Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed has called to combat all forms of threats to independent media and pledged continued dedication to strengthen the response to attacks on media freedom, both online and offline.
He made the statement at the Ministerial Meeting of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) and the Third Global Conference for Media Freedom. The hybrid meeting was hosted by the Government of Estonia and the Estonian Human Rights Institute.
Speaking at the meeting, Foreign Secretary Ghafoor stressed on the importance of raising voices for the protection of journalists who risk their lives to keep the public informed. He recalled the steps taken by the Government of the Maldives to defend media freedom in the domestic sphere, and highlighted that the Maldives has been rising through the ranks of the World Press Freedom Index under the current administration.
He applauded the work being undertaken by the coalition to guarantee media freedom and the safety of journalists worldwide, such as in Myanmar and Afghanistan. He concluded his remarks by reiterating the commitment of the Maldives to work together with the coalition, the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations, as well as the civil society, to protect and to promote press freedom and the rights of the journalists everywhere.
MFC is a partnership of countries working together to advocate for media freedom and safety of journalists worldwide and hold to account those who harm media workers for doing their job. The Maldives became a member of MFC in 2019 and is a member of its executive group.