Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?


There is good reason why the free flow of information is one of the eight key areas of the culture of peace, as defined by the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. On the one hand, it is essential for the consciousness-raising and networking that can make the transition possible from the culture of war to a culture of peace, especially in the hands of the young generation. On the other hand, its opposite, the control of information by the state and its commercial allies, has become the chief weapon of the culture of war.

In 2023, for the first time, we begin to see a global coordination of media to oppose the culture of war control. The fact that the countries involved are those painted black or red in the above image of the “world press freedom index” reveals the true nature of this index as a form of hegemony.

Whistleblowers have often paid a heavy price for their contribution to the free flow of information; for example Mordecai Vanunu, Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, not to mention Chelsea Manning and the LuxLeakers mentioned in the articles below.

Coop-medias, the citizen cooperative that wants to give “a real breath of fresh air” to independent media

At the Fête de l’Huma, independent media in full swing

Artists Pledge to Boycott German Institutions Over Stifling of Pro-Palestine Speech

RSF launches global “Collateral Damage” campaign highlighting the danger of the Assange prosecution to media and the public’s right to know

New book: Nonviolent Journalism, a humanist approach to communication

Media Organizations From Global South Discuss Solidarity and Standing Up to Sanctions

Austrian Censorship of Peace Conference Is An Outrage

Leaks Reveal Reality behind U.S. Propaganda in Ukraine

Tribunal in Washington Calls on President Biden to End Prosecution of Julian Assange and to Defend Rights of Journalists and Whistleblowers

Nicaraguan regime sanctions audiovisual recordings`

Because ‘Publishing Is Not a Crime,’ Major Newspapers Push US to Drop Assange Charges

Position of World’s Governments on Ukraine Considered Insane Pacifism in U.S.

Global Divide: 76% of Humanity (All Poorer Nations of Color) Voted to Not Exclude Russia from the UN Human Rights Council

March 17: The struggle for free flow of information about the Russian war against Ukraine

Russian regulator censors Ukraine war coverage, reporters told to toe Kremlin line

Chinese-Russian Text on Constructing a Community of Common Destiny for Mankind – A Crucial Peacebuilding Approach

US Must Take Russia’s Security Concerns Seriously

López Obrador and the offer of asylum to Julian Assange: honest politics in a time of double standards

Peace and Justice Organizations call for Freedom for Julian Assange

Number of journalists behind bars reaches global high

Film review: Oliver Stone’s new JFK documentary

What I Saw on Election Day in Nicaragua

The Nobel Peace Prize 2021

Afghanistan and Julian Assange

US: Why Daniel Hale Deserves Gratitude, Not Prison

Key witness in Assange case admits to lies in indictment

Glen Greenwald : My New Book on Journalism, Exposing Corruption, and the Resulting Risks, Dangers and Societal Changes

Germany: Collateral Crucifixion – Pressuring for Julian Assange’s Release!

India: Activist Disha Ravi, 22, Arrested Over Toolkit, Faces Conspiracy Charge

China to Expel New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal Reporters From Country

Mainstream media silence on OPCW Douma scandal ‘ridiculous’, says journalist gagged by Newsweek after scandalous leak

Groundswell of support for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange

Daniel Ellsberg Speaks Out on the Arrest of Julian Assange

Remembering the Crimes of the Powerful Exposed by Wikileaks’ Julian Assange

2019 World Press Freedom Index – A cycle of fear

Chomsky: Arrest of Assange Is “Scandalous” and Highlights Shocking Extraterritorial Reach of U.S.

UN experts warn Assange arrest exposes him to risk of serious human rights

Nobel Peace Laureate Maguire Requests UK Home Office for Permission to Visit Her Friend Nobel Peace Nominee Julian Assange ln Prison in London

Red Cross, UN Slam ‘Politicised’ USAID Humanitarian Assistance to Venezuela

What do the people of Venezuela want?

What the Press Hides from You about Venezuela — A Case of News-Suppression

US Media Ignore—and Applaud—Economic War on Venezuela

Cuba: International Conference for Peace and “World Balance” Supports Venezuela

Venezuela: An Open Letter to the People of the United States from President Nicolás Maduro

US attack on Venezuela: alternative media coverage

More Than 300 Newspapers Denounce Trump Attacks on the Press

USA; Panel discussion on news and a ‘culture of peace’

LuxLeaks: The case and the latest news from Luxembourg

LuxLeaks: L’affaire et l’actu en Luxembourg

Following Chelsea Manning’s commutation, UN expert urges pardons for other whistleblowers

USA: On Strip Searches and Press Freedom in North Dakota

IWPR’s Syria Coordinator Wins Landmark Freedom of Speech Prize

2016 World Press Freedom Index ­– leaders paranoid about journalists

Classement mondial de la liberté de la presse 2016 : la paranoïa des dirigeants contre les journalistes

Clasificación Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa 2016: la paranoia de los dirigentes frente a los periodistas

US: Privacy Activists Rally Around Apple in ‘Most Important Tech Case in a Decade’

United Nations: Whistleblowers Need Protection

Open Data – Still Closed to Latin American Communities

Video: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald & David Miranda Call for Global Privacy Treaty

For discussion and articles prior to 2015, click here.