24/01/2008 Session
Strasbourg, 24.01.2008 - Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and Andrew McIntosh (United Kingdom, SOC), Chairman of the Sub-Committee on the Media of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), declared today at a press conference that European states must do more to protect media freedom. Freedom of expression and information in the media was a vital element of any functioning democracy.
Referring to the large number of journalists in prison, Miklos Haraszti and Andrew McIntosh called on member states to decriminalise libel and insult. Freedom of opinion about nations, state institutions and state officials should not be punished by criminal law in a democracy.
Both recalled that violence against journalists undermined the democratic foundations of a state. Member states had the obligation under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights to ensure that media could work in freedom without intimidation, harassment and fear.
National parliaments were in a privileged position to review the effects of legislation which might be overly restrictive or lacked proper safeguards of media freedom. Such parliamentary scrutiny would be for the benefit of democracy and reduced the number of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Sub-Committee on the media of the Committee on culture, science and education held this morning an exchange of views with Mr Haraszti on the follow-up to Assembly resolution 1535(2007) on threats to the lives and freedom of expression of journalists.