UN Raises Concerns for Afghanistan’s Media on World Press Freedom Day
On World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations expressed serious concerns for the future of Afghanistan’s media, with journalists forced to work in a climate of intimidation and fear amid increased restrictions by the Taliban de facto authorities. Since August 2021, a large number of media professionals have departed Afghanistan, and the country’s economic unrest has had an impact on the sector. Due to extra constraints that have made it nearly impossible for female journalists to perform their duties, several media outlets have closed, and their closure has had a disproportionately negative impact on them.
Over the past 18 months, the de facto authorities have committed numerous human rights violations against journalists and media professionals, using threats, cruel treatment, and arbitrary detentions to stifle free speech. Afghanistan’s ranking on the 2023 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index fell from 122 to 156 (out of 180).
According to a recent assessment by the Afghanistan Journalists Centre (AFJC), the country’s media environment has gotten worse, and there will be 64% more violent incidents in 2022. In the meanwhile, one person died, twenty-one were hurt, six experienced physical harassment, 115 received threats, and seventy journalists were imprisoned, of whom at least two, Murtaza Behbudi and Khairullah Parhar, are still being held by the de facto authorities.
As 65% of journalists and media workers have lost their jobs since the Taliban retook power in the nation, the media achievements of the previous two decades and “free media activity” have suffered, according to NAI. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated on World Press Freedom Day that “the world must stand with journalists as they stand for the truth” and “press freedom is essential to all of our freedoms.”