Sudanese journalists awarded UNESCO press freedom prize

• The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate is the latest recipient of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in recognition of the role it has played in condemning the deliberate targeting of media workers in the conflict. 

• The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and former allies the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – which broke out in April 2023 – has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies and displacement crises. 

• Since then, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate has documented 32 journalists’ deaths, some 556 violations against media workers and the closure of numerous newspapers and radio stations.

• The conflict has severely disrupted news gathering and worsened the media landscape in Sudan.  

• Journalists have been threatened with violence and arrest, 90 per cent of media infrastructure has been destroyed, and reporting has been hampered by internet and telecommunications blackouts. 

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

• The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize is presented annually to a person, organisation or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to press freedom, and especially in the face of danger.  

• The award is named in honour of Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano Isaza, who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogota (Colombia) on December 17, 1986.  

• The prize was established in 1997 and winners are selected by an international independent jury of media professionals. 

• The Prize was established on the initiative of UNESCO’s Executive Board and is formally conferred by UNESCO, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, on May 3.

• Previous laureates include Palestinian journalists covering Gaza and Maria Ressa of the Philippines, joint recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize alongside fellow journalist Dmitry Muratov of Russia. 

World Press Freedom Day

• The United Nations observes World Press Freedom Day on May 3. 

• World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. 

• Since then, May 3, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek has been celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day.

• The 1991 Windhoek Declaration has acted as a benchmark and catalyst for advancing press freedom around the world.

Press freedom in decline 

• UNESCO’s World Trends Report 2022-2025 reveals a 10 per cent decline in freedom of expression worldwide since 2012 — a situation that is comparable only to three other periods, the First World War over a century ago, the prelude to the Second World War, and the late 1970s Cold War period. 

• Globally, self-censorship among the press grew by nearly 70 per cent between 2012 and 2025, affirming that “the most damaging form of censorship is now internalised.” 

• Journalists and others working in the press have faced “diverse forms of legal harassment” that includes defamation lawsuits in the multi-million-dollar range, anti-terrorism regulations and financial legislation. 

• Online harassment against journalists, particularly that targeting women, has surged worldwide. 

• Research carried out by the International Center for Journalists’ (ICFJ) for UN Women, in partnership with UNESCO found that 75 per cent of women journalists reported having experienced online violence. 

• Even more worrying, at least 42 per cent of women journalists said in 2025 that these online attacks had led to offline abuse, threats or violence.

• Information manipulation, including the use of AI by malicious actors, is weakening trust and national security. At the same time, independent media face growing economic fragility.

• Self-censorship has grown by more than 60 per cent, driven by fear of reprisals, online harassment, judicial intimidation, and economic pressure.