Indicators for media in a democracy
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 12068
| 13 October 2009
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- adopted
at the 1067th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (9 October 2009) 2009 - November Standing Committee
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 1848
(2008)
1. The Committee of
Ministers has taken note of Parliamentary Assembly
Recommendation 1848 (2008) on “Indicators for media in a democracy” and
Resolution 1636 (2008) on the same subject, and agreed to bring the recommendation
to the attention of the governments of the member states.
2. In line with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human
Rights, the Committee of Ministers has on numerous occasions stressed
the fundamental importance of freedom of the media in a democratic
society, in particular for informing the public and for the free
formation and expression of opinions and ideas. In the Third Summit
Action Plan, the Heads of State and Government of Council of Europe
member states also reiterated their “commitment to guarantee and
promote freedom of expression and information and freedom of the
media as a core element of our democracies”.
3. The Committee of Ministers welcomes the Parliamentary Assembly’s
identification of a set of principles that can serve as indicators
for assessing the situation of the media in the member states. It
believes that if these principles are interpreted in line with the
relevant Council of Europe instruments in the media field and, in
particular, in the light of the case law of the European Court of
Human Rights, the bodies and individuals working in the media sector
could usefully refer to them for the purpose of analysing the situation
of the media.
4. The Committee of Ministers has always paid very close attention
to the situation in member states regarding respect for freedom
of expression and information. In future, the Committee of Ministers
could, where necessary, also refer to the basic principles identified
by the Parliamentary Assembly.
