ASEAN bloc called on to protect journalists, media freedom

BAGUIO CITY (May 3, 2025) -- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and a group of Southeast Asian lawmakers have called for the “active engagement” of the ASEAN regional bloc in protecting press freedom and instituting an inter-parliamentary alliance to safeguard media rights in the region, which they said, “includes some of the worst offenders of press freedom”.



As governments escalate efforts to intimidate reporters and control narratives, journalism — and democracy itself — is under threat, CPJ and the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights said.

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights is a group of lawmakers working to improve rights in South East Asia.

In its joint statement for World Press Freedom Day on Saturday, May 3, CPJ and the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights also called for stronger protection mechanisms for reporters and the reform of repressive laws that criminalize journalism.

“Journalists in Southeast Asia are on the frontline of resistance against authoritarianism,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ Chief Executive Officer said. “ASEAN governments must stop treating the press as a threat and start recognizing it as a pillar of democratic life. Journalists bring us news that is essential for our safety and stability, yet their ability to do so is facing an unprecedented level of attack.”

CPJ’s latest annual global prison census shows there were at least 52 journalists behind bars in Southeast Asia on December 1, 2024. They were mainly held in Myanmar and Vietnam, while one journalist was being held in the Philippines. 

The Philippines and Myanmar have also consistently ranked among the top offenders where murderers of journalists go free, CPJ claimed.