Today (Wednesday) is World Press Freedom Day, or also World Press Day.

As Uganda joins the rest of the world in marking the day, human rights bodies and media organisations have strongly urged action against abusers of media freedom and freedom of expression.

This year's global theme is around shaping a future of rights, looking at freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights.

The local theme is: "Protecting freedom of expression in Uganda as a driver for all other human rights".

Speaking on Tuesday, Omara Apita, a commissioner at the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), said culprits should be punished and victims compensated.

This was during a joint press conference with Uganda Media Sector Working Group (UMSWG) in Kampala.

World Press Freedom Day is observed every May 3 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression.

Apita said structures for media regulation — both statutory and self-regulatory — must be strengthened to effectively protect freedom of expression of everyone.

It would also help enforce media responsibility by dealing with abuse and violation of rights in media work, he added.

He said the UHRC has "noted the increasing use of force on media practitioners in the course of their duties, which has caused injury to the victims and loss of property and equipment", adding that this "should stop".

Although human rights are enshrined under Articles 29 and 41 of the Ugandan Constitution, repeated violation of press freedoms, particularly by security forces, has raised questions over what appears to be a crisis of legitimacy.

In 2018, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) global press freedom index placed Uganda 125th out of 180 nations, a grim rank the country held for three consecutive years.

Apita also said the UHRC is mindful of the increasing lack of professionalism, inadequate training, unethical conduct, coupled with poor working conditions and inadequate remuneration for journalists.

He said this has negatively impacted on the quality of journalism not just in Uganda but in many other parts of the world.

Paul Kakaire from the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) said the critical importance of freedom of expression, which includes press freedom, has been duly recognized at the international level under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"In interpreting Article 19, the Human Rights Committee stated in General Comment No.34, that press freedom is a cornerstone of any democratic society and therefore a free, uncensored and unhindered press or other media is essential in any society to ensure freedom of opinion and expression," he said.

According to Kakaire, Press Freedom Day offers human rights defenders and other stakeholders an opportunity to evaluate progress and enhance the advocacy for an environment in which freedom of speech and expression, media freedoms and indeed media responsibility, become the bedrock for achieving democracy, human rights observance and development in respective countries.

Meanwhile, Apita said that the UHRC has over the years spearheaded the training of media practitioners as well as law enforcement and security officers to promote observance of human rights in the course of their work.

"In the period 2021 - 2022, the Commission trained 1,107 security agents and media practitioners, non-State actors including CSOs, NGOs, private educational institutions, among others," he said.