Freedom of Speech

“Jamal Khashoggi and his loved ones deserve accountability. Under a Biden-Harris administration, we will reassess our relationship with the Kingdom, end U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, and make sure America does not check its values at the door to sell arms or buy oil”. President Joe Biden, October 2022

Unfortunately, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, national interest in securing adequate energy sources has made these and any words uttered by leaders and governments when journalists or authors are killed, irrelevant.

In a democratic society, citizens depend on their right to speak their minds. They also depend on their authors and journalists to practice their craft freely and without fear. Absent that, democracy suffers, and the truth remains hidden from those who need it to formulate constructive and progressive political decisions.

The recent attack on Salman Rushdie in New York last week brought this point home. Thirty years after a death sentence imposed on him by Iran, the threats went unabated and finally led to this murder attempt. Another author included in this fatwa is J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.

Recently, the UNESCO observatory of killed journalists reported that 1,536 have been killed worldwide since 1993. These include such high-profile murders as those of Daniel Pearl and James Foley who were beheaded by ISIS, and Jamal Khashoggi, murdered in the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul allegedly under the orders of the Saudi Crown Prince.

How does the global community react?

Leaders tend to send out messages of condolences and criticize these events, but they don’t take real steps to sanction the guilty.

In some ways, they can’t. How do you sanction ISIS that operates outside of the global community and depends on violence as a strategy of power? How do you sanction the absolute leader of a country that the West depends on for stability in energy markets and as a client for expensive weapons systems?

The attack on Salman Rushdie was carried out by a supporter of the Iranian regime that already has stringent sanctions against it. This attack is based on a religious interpretation that defies logic. As Rushdie himself once said, “From the beginning men used God to justify the unjustifiable.”

As the West tries to wrest a nuclear deal from Teheran, can we expect it to take further steps against Teheran? As the West tries to fight religious absolutism, can it fight with the tools of reason?

Journalism and writing have always been two dangerous professions but now even more so. Throughout Latin America, journalists are pursued by some governments and by many drug and criminal cartels leery of having anyone reveal their activities. In some cases, they are also protected by political, law enforcement, military, and economic elites whose involvement in drug and political influence trafficking exists but remains beyond provability.

The international community can do little. Multilateral institutions such as the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission, UNESCO, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have no policing powers. In addition, they cannot sanction those countries since many that practice violence against journalists and writers sit on their executive committees. Indeed, during her recent visit to China, the Human Rights High Commissioner spoke not a word about human rights or freedom of expression under direct Chinese pressure and to the consternation of many.

So, if nothing can be done or said because national and personal interests are often at stake, what is the point of this article?

The point is to ensure that readers are not inured to reality and understand the dangers facing journalists and authors in pursuit of their work.

The point is to motivate readers to demand more of their leaders.

The point is that democratic governments that disagree with the decisions by the High Commissioner for Human Rights must either force her to change or cease funding the organization.

They should not allow human rights violators to sit on its councils and participate in its deliberations.

When one sees China, Cuba, and Russia elected to the executive council, one is right to assume that it has ceased to be fit for purpose. When democracies continue to fund these institutions, they are aiding and abetting intransigent enemies and empowering them to continue to attack and oppress freedom of speech and freedom to be.

When UNESCO comes out with lukewarm statements when journalists are killed, they should be forced to name and shame those responsible. If not, steps should be taken to ensure that the organization lives up to its commitments or have its funding cut.

When groups like Amnesty International come out with false or biased reports, as they did a few weeks ago, on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent attacks on Russian and Ukrainian journalists, individuals and governments should cease funding their operations.

When countries like China and Russia attack journalists and writers, democratic governments must act despite the pain it could cause internally. With regards to this, they must also be mindful of the risks inherent in placing too much of their strategic interest in any one basket such as Germany did with Russian oil and gas.

As Adam Gopnik wrote in a recent issue of the New Yorker, “The idea that we should be free to do our work and offer our views without extending a frightened veto to those who threaten to harm us isn’t just part of what we mean by free expression—it is close to the whole of what we mean by civilized life”.

A civilized life sometimes means sacrifice, and governments need a mandate from their citizens to ensure that they are willing to make the personal sacrifices that a strong human rights campaign could cost them. Target countries of these campaigns are key suppliers of essential products whose supply could well dwindle in retaliation for such campaigns and affect everyone’s pocketbooks.

Are we willing to give our governments these mandates and pay the price?

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Edición: Laura Espejo