International Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2026
In 1993, the United Nations declared May 3rd as International Press Freedom Day, with the aim of raising awareness of the principles of press freedom and promoting them worldwide. The idea for this International Press Freedom Day originated at the 1991 UNESCO General Conference, where it was recognized that a free, pluralistic, and independent press is an essential part of any democratic society. What is your opinion on press freedom in the Netherlands or Belgium? Do you know where these two countries rank on the 2026 World Press Freedom Index (RSF Index)?
International Press Freedom Day
The United Nations General Assembly has declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, or simply World Press Day, which is celebrated to raise awareness of the importance of press freedom and to remind governments of their duty to uphold the right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, to respect and uphold. This day also marks the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a declaration of principles for a free press, drafted by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.
Pricing
UNESCO celebrates International Press Freedom Day by UNESCO / William Cano To award the World Press Freedom Prize to a meritorious individual, organization, or institution that has made an exceptional contribution to the defense and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, particularly when achieved despite danger. The prize of 25.000 dollars is awarded annually on 3 May during International Press Freedom Day. Each year, the Director-General of UNESCO selects a jury of 14 news professionals, who choose a winner from the many nominations submitted by member states and by non-governmental organizations in the field of press freedom.
The prize is named after Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist who was murdered on December 17, 1986, in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá. Cano's writings had insulted Colombia's powerful drug lords.
UNESCO conference
UNESCO also celebrates International Press Freedom Day annually by bringing together media professionals, press freedom organizations, and UN agencies to assess the state of press freedom worldwide and discuss solutions to the challenges. Each conference focuses on a theme related to press freedom, including good governance, media coverage of terrorism, impunity, and the role of the media in post-conflict countries. The 2026 conference will be held in Lusaka, Zambia, on 4 May 2026, with the theme 'Shaping a Future at Peace: Promoting Press Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security'.
Situation in 2026
For the first time in the history of the World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), more than half of all countries in the world now fall into the 'difficult' or 'very serious' categories regarding press freedom. In 25 years, the average score of all 180 countries and territories in the ranking has never been so low. Only 1% of the world's population lives in a country where press freedom is categorized as 'good'. In 2002, that figure was 20%.
RSF identifies the fact that since 2001, increasingly strict legislation has been eroding the right to information as a major cause of the deteriorating global situation. This is happening in the name of “national security.” This trend, which is particularly prevalent in authoritarian regimes, is also gaining ground in democracies and is typically accompanied by abuse of the law against journalists, particularly under the guise of counter-terrorism.
Free Press Unlimited is urging the European Union to allocate 150 million euros of the 800 billion Defence budget to protecting independent media. “Security is not just about military power, but also about access to independent information,” says Kronenburg. Another legal threat to journalists is the increase in so-called SLAPPs, strategic lawsuits against citizen participation. Abuses of legislation also occur in relatively high-ranking countries, such as France (25). Free Press Unlimited is part of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), a coalition of 80 NGOs that works at the policy level to protect civil society and journalists against these types of intimidating lawsuits.
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To date, the World Press Freedom Index shows that government policy is failing to provide structural solutions to the many challenges faced by journalists worldwide, such as physical or legal threats. In more than 80% of countries, measures are considered non-existent or ineffective. European legislation on media freedom is regularly undermined through national legislative proposals, as was the case in Hungary (ranked 74) under the outgoing government of Viktor Orbán, and also in higher-ranked countries such as Slovakia (ranked 37), Lithuania (ranked 15), and the Czech Republic (ranked 11).
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Source:
<strong> More info: </strong>
Freedom of the press: https://persvrijheid.nl/
Free Press Unlimited: https://www.freepressunlimited.org/nl
RSF (Reporters Without Borders): https://rsf.org/en
World Press Freedom Index 2026: https://rsf.org/en/index
The Netherlands is in 2nd place and Belgium in 16th place.
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