Government of Timor-Leste

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication

Eighth Constitutional Government

.............................................................................................................................

April 3^rd, 2021

Press Release

Government celebrates World Press Freedom Day

The Government of Timor-Leste, through the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication (MAPCOMS) congratulated Media professionals and all Timorese on the occasion of the celebration of the World Press Freedom Day, on May 3^rd.

Freedom of the press in Timor-Leste is guaranteed through the Constitution, in its article 40 - "Freedom of expression and information" and in its article 41 - "Freedom of the press and the media". The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, and which Timor-Leste has also adopted, in particular its goal 16, particularly advocated and supported by Timor-Leste, states the determination that the "public should have access to information and protection of fundamental freedoms".

The 8th Constitutional Government is still committed to promote more and more the development of the Media sector and the development of its professional standards. This year's World Press Freedom Index, promoted by Reporters Without Borders, ranks Timor-Leste as the country with the best classification in Southeast Asia in terms of "level of freedom given to journalists", and considers our country in the 71st position overall, rising seven points from the year 2020. Timor-Leste is therefore well ranked among the countries with sensitivity to the journalism profession, among the 180 countries assessed by associations around the world.

In the current context, Timor-Leste is facing the COVID-19 pandemic, which is negatively impacting the country's economy. In addition, we are also facing natural disasters, which have caused more than USD$ 100 million in damages, affecting populations and public infrastructure and causing more than 40 fatalities. The Government is continuing its efforts and is undertaking various interventions to restore public health from the problems caused by COVID-19, restore infrastructure damaged by flooding and support communities affected by the impact of Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which struck Timor-Leste on April 4^th.

Concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, information is a very important factor to make the populations aware of how to react and prevent this disease. In this sense, the Government understands that it is very important that the private media has conditions to work, each one in its own editorship, so as to ensure the dissemination of information and awareness campaigns, which will enable the populations in the territory of Timor-Leste to be informed about the evolution of this pandemic, and also about the security and public health preservation procedures, which need the contribution of all the people.

Since 2020, with the outbreak of the SARS-CoV2 virus pandemic in Timor-Leste, and the implementation of the state of emergency, given the important role of media professionals in combating this global pandemic, the Government has allocated budgetary allocation from the COVID-19 fund to support frontline journalists and to cooperate with media outlets to conduct awareness campaigns for the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19.

This year, the Government, through the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Media has again allocated budgetary allocation from the COVID-19 fund to support frontline journalists, to conduct publicity campaigns for the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19 and to empower the media, by improving their working conditions. END