Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on Feb. 28th, 2019

Evidence of meeting #142 for Subcommittee on International Human Rights in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was journalists.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

State of the Free Press

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Chair Ms. Anita Vandenbeld (Ottawa West—Nepean, Lib.)

Laura Helena Castillo Co-Founder, El Bus TV

Esther Htusan Foreign Correspondent, The Associated Press, As an Individual

1:55 p.m.

Foreign Correspondent, The Associated Press, As an Individual

Esther Htusan

I totally agree that we need a bigger organization, within the UN or something, an international mechanism that can directly protect journalists across the world.

At the same time, in the context of Myanmar, the biggest challenge for journalists is the legal threats. I think the Myanmar government, the civilian government, has to be pressured to abolish these laws. The civilian government has been complaining that they don't have power because the military is still in power, which isn't true. In the parliament they have power. They have more seats. They can vote to abolish these repressive colonial-era laws that have been directly affecting freedom of the press in the country, and they haven't done it yet. Instead, they're using it for their own interests since Aung San Suu Kyi came to power in 2016. I think it's very important to take out these challenges for journalists that should not be there and could easily be removed.

Also, I totally agree about having an international organization that can work with journalists and protect them.

2 p.m.

Ms. Anita Vandenbeld (Ottawa West—Nepean, Lib.)

The Chair

Thank you.

I want to thank both of our witnesses, Ms. Castillo and Ms. Htusan, for their testimony and for their resilience under very difficult conditions.

With that, we finish and adjourn our meeting.