inde- pendence; 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 unequivo- cally condemns all attacks on, and violence against, jour- nalists and media workers, including torture, extrajudi- cial killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation and harassment in conflict and noncon- flict situations; Whereas the theme for World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2019 is ‘‘Media for Democracy: Journalism and Democ- racy in Times of Disinformation’’; 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.’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 179 IS Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–166; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note), which the Senate passed by unanimous consent and President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010, expanded the ex- amination of the freedom of the press around the world in the annual country reports on human rights practices of the Department of State; Whereas the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, warns ‘‘The number of coun- tries regarded as safe, where journalists can work in com- plete security, continues to decline, while authoritarian regimes tighten their grip on the media.’’; Whereas, Freedom House’s publication ‘‘Freedom in the World 2019’’ noted that global freedom of expression has declined each year for the past 13 years; Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2018— (1) at least 54 journalists were killed around the world for their work, of which at least 34 were singled out for murder; (2) the 2 deadliest countries for journalists on as- signment were Afghanistan and Syria; (3) the most dangerous subject for a journalist to report on was politics, followed by war; (4) 251 journalists worldwide were in prison, with Turkey, China, and Egypt responsible for more than 1⁄2 of the jailed journalists; (5) 13 percent of the journalists in jail were female, an increase from 8 percent in 2017; (6) 70 percent of the journalists who were impris- oned around the world faced anti-state charges, such as VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 179 IS belonging to or aiding groups deemed by authorities as terrorist organizations; and (7) the number of journalists imprisoned on charges of false news rose to 28 globally, compared with 9 such imprisonments in 2016; Whereas, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, re- cipients of the 2018 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award— (1) were arrested in December 2017 for inves- tigating the murder by the Burmese military of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Dinn in Rakhine State; and (2) were sentenced in September 2018 to 7 years in prison on fraudulent charges of breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, and remain unjustly imprisoned; Whereas freedom of the press has been under considerable pressure in recent years throughout Southeast Asia, in- cluding in the Philippines, where the government has waged a campaign of judicial harassment against the news website Rappler and its editor, Maria Ressa; Whereas, Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-Nafjan, recipients of the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, who wrote in opposition to Saudi Ara- bia’s repressive Guardianship system, have been sub- jected to imprisonment, solitary confinement, and torture by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since May 2018 in an apparent effort to suppress dissent and silence the voices of women; Whereas, Washington Post journalist and United States resi- dent Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by a team of Saudi operatives while visiting the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 179 IS Whereas the Central Intelligence Agency concluded with high confidence, and the Senate unanimously approved a reso- lution stating, that Mr. Khashoggi’s murder was carried out at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Whereas journalist Mimi Mefo Takambou was jailed for 4 days in Cameroon in November 2018 on charges of spreading false news while investigating the death of an American missionary, where 4 out of the 7 total journal- ists imprisoned in Cameroon were jailed for spreading false news, which is a rising trend in Cameroon and else- where around the world; Whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 26 journalists were killed in Honduras since 2007, making it one of the most deadly countries for journalists in the Americas, and where journalist Leonardo Gabriel Hernandez was murdered in March 2019 after receiving threats related to his work; Whereas in Nicaragua, Miguel Mora and Lucı´a Pineda Ubau, the directors of the country’s only 24-hour cable news network, have been jailed since December 2018 on charges of fomenting hate, spreading fake news, and ter- rorism, and prominent journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro has fled the country as President Daniel Or- tega cracks down on free expression in a bid to silence dissent and end the protests against him; Whereas in Mexico, which remains the most dangerous coun- try in the Western Hemisphere for journalists— (1) murders, death threats, and legal impunity cause journalists to self censor their reporting out of fear; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 179 IS (2) Rafael Muru´a Manrı´quez was abducted and mur- dered in January 2019 after reporting threats from an official in the municipal government for critical reporting; Whereas Slovakian journalist Ja´n Kuciak and his partner Martina Kusˇnı´rova´ were murdered in February 2018, al- legedly in retaliation for his investigative reporting of tax fraud in connection to a businessman with close ties to Slovakia’s ruling party, where the perpetrator awaits trial, just 4 months after the murder of another Euro- pean journalist, Malta’s Daphne Caruana Galizia, for her reporting on corruption; 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 ac- countability and transparency in their respective coun- tries; Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for Global Media, the United States Government provides fi- nancial assistance to several editorially independent media outlets, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio y Tele- vision 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— VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 7 •SRES 179 IS (1) is a key component of democratic governance, activism in civil society, and socioeconomic development; and (2) enhances public accountability, transparency, and participation in civil society and democratic govern- ance: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) expresses concern about threats to freedom 2 of the press and free expression around the world on 3 the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 4 3, 2019; 5 (2) commends journalists and media workers 6 around the world, despite threats to their safety, for 7 their essential role in— 8 (A) promoting government accountability; 9 (B) defending democratic activity; and 10 (C) strengthening civil society; 11 (3) pays tribute to journalists who have lost 12 their lives carrying out their work; 13 (4) calls on governments abroad to implement 14 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 163 15 (2013) by thoroughly investigating and seeking to 16 resolve outstanding cases of violence against journal- 17 ists, including murders and kidnappings, while en- 18 suring the protection of witnesses; 19 (5) condemns all actions around the world that 20 suppress freedom of the press; 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 8 •SRES 179 IS (6) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of the 1 press to efforts of the United States Government to 2 support democracy, mitigate conflict, and promote 3 good governance domestically and around the world; 4 and 5 (7) calls on the President and the Secretary of 6 State— 7 (A) to preserve and build upon the leader- 8 ship of the United States on issues relating to 9 freedom of the press, on the basis of the protec- 10 tions afforded the American people under the 11 First Amendment to the Constitution of the 12 United States; 13 (B) to improve the rapid identification, 14 publication, and response by the United States 15 Government to threats against freedom of the 16 press around the world; 17 (C) to urge foreign governments to trans- 18 parently investigate and bring to justice the 19 perpetrators of attacks against journalists; and 20 (D) to highlight the issue of threats 21 against freedom of the press in the annual 22 country reports on human rights practices of 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 9 •SRES 179 IS the Department of State and through diplo- 1 matic channels. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 May 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR179.IS SR179 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS