Journalists play a vital role in safeguarding a democratic and pluralistic society and are recognised by the European Court of Human Rights as “public watchdogs”. Nevertheless, journalists are increasingly the victims of a wide range of attacks impairing their everyday work, ranging from physical and psychological violence to online threats, harassment and intimidation.
This climate of pressure against journalists represents a long-standing issue which concerns an increasing number of member states of the Council of Europe and therefore calls for a high level of political attention and urgent action.
The Campaign aims to raise awareness, stimulate effective tackling of pressing issues, and ultimately increase the safety of journalists and other media actors in all situations.
The call for a Council of Europe Campaign for the Safety of Journalists is part of the conclusions of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and Information Society held in June 2021. To maximise the impact of the Campaign, the Council of Europe encourages the member States to transpose it to the national context, by organising national chapters of the Campaign. The Council of Europe will accompany and facilitate the organisation of ‘national chapters’ by the member States according to the national needs identified in cooperation with the national committees.
Objectives
The Campaign aims to raise awareness, stimulate effective tackling of pressing issues and ultimately increase the safety of journalists and other media actors in all situations by:
- promoting the development of corresponding campaigns at national level;
- encouraging states to take measures towards the adoption of national Action Plan for the safety of journalists;
- providing help to the development of appropriate legal and institutional frameworks at national level;
- changing the situation effectively and significantly in practice.
The Conference “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword? Meeting today’s challenges to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists”, organised under the Latvian presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe took place in Riga on 5-6 October 2023.
This event was introduced on 5 October by the launch of the Council of Europe Campaign for the Safety of Journalists.
Both events are closely interlinked and focus on the challenges to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists, including in times of conflict and hybrid war.
The launch of the CoE Campaign for the Safety of Journalists will set the path for a series of decisive activities aiming at effectively increasing the safety of journalists and other media actors in all situations. Throughout the 5 years of this major CoE project, concrete actions will be encouraged in order to effectively prevent, investigate and sanction threats and attacks against journalists’ safety, offline and online.
