[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 96 (Thursday, May 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2608-S2609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 600--RECOGNIZING WIDENING THREATS TO FREEDOM OF THE 
PRESS AND EXPRESSION AROUND THE WORLD, REAFFIRMING THE CENTRALITY OF A 
    FREE AND INDEPENDENT PRESS TO THE HEALTH OF FREE SOCIETIES AND 
DEMOCRACIES , AND REAFFIRMING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AS A PRIORITY OF THE 
UNITED STATES IN PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND GOOD GOVERNANCE 
       IN COMMEMORATION OF WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY ON MAY 3, 2020

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
Kaine, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Blackburn, 
Mr. Merkley, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Casey) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 600

       Whereas Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights, adopted in Paris December 10, 1948, states, 
     ``Everyone 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 3rd of each year as ``World Press Freedom 
     Day''--
       (1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of freedom of 
     the press;
       (2) to evaluate freedom of the press around the world;
       (3) to defend the media against attacks on its 
     independence; and
       (4) to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives 
     while working in their profession;

       Whereas, on December 18, 2013, the United Nations General 
     Assembly adopted Resolution 68/163, regarding the safety of 
     journalists and the issue of impunity for crimes against 
     journalists, which unequivocally condemns all attacks on, and 
     violence against, journalists and media workers, including 
     torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, 
     arbitrary detention, and intimidation and harassment in 
     conflict and nonconflict situations;
       Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who recognized the importance of 
     the press in a constitutional republic, wisely declared, 
     ``were it left to me to decide whether we should have a 
     government without newspapers, or newspapers without a 
     government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the 
     latter.'';
       Whereas the First Amendment to the United States 
     Constitution and various State constitutions protect freedom 
     of the press in the United States;
       Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 
     (Public Law 111-166; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note), which was passed 
     by unanimous consent in the Senate and signed into law by 
     President Barack Obama in 2010, expanded the examination of 
     the freedom of the press around the world in the annual 
     Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of the Department 
     of State;
       Whereas a vigilant commitment to freedom of the press is 
     especially necessary in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic--
       (1) as governments around the world are using emergency 
     laws to restrict access to information, impose press 
     restrictions, and suppress free speech; and

[[Page S2609]]

