[IRPCoalition] Fwd: Message to CDMSI from Assoc of European Journalists - Safety for journalists at risk

[IRPCoalition]

Dear CDMSI members, observers and participants of the CDMSI

 

During the last meeting of the CDMSI, William Horsley, who could not
attend the meeting, sent a message to the Chair and some members. The
secretariat agreed to share it to all of you for further reflection how
to strengthen implementation of the recommendation on protection of
journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors. You will
thus find it in attachment.

 

Best regards

 

 

/Chers membres, observateurs et participants du CDMSI/

/ /

/Pendant la dernière réunion du CDMSI, William Horsley, qui ne pouvait
pas être présent, a envoyé un message à la présidente et à certains
membres. Le secrétariat a convenu de le porter à la connaissance de tous
les membres pour une future réflexion sur  comment renforcer la mise en
œuvre de la recommandation sur la protection du journalisme et la
sécurité des journalistes et autres acteurs des médias./

/Vous trouverez donc ce message en pièce jointe./

/Cordialement/

 

/Anne Boyer-Donnard/

/Media and Internet Division / CDMSI – DG1/

/Division médias et internet  / CDMSI – DG1 /

Council of Europe / /Conseil de l’Europe/

Tel. +33 (0)3 90 21 59 03

anne.boyer-donnard at coe.int

 

 

Subject:
Open Message to COE CDMSI committee chair and members - from the
Association of European Journalists

From:
William Horsley <wh at williamhorsley.com>
Date:
05/12/2017, 19:36

To:
'Elfa Ýr Gylfadóttir' <elfa at fjolmidlanefnd.is>, "'SCHNEIDER Thomas
(Switzerland)'" <thomas.schneider at bakom.admin.ch>, PENNINCKX Patrick
<Patrick.PENNINCKX at coe.int>, GRUNDMANN Silvia
<Silvia.GRUNDMANN at coe.int>, "mazzone at ebu.ch" <mazzone at ebu.ch>, "'WAGNER
Michael (EBU)'" <wagner at ebu.ch>, 'Silvia Chocarro - IFEX'
<advocacystrategist at ifex.org>, DIDIER SCHRETTER
<didierschretter at gmail.com>, "'POVLAKIC Emir (BiH)'" <epovlakic at rak.ba>
CC:
UMEK Urska <Urska.UMEK at coe.int>, DERVISAGIC Lejla
<Lejla.DERVISAGIC at coe.int>, "g.berger at unesco.org" <g.berger at unesco.org>,
"'YAZICI Deniz (OSCE)'" <deniz.yazici at osce.org>, 'Ricardo Gutierrez'
<ricardo.gutierrez at ifj.org>


*Dear Elfa, Thomas and CDMSI colleagues,  *

*_The Association of European Journalists_ is acutely concerned that the
environment for free and independent media is becoming hostile and in
some cases practically impossible for journalists working in parts of
Europe, despite the European Convention commitments of Council of Europe
member states. Such concerns have been publicly shared by other Partner
organisations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of
journalists. They are reflected in the 2017 Council of Europe’s Survey
and Report ‘Journalists under pressure’, and in the Annual Report by the
Secretary-General on the state of human rights and democracy in Europe,
which highlights the undermining of judicial independence and legal
safeguards for independent journalism.  /This week, as the CDMSI
considers its priorities for the coming two years, we urge you to
consider these suggestions and requests from the AEJ as a long-standing
Observer and active participant in the committee’s work:-/*

* *

*1. The Committee of Ministers’ judgement (in /Recommendation 2016(4) on
the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists/) that the
scale and intensity of attacks on journalists in Europe is
“unacceptable”, requires redoubled actions and efforts to reverse
growing trends towards growing interference in the work of journalists,
including threats and use of physical violence and the imprisonment of
well over 100 journalists in Europe.  Recent murders of journalists in
Council of Europe states, including the killings of Daphne Caruana
Galizia, Dmitri Popkov, Saeed Karimian and Pavel Sheremet, demonstrate
the urgent need for determined and coordinated responses by the Council
of Europe and other European institutions in terms of prevention,
protection and prosecution of such killings, as well as many other
assaults and cases of legal harassment and impunity.*

* *

*2. The AEJ asks the CDMSI committee to demonstrate its practical
commitment to actions outlined in the 2016 Recommendation on the safety
of journalists,/especially the Ministers’ call for member states to
review their ‘laws and practices’  affecting freedom of expression and
media freedom/. We urge its members to do so by giving new momentum to
past ‘implementation’ initiatives; identifying new ways of promoting the
implementation of agreed standards for creating ‘safe and enabling’
environments’ for journalism; and organising the CDMSI’s future
programme of work in imaginative ways accordingly. The AEJ urges that
the proposed ‘Committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital
age’ should adopt a clear approach of incorporating the Council of
Europe’s public commitment to the protection of journalism online and
offline as well as independent safeguards and guarantees as a basis for
Guidelines for member states on promoting ‘quality journalism’.*

* *

*3. The AEJ proposes that as part of its working method all plenary
CDMSI meetings should begin with a factual presentation and
consideration of the most recent attacks of all kinds on journalists’
safety and media freedom, drawing on the CDMSI’s own initiatives and
knowledge base and focusing on new and effective ways to counter and
prevent attacks on independent media, address threats to the rule of
law, and ensure access to justice by those exercising their right to
freedom of expression. The ‘Platform’ partner organisations are willing
to take an active part in realising this proposal, and to contribute in
other ways to supporting the CDMSI’s mandate in terms of journalists’
safety, media freedom in old and new media, the protection of
journalists’ sources, and other issues on the Committee’s agenda.*

* *

*I regret that other commitments prevent me from attending this week’s
CDMSI session. I hope you will pass this message on to other CDMSI
members and observers, and I look forward to the AEJ’s future engagement,*

* *

*/Sincerely yours, William Horsley,  AEJ Observer/*

 

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