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Journalist safety: A Solomon Islands perspective
October 26, 2026 _ LLOYD LOJI _ Democracy（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/democracy/）, Journalism（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/journalism/）, Media Safety（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/media-safety/）, Press Freedom（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/press-freedom/）, Solomon Islands（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/solomon-islands/） _ News（https://islandsbusiness.com/category/news-break/）,
Journalists wait for the declaration of Matthew Wale as Solomon Islands Prime Minister. Image: Loretta Manele
JOURNALISTS play an important role in every democracy, whether in the Pacific or abroad. They report on government decisions, elections, public spending, development projects and issues affecting ordinary people. They also give communities a voice and help people understand what is happening around them.
For small Pacific countries such as Solomon Islands, this work is especially important. Our communities are spread across many islands, distance makes information hard to gather and share, and journalists often work with limited resources.
In July 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 59/15（https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/RES/59/15） on the Safety of Journalists. The resolution calls on governments to protect journalists from violence, threats, intimidation, arbitrary detention and other forms of interference. It also raises concerns about the misuse of legal action, including defamation laws, to pressure or silence journalists.
The risks journalists face are changing. Safety is no longer only a matter of physical attacks. Journalists can face online harassment, surveillance, legal pressure and attempts to identify confidential sources, as happened recently to a journalist with In-depth Solomons（https://indepthsolomons.com.sb/）. Women journalists can face additional online and gender-based abuse.
Guidance from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on National Frameworks for the Safety of Journalists（https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/brochures-and-leaflets/briefer-national-frameworks-safety-journalists） offers a useful approach for countries such as Solomon Islands. It encourages governments to build systems that prevent attacks, protect journalists who are threatened and ensure accountability when violations occur.
That approach is consistent with the UN Plan of Action（https://www.un.org/en/safety-journalists） on the Safety of Journalists, an international framework for improving journalist safety and addressing impunity.
The Pacific is not a region of war or of high levels of violence and deaths among journalists. But that does not mean Pacific journalists work without pressure.
In Pacific Island countries, journalists usually know the people they report on. A reporter may question a politician, senior official or business leader and later meet that same person at church, at a community event or through family connections. Journalism in small societies is personal.
There are also financial pressures. Pacific newsrooms operate in small advertising markets. Individual journalists and small media companies often cannot afford to defend lengthy legal cases, and a single case can force an outlet to close.
In 2025, the Pacific Freedom Forum（https://pacificfreedomforum.com/financial-constraints-biggest-threat-to-pacific-media-freedoms-inaugural-pacific-islands-media-freedom-index-finds/） warned that Pacific media were facing increasing legal and financial pressures. Reporting by The Guardian（https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/17/pacific-faces-critical-moment-in-fight-for-press-freedom-media-watchdog-warns-ntwnfb） on Pacific press freedom also highlighted legal action against journalists and media organisations in countries including Palau, Samoa and Papua New Guinea.
Further pressure comes from the digital environment. Social media moves information quickly, but it has also created new avenues for misinformation, harassment and threats.
The Pacific Islands News Association（https://pina.com.fj/） (PINA) has therefore called for stronger protection of journalists as artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology are used more widely. Its call（https://theislandsun.com.sb/pina-urges-stronger-protections-for-journalists-amid-rise-of-ai/） raised online harassment, surveillance and censorship, and the need for stronger media and AI literacy in the region.
Solomon Islands has a long history of independent media. But we should not wait for a serious incident before deciding how journalists are to be protected.
Recent events have already raised questions. In September 2026, the Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) raised concerns about a police search of a journalist’s office（https://theislandsun.com.sb/masi-raises-media-freedom-concerns-over-police-search-of-journalists-office/） that sought to identify sources.