-UNESCO adviser tells media conference
By Nigel Williams
A senior UNESCO official yesterday said that the Caribbean was lagging behind in the implementation of freedom of information legislation and he emphasized that citizens could not participate in any democratic process where they did not have freedom of expression.
UNESCO Adviser in Communication and Inform-ation, Isidro Fernandez-Aballi told the opening of a three-day Caribbean Media and Communication Conference (CMCC) at Cara Lodge that journalism was the only profession capable of presenting the truth, which could influence change. He said UNESCO continued to pay tribute to journalists who suffer death seeking the truth.
“People cannot take part in any democratic process if they do not have the freedom of expression,” the UNESCO adviser said. He said that as media workers observe World Press Freedom Day tomorrow they should remember their colleagues who died risking their lives to report the truth. He said UNESCO would continue to play its role in promoting free expression, which was the founding principle of good governance. To this end, he said Caribbean governments had to work harder in implementing freedom of information legislation. He observed that only about three countries in the region had such legislation.