The Committee of Ministers held an exchange of views on the Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists on 14 September 2016, on the basis of a review by the Secretary General following its first year of operation. The Secretary General considered that during this period, the Platform has proven to be a promising and innovative tool, with very positive initial results and encouraging future perspectives. At the same time, he has identified some areas for improvement in the functioning of the Platform. These include, inter alia, regular communication by the Secretary General to the Committee of Ministers of thematic issues of major concern, giving more visibility to the positions of member States on the Platform, ensuring a comprehensive geographic coverage, differentiating alerts through regular assessment and better reflecting progress achieved with regard to individual alerts. Whilst broad support was expressed for the Platform during the debate, some delegations voiced their concerns on aspects of its functioning and among them, the Russian Federation reiterated its reservations. The refinements to be implemented by the Secretary General should go some way in allaying these concerns, while fully respecting the parameters of the Committee of Ministers’ decision and the memorandum of understanding with the partner organisations, and enhance the Platform’s usefulness as a tool for dialogue for all member States.