On Wednesday 27 April 2022, the Platform to Promote Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists published its report Defending Press Freedom in Times of Tension and Conflict. The annual report, which is written by the Platform’s Partner Organisations, a coalition of fifteen press freedom NGOs and journalists associations, including the Justice for Journalists Foundation is available on the Platform’s website. The report highlights key areas of law, policy and practices affecting media freedom and safety of journalists in Europe and identifies actions required to improve the effective protection of journalists.
Press conference was held at the Premises of the Brussels Press Club (Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels). You can also join the event online via Zoom or live on YouTube. The video recording will be available after the event on the YouTube channel.
Report shows that the number of alerts reported on the platform concerning serious threats to media freedom in Council of Europe member states in 2021 increased by 41%, from 200 in 2020 to 282. In a statement, Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejčinović Burić said, “freedom of expression and media freedom face many challenges in Europe today. While there are improvements in certain areas in some countries, there is a general trend towards erosion of these freedoms. In these times of crisis – with the Covid-19 pandemic still present and the violence in Ukraine still raging – we must redouble our efforts to defend the core principles of freedom of expression and media independence that are essential to our democracies,” she said.
The report can be read in full here:
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