[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THREATS TO FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND EXPRESSION AROUND THE
WORLD
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 545, S. Res. 501.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The senior assistant bill clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 501) recognizing threats to freedom
of the press and expression around the world and reaffirming
freedom of the press as a priority in efforts of the
Government of the United States to promote democracy and good
governance.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign
Relations without amendment and with an amendment to the preamble.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S7194, November 28, 2018, first column, the following
appears: RECOGNIZING THREATS TO FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND
EXPRESSION AROUND THE WORLD Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of
Calendar No. 545, S. Res. 501. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk
will report the resolution by title. The senior assistant bill
clerk read as follows: A resolution (S. Res. 501) recognizing
threats to freedom of the press and expression around the world
and reaffirming freedom of the press as a priority in efforts of
the Government of the United States to promote democracy and good
governance. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to
consider the resolution.
The online Record has been corrected to read: RECOGNIZING
THREATS TO FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND EXPRESSION AROUND THE WORLD
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 545, S. Res.
501. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution
by title. The senior assistant bill clerk read as follows: A
resolution (S. Res. 501) recognizing threats to freedom of the
press and expression around the world and reaffirming freedom of
the press as a priority in efforts of the Government of the United
States to promote democracy and good governance. There being no
objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution, which
had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations without
amendment and with an amendment to the preamble.
========================= END NOTE =========================
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
resolution be agreed to; that the committee-reported amendment to the
preamble be agreed to; that the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and
that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the
table with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 501) was agreed to.
The amendment to the preamble was agreed to as follows:
Whereas freedom of the press is a cornerstone of American
democracy and is enshrined in the first amendment to the
Constitution;
Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in Paris, France, on
December 10, 1948, states that ``[e]veryone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas through any media
and regardless of frontiers'';
Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly
proclaimed May 3 of each year as ``World Press Freedom Day''
to--
(1) celebrate the fundamental principles of freedom of the
press;
(2) evaluate freedom of the press around the world;
(3) defend against attacks on the independence of the
media; and
(4) pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in
the exercise of their profession;
Whereas, on December 18, 2013, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted United Nations General Assembly Resolution
163 (2013) on the safety of journalists and the issue of
impunity, which unequivocally condemns, in both conflict and
non-conflict situations, all attacks on and violence against
journalists and media workers, including torture,
extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary
detention, and intimidation and harassment;
Whereas the theme for World Press Freedom Day 2018 is
``Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of
Law'';
Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009
(22 U.S.C. 2151 note; Public Law 111-166), which was passed
by unanimous consent in the Senate and signed into law by
President Barack Obama in 2010, expanded the annual Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices of the Department of State
to include an examination of freedom of the press;
Whereas the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, published by
Reporters Without Borders, warned that ``media freedom has
retreated wherever the authoritarian strongman model has
triumphed'';
Whereas Freedom House noted in the report ``Freedom of the
Press 2017'' that--
(1) global press freedom has declined to its lowest point
in 13 years; and
(2) only 13 percent of the global population enjoys a free
press, meaning a media environment in which ``coverage of
political news is robust, the safety of journalists is
guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and
the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic
pressures'';
Whereas journalists working inside the United States are
not immune from violence against the media, as was
demonstrated on the afternoon of June 28, 2018, when a 38-
year-old gunman with a long-standing grudge against the
reporting of the Capital Gazette entered the newspaper's
newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, and killed 5 employees with
a shotgun;
Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect
Journalists--
(1) in 2017--
(A) the 2 deadliest countries for journalists on assignment
were Iraq and Syria;
(B) 46 journalists were killed in cases in which the motive
for the killing was confirmed to be related to reporting by
those journalists;
(C) 20 journalists were killed in cases in which the motive
for the killing was unconfirmed;
(D) there were 21 cases in which journalists were jailed
for ``false news'', which represented more than double the
number of cases in which journalists were jailed for ``false
news'' in 2016; and
(E) the percentage of female journalists who were killed in
a year was the highest on record;
(2) the most dangerous subject for a journalist to report
is politics, followed only then by war; and
(3) as of December 1, 2017, 262 journalists worldwide were
imprisoned for their work, marking the second consecutive
year that the number of journalists imprisoned for their work
hit a historic high;
Whereas freedom of the press is a key component of
democratic governance, activism in civil society, and
socioeconomic development; and
Whereas freedom of the press enhances public
accountability, transparency, and participation in civil
society and democratic governance: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) expresses concern about the threats to freedom of the
press and expression around the world;
(2) welcomes the celebration of World Press Freedom Day
2018 on May 3, 2018;
(3) commends journalists and media workers around the world
for their essential role in promoting government
accountability, defending democratic activity, and
strengthening civil society, despite threats to the safety of
those journalists and media workers;
(4) pays tribute to journalists who have lost their lives
carrying out their work;
(5) calls on governments abroad to implement United Nations
General Assembly Resolution 163 (2013) on the safety of
journalists and the issue of impunity by thoroughly
investigating and seeking to resolve outstanding cases of
violence against journalists, including murders and
kidnappings, while ensuring the protection of witnesses;
(6) condemns all actions around the world that suppress
freedom of the press;
(7) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of the press to
efforts of the Government of the United States to support
democracy, mitigate conflict, and promote good governance
domestically and around the world; and
(8) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to--
(A) on the basis of the protections afforded under the
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States,
preserve and build upon the leadership of the United States
on issues relating to freedom of the press;
(B) improve the means by which the Government of the United
States rapidly identifies, publicizes, and responds to
threats against freedom of the press around the world;
(C) urge foreign governments to conduct transparent
investigations and adjudications of the perpetrators of
attacks against journalists; and
(D) highlight the issue of threats against freedom of the
press--
(i) in the annual Human Rights Reports of the Department of
State; and
(ii) throughout the year.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, as amended, was passed.
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