The Council of Europe is bringing together representatives of international organisations and media freedom associations on 19 May to identify ways of better addressing severe human rights violations against journalists, and to explore how early warning mechanisms can improve their protection.
The “Round Table on Safety of Journalists – From Commitment to Action” is part of the operational proposals to improve the safety of journalists made by the Council of Europe Secretary General to Committee of Ministers, which endorsed them in January 2014. The Committee of Ministers had requested these proposal following several thematic debates on this topic and had emphasised the need for co-ordination with other international organisations, in particular the European Union, the OSCE and the United Nations.
The round table aims to promote dialogue between international institutions and media freedom organisations in order to explore concrete common action and identify further steps that the Council of Europe could take to establish rapid response capacity, possibly through the development of an Internet platform.
The Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks will open the meeting and Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni will close it.
