The Impact of Conflicts on Press Freedom

Sadly, conflicts and disputes have increased over the past years. From Congo to Syria, Sudan to Gaza, conflicts and crises are intensifying. For the topic of press freedom in times of conflicts and disputes, the delegates of Israel, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom were questioned on such a topic.

The most recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been occurring for over a year now. With that came the death of innocent civilians and journalists. According to Al Jazeera, nearly 75% of journalists were killed in 2023 with more than tens of thousands of press workers continuing to be killed this year, in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon by Israeli troops (Al Jazeera, 2024). With the Al Jazeera headquarters in Ramallah being raided and shut down by Israeli troops (Al Jazeera, 2024). On November 8th, 2024, the CPJ stated that this war has been the “deadliest period for journalists” since the CPJ started collecting information and data about such conflicts in 1992 (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2024).

The delegate of Israel was questioned on how such actions by Israel are not a target of Press and press freedom to report. The delegation’s statement to this was “There shouldn’t be complete press freedom in times of conflict as it poses a threat to the security of countries and possible leaks of military operations…the delegate does not recall any deliberate attacks on journalists, maybe they were just casualties in military operation…that’s why the delegate believes that we should limit press freedom during times of conflict”. To another question, whether press freedom would allow others around the world to know exactly what is happening, especially for journalists associated with news companies to report occurring, Israel responded by stating that governments of other countries “should be disclosing information about what is happening in conflicts” and “not allow private journalists to do so” since their “expertise” may not be as “good” as the government’s.

Additionally, with the rising number of attacks and violence towards journalists, especially during times of presidential campaigns and elections, the RSF has urged the US to utilize its 10-Point Plan for more press freedom in the US (Reporters Without Borders, 2024). Such points are “Commit to freeing wrongly detained American journalists and securing justice for American journalists killed abroad” and “Commit to signing the PRESS Act” (Reporters Without Borders, 2024). An interview was conducted with the delegate of the USA on their response to the 10-Point Plan and if they intend to implement such points or similar policies for the nation. The delegate replied “The United States strongly upholds the general principles of press freedom and during these times of conflict. As a nation, the US is founded on democratic values and freedom of speech…free press is essential in upholding government accountability, especially if you look at the current situation between Ukraine and Russia, and how a lot of journalists are killed daily”. The delegate then went on to point out how the US wants to clarify transparency during war and national security situations. The US later spoke about how “The US mainly advocates for the protection of journalists and media outlets, condemning any attacks or censorships against the press during conflicts”.

In 2019, the UK and 50 other countries across the world set up and created a partnership with the Media Freedom Coalition for countries to work together to promote media freedom locally and globally (The Conversation, 2024). With numerous journalists being killed in Gaza and others being silenced around the world, the delegate of the UK was asked what their response was to such actions. The UK set up the partnership to protect press freedom and rights recently. The delegation of the UK stated that they are trying their very best to promote press freedom globally as the delegate is aware of such conflicts. The UK also declared that “The UK itself has a great system and progress in the freedom of the press, especially in times of conflict”. Finally, when inquired on what types of policies the UK would promote worldwide to increase press freedom, the delegate’s answer was “The UK would make it unacceptable and not allow for countries to imprison journalists that promote legitimate speech unless it’s deemed as misinformation”.