Threats to media freedom and journalists’ security in Europe
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 15236
| 05 March 2021
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted at the 1397th meeting
of the Ministers’ Deputies (3 March 2021). 2021 - Second part-session
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2168
(2020)
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully
examined Parliamentary Assembly
Recommendation 2168 (2019) on “Threats
to media freedom and journalists’ security in Europe”. It has forwarded
it to the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI)
for information and possible comments. The Committee of Ministers
welcomes the attention paid by the Parliamentary Assembly to the
important subject of media freedom and safety of journalists and
the dangerous deterioration of the situation in some member States.
2. In its Recommendation
CM/Rec(2016)4 to
member States on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists
and other media actors, the Committee of Ministers drew attention
to the member States on insufficient efforts in investigating killings
of, attacks on and ill-treatment of journalists and other media
actors, and in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
3. The Committee of Ministers recalls that the consecutive assessments
of the state of freedom of expression in Europe, since the adoption
of its recommendation contained in the Council of Europe Secretary General’s
yearly reports on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule
of law in Europe have shown that threats to freedom of expression,
one of the anchors of democratic societies, continue to grow across Council
of Europe member States.
4. The Committee therefore considers it important that an Implementation
Guide to its Recommendation
CM/Rec(2016)4 has
been completed and launched. In line with the Implementation Strategy
for the recommendation, the Guide will serve as a common basis for
national authorities in the development of measures and action plans,
including in the prioritisation of such measures and in progress
assessment.
5. The Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of
journalism and safety of journalists (the Platform) was set up by
the Committee of Ministers in 2014 following a recommendation by
the Parliamentary Assembly. It can be considered as a unique forum
of direct exchange between journalists’ organisations and member
States. The Committee holds regular informal exchanges with representatives
of the Platform (most recently at its meeting on 8 September 2020),
which provide an opportunity for constructive discussion. Moreover,
the Secretary General has kept the Committee regularly informed
about the Platform’s work, most recently at their Deputies’ 1375th meeting
on 6 May 2020, when she reported on an online meeting held with the
Platform partners on 29 April 2020 at which they presented their
annual
report 2019 to her in the presence of the Chair of the
Ministers’ Deputies. The Committee has on several occasions discussed
cases that have been reported on the Platform including measures
taken by member States (Assembly recommendation, paragraphs 5.1-5.3).
6. At its 129th Session held in Helsinki
on 17 May 2019, the Committee of Ministers, recalling the importance
of freedom of expression, online and offline, as a cornerstone of
a democratic and pluralistic society, agreed to reinforce the Organisation’s
work in this field and to enhance its co-operation and dialogue with
the relevant tools of the Council of Europe, including the Platform,
to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists.
7. The Committee of Ministers recalls that the Platform serves
as an important source of information with regard to the safety
of journalists in Council of Europe member States. While the Council
of Europe has at its disposal other sources of information – such
as the statistics of the European Court of Human Rights and the Secretary
General’s annual reports – the Platform and its alerts should be
taken into consideration to the extent relevant when setting priorities
and assessing the progress of the implementation strategy of Recommendation
CM/Rec(2016)4 (Assembly
recommendation, paragraph 5.4).
8. The Committee of Ministers will continue to co-operate with
the Platform and encourage member States to make available the necessary
resources to give it greater visibility, recognition and impact,
and calls on the Parliamentary Assembly and the Platform’s partners
to continue contributing to these efforts. (Assembly recommendation,
paragraph 5.5).
9. Lastly, with reference to paragraph 3 of the Assembly recommendation,
the Committee of Ministers recalls its decision to hold the Council
of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and Information Society
(in Nicosia, Cyprus)
Note to discuss at the highest political
level critical developments in the media environment and regarding
the safety of journalists. The conference is intended to stimulate
political engagement on necessary priority actions to secure freedom
of expression and its corollary media freedom, as guaranteed by
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, both online
and offline.
