Reporters Without Borders was founded in Montpellier (France) in 1985 by four journalists. The non-profit organization describes its missions as:
- To continuously monitor attacks on freedom of information worldwide;
- To denounce any such attacks in the media;
- To act in cooperation with governments to fight censorship and laws aimed at restricting freedom of information;
- To morally and financially assist persecuted journalists, as well as their families.
- To offer material assistance to war correspondents in order to enhance their safety.inancial and psychological assistance to journalists assigned to dangerous areas.
The organization’s purpose arises from this statement of principles:
Freedom of expression and of information will always be the world’s most important freedom. If journalists were not free to report the facts, denounce abuses and alert the public, how would we resist the problem of children-soldiers, defend women’s rights, or preserve our environment? In some countries, torturers stop their atrocious deeds as soon as they are mentioned in the media. In others, corrupt politicians abandon their illegal habits when investigative journalists publish compromising details about their activities. Still elsewhere, massacres are prevented when the international media focuses its attention and cameras on events.
Freedom of information is the foundation of any democracy. Yet almost half of the world’s population is still denied it.
Reporters Without Borders’ activities are carried out on five continents through its network of over 150 correspondents, its national sections, and its close collaboration with local and regional press freedom groups. Reporters Without Borders currently has 10 offices and sections worldwide.