To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of Afghan journalists currently at risk of persecution in (1) Afghanistan, (2) Pakistan, and (3) Iran, for their professional activities.
Answered on
12 April 2023
The UK is a champion of media freedom and a proud member of the Media Freedom Coalition. Defending media freedom at home and abroad is a priority for the UK. In Afghanistan, we understand that around 40 per cent of media outlets have ceased to operate and that 60 per cent of journalists have lost their jobs since August 2021. We continue to address the issue of media freedom in our discussions with the Taliban. We regularly raise media freedom at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan, most recently in January 2023. We condemn the Iranian authorities' crackdown on journalists and continue to raise the Iranian peoples' right to access independent media. The UK regularly engages countries on the need to respect human rights, including on freedom of expression and media freedom.