{"id":41298,"date":"2025-11-19T17:51:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T15:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=41298"},"modified":"2025-11-19T17:52:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T15:52:30","slug":"rising-threats-to-journalists-trigger-renewed-pressure-on-government-to-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/19\/rising-threats-to-journalists-trigger-renewed-pressure-on-government-to-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Threats to Journalists Trigger Renewed Pressure on Government to Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>By Alan Clement <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

At the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, speakers called for urgent action to halt growing attacks, online harassment, and legal pressures undermining press freedom in South Sudan.<\/p>\n

Held under the theme \u201cUnited for Journalists\u2019 Safety in South Sudan: Ending Impunity in the Digital Age, Defending Press Freedom,\u201d Commissioner Moiga Nduru of the Access to Information Commission set the tone for the event, warning journalists to master new technologies while resisting overreliance on artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t master modern technology, you become irrelevant tomorrow,\u201d Nduru told the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut don\u2019t allow AI to carry you away; it will destroy your initiative. Whatever you write should unite our people. Your role is to unite, not to divide,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

His remarks linked concerns about digital tools with the ethical responsibilities of reporters in fragile societies.<\/p>\n

Oyet Patrick, President of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), pressed the government and security agencies to investigate recent violations and to stop what he called a \u201cculture of impunity that is now reaching the public.<\/p>\n

He cited recent local incidents when a radio listener in Magwi County who was reportedly beaten after calling a programme, and a journalist who was briefly detained in Juba for photographing a traffic jam to illustrate how intimidation is widening beyond reporters to ordinary citizens who use the media to voice opinions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not isolated cases,\u201d Oyet said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen listeners and journalists fear to speak, misinformation fills the void. We are calling on police, prosecutors and judges to do their work investigations, prosecutions and transparent judgments must follow,\u201d Oyet stressed.<\/p>\n

These threats to journalists were echoed by UNESCO and aid agencies represented at the event. They stressed that the local pattern mirrors a troubling global trend.<\/p>\n

Jasper Okudi, UNESCO\u2019s representative, read parts of the Director-General\u2019s message noting the scale of the problem and emerging technology-driven threats.<\/p>\n

UNESCO\u2019s monitoring shows that impunity for crimes against journalists remains the norm in most cases, and the agency has placed a 2025 emphasis on the dangers of AI-facilitated gender-based violence against women journalists.<\/p>\n

Speakers at the commemoration urged concrete reforms. Jacob Atem of Norwegian People\u2019s Aid (NPA) said humanitarian partners would continue supporting media capacity and safety training, but added that resources alone would not suffice:<\/p>\n

\u201cImpunity must end. \u00a0Prosecutions and reforms are required so journalists can safely hold authorities to account,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

Speakers framed their demands against recent global data showing a stark rise in lethal attacks on media workers.<\/p>\n

Independent monitors had documented record numbers of journalists killed in 2024 and persistent legal and digital threats that have intensified in the last three years, pushing watchdogs to call for radical reforms in how killings and online abuse are investigated and prosecuted.<\/p>\n

They also pointed to structural weaknesses inside South Sudan.<\/p>\n

Reporters Without Borders and other indices show South Sudan\u2019s press environment remains fragile, even as some rankings improved in 2025; media stakeholders say legal protections, investigative capacity and resourcing for police and courts are still inadequate to tackle crimes against journalists.<\/p>\n

Practical recommendations from the event included creating a dedicated rapid-response mechanism to protect journalists under threat, specialist police training and resourcing so investigations proceed promptly, and judicial fast-tracking of cases involving attacks on media workers.<\/p>\n

Additional measures emphasized comprehensive digital-safety and gender-sensitive training for journalists, along with stronger monitoring and reporting partnerships between media associations and international bodies.<\/p>\n

Speakers repeatedly warned that impunity begets more violence and self-censorship. \u201cIf attackers believe they will not be held accountable, more violations will follow,\u201d Oyet said adding, \u201cIf journalists choose silence out of fear, the people lose the right to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

As South Sudan prepares for a politically sensitive period ahead, organisers warned that protecting journalists is not a favour to the press but a public good: transparent reporting supports accountability, development and peaceful participation and without it, democracy itself is weakened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Alan Clement At the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, speakers called for urgent action to halt growing attacks, online harassment, and legal pressures undermining press freedom in South Sudan. Held under the theme \u201cUnited for Journalists\u2019 Safety in South Sudan: Ending Impunity in the Digital[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/journ.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41300,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41298\/revisions\/41300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}