       (2) as journalists around the world are being censored and 
     imprisoned for their reporting on the virus;
       Whereas in China, Chen Qiushi was disappeared after 
     reporting on the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China's COVID-19 response in February 2020, Xu Zhiyong was 
     reportedly detained in February 2020 during a COVID-19 
     prevention check after criticizing Chinese authorities, and 
     reporters from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The 
     Washington Post, Voice of America, and Time were expelled in 
     March 2020;
       Whereas authorities in numerous countries, including 
     Russia, Iran, Cuba, Burma (Myanmar), and Venezuela have--
       (1) restricted journalist movement;
       (2) hindered access to information;
       (3) removed content; and
       (4) threatened, harassed, attacked, and arrested 
     journalists for their reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, freedom of 
     the press remained under considerable pressure throughout the 
     world;
       Whereas Reporters Without Borders found that, as of April 
     20, 2020, at least 229 journalists, 116 citizen journalists, 
     and 14 media assistants were imprisoned worldwide;
       Whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     at least 25 journalists were killed around the world for 
     their work in 2019;
       Whereas Freedom House's publication ``Freedom in the World 
     2020'' noted that global freedom of expression has declined 
     every year for the past 14 years;
       Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     the world's most censored countries include Eritrea, North 
     Korea, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, Iran, 
     Equatorial Guinea, Belarus, and Cuba;
       Whereas the Government of the Philippines has waged a 
     campaign of judicial harassment against a variety of 
     independent press outlets, including the news website Rappler 
     and its editor, Maria Ressa, who has been arrested twice;
       Whereas in Russia, Crimean Tatar freelance journalist 
     Nariman Memedeminov was sentenced to 30 months in prison for 
     reporting on human rights violations by Russian authorities 
     in Crimea;
       Whereas in Cuba, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 
     Amnesty International have written to the Cuban authorities 
     to request the immediate release of journalist Roberto 
     Quinones, who has been imprisoned since September 2019;
       Whereas in Venezuela, freelance journalist Darvinson Rojas 
     has been detained since March 21, 2020, for reporting on 
     presumed COVID-19 cases that were unacknowledged by the 
     Government of Venezuela;
       Whereas in Mexico, Quinto Poder de Veracruz founder Maria 
     Elena Ferral, El Graffico reporter Jorge Celestino Ruiz 
     Vazquez, and journalists Nevith Condes Jaramilla, Rogelio 
     Barragan Perez, and Norma Sarabia were all murdered between 
     June 2019 and March 2020;
       Whereas in Niger, independent journalist Kaka Touda Mamane 
     Goni was arrested on March 5, 2020, and faces up to 3 years 
     in prison for publishing news reports on social media about 
     potential COVID-19 cases;
       Whereas in Burundi, Iwacu journalists Christine Kamikazi, 
     Agnes Ndirubusa, Egide Harerimana, and Terence Mpozenzi were 
     convicted on charges of attempting to undermine state 
     security and sentenced to 2\1/2\ years in prison;
       Whereas in Tanzania, journalist Azory Gwanda has been 
     missing since November 2017;
       Whereas Turkey remains 1of the top jailers of independent 
     journalists around the world, and the Government of Turkey 
     closed down more than 100 news outlets during 2019;
       Whereas in Egypt, prominent blogger and activist Alaa 
     Abdelfattah was rearrested in September 2019, human rights 
     activist and journalist Esraa Abdel Fattah was rearrested in 
     October 2019, and Guardian reporter Ruth Michaelson's press 
     credentials were withdrawn for questioning official COVID-19 
     figures on March 16, 2020;
       Whereas American journalist Austin Tice has been detained 
     in Syria since August 14, 2012;
       Whereas female journalists and writers in Saudi Arabia face 
     harsh personal consequences for their work, and Zana Al-Shari 
     of the daily Al-Riyadh, Maha al-Rafidi al-Qahtani of the 
     daily Al-Watan, and recipients of the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom 
     to Write Award Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman 
     Al-Nafjan remain missing, imprisoned, or on trial due to 
     their writing and outspoken women's rights advocacy;
       Whereas the Senate has concluded that Washington Post 
     journalist and United States resident Jamal Khashoggi was 
     murdered by a team of Saudi operatives at the behest of Crown 
     Prince Mohammed Bin Salman;
       Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for 
     Global Media, the United States Government provides financial 
     assistance to several editorially independent media outlets, 
     including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 
     Radio Free Asia, Radio, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and 
     the Middle East Broadcast Networks--
       (1) which report and broadcast news, information, and 
     analysis in critical regions around the world; and
       (2) whose journalists regularly face harassment, fines, and 
     imprisonment for their work; and
       Whereas freedom of the press is a key element of public 
     transparency, civil society participation, socioeconomic 
     development, and democratic governance: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) declares that a free press--
       (A) is a central component of free societies, democratic 
     governance, and contributes to an informed civil society, and 
     government accountability;
       (B) helps expose corruption, and enhances public 
     accountability and transparency of governments at all levels; 
     and
       (C) disseminates information essential to improving public 
     health and safety;
       (2) condemns threats to freedom of the press and free 
     expression around the world; and
       (3) in remembrance of journalists who have lost their lives 
     carrying out their vital work--
       (A) calls on governments abroad to implement United Nations 
     General Assembly Resolution 68/163 (2013) by thoroughly 
     investigating and seeking to resolve outstanding cases of 
     violence against journalists, including murders and 
     kidnappings, while ensuring the protection of witnesses;
       (B) condemns all actions around the world that suppress 
     freedom of the press;
       (C) calls for the unconditional and immediate release of 
     all imprisoned journalists;
       (D) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of the press to 
     efforts of the United States Government to support democracy, 
     mitigate conflict, and promote good governance domestically 
     and around the world; and
       (E) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State--
       (i) to preserve and build upon the leadership of the United 
     States on issues relating to freedom of the press, on the 
     basis of the protections afforded the American people under 
     the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
       (ii) to improve the rapid identification, publication, and 
     response by the United States Government to threats against 
     freedom of the press around the world;
       (iii) to urge foreign governments to protect the free flow 
     of information and to transparently investigate and bring to 
     justice the perpetrators of attacks against journalists; and
       (iv) to promote the respect and protection of freedom of 
     the press around the world.

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