The IFJ Asia-Pacific Regional Office convened the two-part online Congress with 39 delegates from 34 countries across the region, the first since FAPaJ’s formation. The regional body, established by IFJ member unions in 2022 at the IFJ Global Congress in Oman, brings together more than 37 countries and is the fourth IFJ regional group, comprising representatives from the Pacific, Western Asia, Eastern Asia, Southern Asia and Central Asia.
Voting delegates passed 14 ordinary motions, including a call to prioritise the IFJ proposed United Nations Convention on the Safety of Journalists, strengthen media sustainability, and condemn the use of draconian laws to curb media freedom in Pakistan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, among other key issues. The Congress unanimously voted to condemn the outbreak of war at its earliest stages and condemned the genocidal war waged by the Israeli army on Palestinians in Gaza.
The Congress also noted with concern the rise of “lapdog media”, with a nexus of funds and power leading to government or corporate control of influential media outlets, as well as the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies by corporations, businesses, political actors, criminals, and corrupt politicians to manipulate public opinion and spread misinformation and disinformation.
Two urgent motions were passed in solidarity with Nepal’s journalists during the current political instability, following the ousting of the country’s government as a result of the ‘Gen Z protests’ in September, and calling for the reconstitution of the Press Council of India as an independent, transparent, and inclusive body.