FROM THE OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR &HOHEUDWLQJ\HDUVRI:RUOG 3UHVV)UHHGRP'D\ ¶6DIHWR6SHDN· On this day, May 3, 2013, which marks the 20th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, MISA pays tribute to all journalists in southern Africa and the rest of the world. We salute you for your unwavering commitment to bringing us news and information that allows us to live informed and meaningful lives. This day holds special significance for MISA for it was in Windhoek, Namibia, where African journalists adopted the Windhoek Declaration on May 3, 1991, at the Unesco-sponsored seminar entitled “Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press”. Two years later, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day to mark the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration. Annually, on this day, MISA and other media freedom and free expression advocacy organisations work to raise awareness of the importance of media freedom and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Windhoek Declaration. I am making specific reference to the Windhoek Declaration and its significance in the recognition of World Press Freedom Day for this is a most momentous gift from Africa to the world. The 2013 global theme for World Press Freedom Day requires that we reflect on the upward trend in the killings of journalists, media workers, and social media producers. The brutal killing of Tanzanian journalist, Daudi Mwangosi, in September 2012, was a very tragic reminder of the threats that exist within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and suffered by many journalists on a daily basis. Later in 2012, police shot at a journalist, apparently in a case of mistaken identity. Early 2013, a journalist was found dead in a forest in Tanzania and a senior editor, Absalom Kibanda, was attacked just outside his Dar-es-Salaam home. He subsequently lost his left eye and sustained several injuries. MISA has been monitoring and reporting on media freedom violations in southern Africa for nearly 20 years. We have stated in previous reports that physical attacks on journalists were in decline and more subtle forms of attack and intimidation were at play. How wrong we were. What a sad day for media freedom in southern Africa. 0HGLDIUHHGRPIRU GHYHORSPHQWDQGJRRG JRYHUQDQFH “A free press is at the absolute core of 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\"