03/05/2026
Today we mark World Press Freedom Day, 35 years after Namibia gave the world the Windhoek Declaration, a document that affirmed, at a moment of profound change on this continent, that a free and independent press is not a luxury but a foundation of democracy.
That message has not aged. If anything, it has become more urgent.
The Windhoek Declaration is now inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, a recognition of its global significance. But inscription is not enough. Namibia must give full effect to the legacy it helped create, through laws, institutions, and practices that genuinely protect journalists and sustain independent media.
Read our full World Press Freedom Day statement: https://shorturl.at/jEXQa