,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #adc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #af1 
#bjac ,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself and   
,mr4 ,rubio7 submitted the following    
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,relations       
,,resolution  ,recognizing the threats  
to freedom of the press and expression  
around the world and reaffirming freedom
 of the press as a priority in the      
efforts of the ,united ,states          
,government to promote democracy and    
good governance on the occasion of      
,world ,press ,freedom ,day on ,may #c1 
#bjac4  ,whereas ,article #ai of the    
,united ,nations ,universal ,declaration
 of ,human ,rights1 adopted at ,paris   
,december #aj1 #aidh1 states that       
everyone has the right to freedom of    
opinion and expression2 this right      
includes freedom to hold opinions       
without interference and to seek1       
receive1 and impart information and     
ideas through any media and regardless  

of frontiers2 ,whereas1 in #aiic1 the   
,united ,nations ,general ,assembly     
proclaimed ,may #c of each year as      
,world ,press ,freedom ,day to celebrate
 the fundamental principles of freedom  
of the press1 to evaluate freedom of the
 press around the world1 to defend the  
media from attacks on its independence1 
and to pay tribute to journalists who   
have lost their lives in the exercise of
 their profession2 ,whereas #bjac is the
 #bjth anniversary of ,world ,press     
,freedom ,day1 which focuses on the     
theme ,safe to ,speak3 ,securing        
,freedom of ,expression in ,all ,media2 
,whereas the ,daniel ,pearl ,freedom of 
the ,press ,act of #bjji 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 
#baea note2 ,public ,law #aaa-aff71     
which was passed by unanimous consent in
 the ,senate and signed into law by     
,president ,barack ,obama in #bjaj1     
expanded the examination of freedom of  
the press around the world in the annual
 human rights report of the ,department 
of ,state2 ,whereas1 according to       

,freedom ,house1 the percentage of      
people in the world who live in         
countries with a free media environment 
fell to #ad percent in #bjab1 the lowest
 percentage in more than a decade2      
,whereas1 according to ,reporters       
,without ,borders1 #hh journalists and  
#dg citizen journalists were killed in  
#bjab in connection with their          
collection and dissemination of news and
 information1 an increase of #cc percent
 and #hdj percent1 respectively1        
compared to #bjaa2 ,whereas1 according  
to ,reporters ,without ,borders1 the    
five deadliest countries for journalists
 in #bjab were ,syria1 ,somalia1        
,pakistan1 ,mexico1 and ,brazil2        
,whereas1 according to the ,committee to
 ,protect ,journalists1 #eic journalists
 have been murdered since #aiib without 
the perpetrators of those crimes facing 
punishment2 ,whereas1 according to the  
,committee to ,protect ,journalists1 the
 five countries with the highest number 
of unsolved journalist murders since    

#bjjc as a percentage of the population 
of that country are ,iraq1 ,somalia1    
,philippines1 ,sri ,lanka1 and          
,colombia2 ,whereas1 according to       
,reporters ,without ,borders1 #hgi      
journalists and #add citizen journalists
 were arrested in #bjab2 ,whereas1      
according to the ,committee to ,protect 
,journalists1 there were a record #bcb  
journalists in prison worldwide on      
,december #a1 #bjab2 ,whereas1 according
 to ,reporters ,without ,borders1 the   
five countries in which the most        
journalists are imprisoned are ,turkey1 
,china1 ,eritrea1 ,iran1 and ,syria2    
,whereas the abuse of anti-terrorism and
 cybercrime laws to incarcerate         
journalists and suppress freedom of the 
press occurred on numerous occasions    
abroad in #bjab2 ,whereas freedom of the
 press is a key component of democratic 
governance1 the activism of civil       
society1 and socio-economic development2
 ,whereas1 in the ongoing political     
transition of ,burma1 notable progress  

was made in advancing freedom of the    
press in #bjab1 although certain        
problems remain2 and ,whereas freedom of
 the press enhances public              
accountability1 transparency1 and       
participation3 ,now1 therefore1 be it   
,that the ,senate--  7#a7 expresses     
concern about the threats to freedom of 
the press and expression around the     
world on the occasion of ,world ,press  
,freedom ,day on ,may #c1 #bjac2  7#b7  
commends journalists around the world   
for the essential role they play in     
promoting government accountability1    
defending democratic activity1 and      
strengthening civil society1 despite    
threats to their safety2  7#c7 pays     
tribute to the journalists who have lost
 their lives carrying out their work and
 calls on governments abroad to         
thoroughly investigate and seek to      
resolve all cases while ensuring the    
protection of witnesses2  7#d7 condemns 
all actions around the world that       
suppress freedom of the press2  7#e7    

reaffirms the centrality of freedom of  
the press to efforts by the ,united     
,states ,government to support          
democracy1 mitigate conflict1 and       
promote good governance domestically and
 around the world2 and  7#f7 calls on   
the ,president and the ,secretary of    
,state--  7,a7 to improve the means by  
which the ,united ,states ,government   
rapidly identifies1 publicizes1 and     
responds to threats against freedom of  
the press around the world2 and  7,b7 to
 highlight the issue of threats against 
freedom of the press year-round4