Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists and Media Freedom, Council of Europe

1. This statement is delivered on behalf of the Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists and Media Freedom in Strasbourg, which consists of the following member States: Austria, France, Greece, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
   
   
2. 2 November marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. 2022 has been a dark year for the safety of Journalists in Europe –the Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists has registered 13 new alerts regarding killings of journalists since the beginning of the year. Except for one case, all of these are connected to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The aggression has put the spotlight on the need to further strengthen the protection of journalists and other media workers who strive to provide reliable, un-biased and fact-based information from zones of conflict, despite the risks involved. We support the efforts to ensure accountability for all the violations committed in connection with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including for the killings of journalists and we recognise the important role of the Platform in this regard.
   
   
3. While killings are the most extreme form of media censorship, journalists and other media workers are subjected to countless threats, both online and offline. Data collected by the Platform in Council of Europe member states show rising numbers of arrests, cases of persecution and harassment of journalists, as well as smear campaigns to discredit their work. The disproportionate targeting of women journalists and media workers through systemic and structural sexual and gender-based violence and harassment is of deep concern and poses the risk of silencing women’s voices.
   
   
4. We commit to continue to engage constructively with the Platform by sharing information on measures taken as a response to violent incidents and mistreatment of journalists and other media workers, and we encourage all member states to do the same. We underline that the proper investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of these crimes should go hand in hand with the positive obligations for member states to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers. In this regard we express our deep concern over the recent adoption of national legislation to prohibit “dissemination of false information” in two Council of Europe member states. We share the view expressed by the Venice Commission regarding the potential detrimental consequences of such legislation, namely, the chilling effect on freedom of expression and increased self-censorship.
   
   
5. Threats against media freedom, safety of journalists and freedom of expression are a part of the backsliding of democracy that we are witnessing around the world. The right to freedom of expression and access to reliable information is a corner stone of a democratic society. The role of journalists to share information is crucial to safeguard all the other rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. While preparing for a Fourth Summit and discussing the future of the Council of Europe we must bear this in mind and commit to the important task of promoting the safety of journalists and ending impunity for crimes against journalists.

The following Council of Europe member states aligned with this statement:
Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Monaco, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Ukraine.