Throughout the world, May 3 serves as an occasion to inform the public of violations of rights to freedom of expression and as a reminder that many journalists brave death or jail to bring people their daily news.

"Press freedom, safety of journalists and impunity" will be the topics of UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2007.

Commonwealth Journalists' Association (CJA) President Hassan Shahriar has urged CJA branches across the Commonwealth to hold seminars and meetings to mark the day.

In a statement, he said there are many countries where press is not free and journalists are being harassed or persecuted.

In a message marking the day, UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura said World Press Freedom Day is an occasion to remind the world of the importance of protecting the fundamental human right of freedom of expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"With violence against media professionals constituting today one of the greatest threats to freedom of expression, I have decided to dedicate World Press Freedom Day 2007 to the theme of journalist safety," he said.

He called on all governments and public authorities to end the pervasive culture of impunity that surrounds violence against journalists. "Governments must fulfil their responsibility to ensure that crimes against media professionals are investigated and prosecuted."