PM Holness states his commitment to free press on World Press Freedom Day

Prime Minister of Jamaica - Andrew Holness marks World Press Day and stated that his "Government would continue to engage with the media and also look forward to continued engagements to provide accurate and timely information to the people while educating and uplifting the people."

Jamaica: Prime Minister of Jamaica – Andrew Holness marks World Press Day and stated that his “Government would continue to engage with the media and also look forward to continued engagements to provide accurate and timely information to the people while educating and uplifting the people.”

The prime minister – Holness, made this statement as he acknowledged World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated on 3 May 2021. This year the theme of World Press Day was- “Information as a Public Good”.

Jamaica ranked at seventh on the global press freedom index. On this PM, Holness cited, “This is testament to his administration’s commitment to a free press to improve democracy while acknowledging the importance of the people’s voice.”

He added that the impact of developing media has also played an essential role in creating a dynamic, integrated media landscape.

The Global Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of the nations compiled and published by – Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation’s own assessment of the countries’ press freedom records in the previous year.

The Global Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists in that country. It is a picture of the media freedom in a nation.

Jamaica is one of the countries which ranked highest on the Global Press Index, the other countries are- Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, and Switzerland while the countries that remained at lowest position in the Index were- North Korea, Turkmenistan, China, Vietnam, Iran, Syria and Cuba.

3 May is observed as World Press Freedom Day every year, declared by the United Nations General Assembly. It is observed to raise awareness and significance of freedom of the press and to remind governments of their duty to uphold and respect the right to freedom of expression sanctified under – Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.