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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship and Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ) announce a joint global initiative to monitor attacks and violations against the media, specific to the current coronavirus-related crisis.
According to Rachael Jolley, Editor-in-Chief, Index of Censorship: “In times of extraordinary crisis, governments often take the opportunity to roll back on personal freedoms and media freedom. The public’s right to know can be severely reduced with the little democratic process. Index is already being alerted to attacks and violations against the media in the current coronavirus related crisis, as well as other alarming news pertaining to privacy and freedoms”.
“In our daily work in the post-Soviet region, Justice for Journalists Foundation experts and partners come across grave violations of media freedom and media workers’ human rights. Today, we are witnessing how the corrupt governments and businessmen in many of the regional autocracies are abusing the current limitations of public scrutiny. This major decrease in civil liberties makes pursuing their interests easier and even less transparent, whereas media workers striving to unveil murky practices are facing more risks than ever before”, said Maria Ordzhonikidze, JFJ’s Director.
Index draws on its experience running other mapping projects to enable easy comparisons of media violations in each country, and also so data can be collated and discussed when the global crisis is over.
Justice for Journalists Foundation will contribute to this monitoring effort by expanding cooperation with its existing regional partners who provide data and analysis for the series of Media Threats and Attacks Reports in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The overall goal of the project is threefold: to increase awareness about the importance of media freedom and the existing state of press freedom at this particular point in history, to support journalists whose work is being impeded, by highlighting the challenges they face to an international audience and to continue to improve media freedom globally in the long run.
Anyone interested to learn more about or contribute to this initiative by providing information on incidents and/or translation, publicity and ideas, please get in touch:
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Media freedom is more essential than ever during the current coronavirus pandemic. An independent media is a trustworthy source of information at a time when misinformation and disinformation is rife and a way to hold those in power to account. Nonetheless journalists are being threatened, attacked and censored in the name of the pandemic.
Index on Censorship, alongside eight other media freedom organisations, is calling on European leaders to protect the free flow of information and to ensure that governments do not take advantage of the pandemic to suppress the media.
Please see our joint statement below:
Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Charles Michel, President of the European Council and David Sassoli
President of the European Parliament
25 March 2020
Re: Call for Europe’s leaders to protect free flow of information to tackle COVID-19
Dear Presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament,
We, the undersigned press freedom and freedom of expression organisations, are writing to express our profound concerns about the dangers of governments taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to punish independent and critical media and to introduce restrictions on the access of media to government decision making and action.
The free flow of independent news is more essential than ever, both for informing the public on vital measures to contain the virus as well as in maintaining public scrutiny and debate on the adequacy of those measures.
In this respect we support the joint statement put out by the three global and regional special rapporteurs for freedom of expression, David Kaye (U.N.), Harlem Désir (OSCE) and Edison Lanza (OAS), that the “right to freedom of expression, ……, applies to everyone, everywhere, and may only be subject to narrow restrictions”.
While we appreciate that certain emergency measures are needed to combat the pandemic, all such measures must be necessary, proportionate, temporary, strictly time-limited and subject to regular scrutiny, in order to solve the immediate health crisis. Unfortunately, numerous governments around the world are already using the pandemic to claim excessive powers that can undermine democratic institutions, including the free press. These dangerous developments could easily outlive the current health crisis unless we act urgently to stop them.
This week, the Hungarian government is demanding an indefinite extension of the state of emergency and the power to impose prison sentences of up to five years on journalists and others for promoting false information related to COVID-19.
Our organizations are acutely aware of the dangers of disinformation and how it is used by unscrupulous groups to spread panic and division. However, this does not justify draconian powers that risk being used against journalists whose work is indispensable in protecting public health and ensuring accountability.
It is little surprise that Hungary, with its record of undermining media freedom, should be the first EU member state to make such an extreme and opportunistic power grab. The few remaining independent media outlets in the country are regularly attacked and accused of spreading “fake news” for raising simple questions about the government’s preparedness and strategy for tackling the pandemic. If approved, this new law would grant the Hungarian government a convenient tool to threaten journalists and intimidate them into self-censorship. We fear this is a step toward the complete repression of media freedom in Hungary that could outlive the pandemic.
Were this law to pass it would set a fearful precedent for other European Union member states tempted to follow Hungary’s example – troubling signs exist in other states as well – and do untold damage to fundamental rights and democracy as well as undermining efforts to end the pandemic.
Secondly, our organizations are also concerned about the proliferation of enhanced surveillance measures introduced to monitor the spread of the virus. While we understand the potential benefits, the use of surveillance must have proper oversight and be clearly limited to tackling the pandemic. Unchecked surveillance endangers privacy and data rights, while journalists’ ability to protect sources is undermined and self-censorship rises.
Thirdly, our organizations are concerned about media access to government officials, decision makers, medical experts and those on the front line of the pandemic. Many countries have introduced restrictions on freedom of movement which we insist must not be used to prevent media from bearing witness to the crisis.
At the same time many governments are restricting access to officials by reducing the physical presence of journalists to press conferences. Slovenia and the Czech Republic for example announced ending them altogether. Such measures must not be allowed to restrict media scrutiny of government.
We are in the early stages of the pandemic where, for the most part, governments and media are cooperating closely as they struggle to respond to this unprecedented threat to public health. They both have a duty to ensure the public are fully informed and the response to the pandemic is as effective as possible.
However, we are acutely aware that as the crisis persists, the death toll mounts and as widespread job losses and a certain global recession loom, the actions and decisions of government will come under intense examination. The temptation for some governments to abuse new found emergency powers to stifle criticism will, in some cases, be overwhelming. This must not be allowed to happen.
In a period when our citizens’ fundamental rights are being suspended around Europe, the need for media scrutiny to ensure no abuse of these new powers are stronger than ever.
We therefore call on you to use the power of your offices to ensure that fundamental human rights and press freedom will be guaranteed as the European Union strives to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
In particular we ask you to
Kind Regards,
ARTICLE 19
Association of European Journalists (AEJ)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists
Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Journalists
International Press Institute (IPI)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Index on Censorship has created a monitoring map to track media violations during the coronavirus crisis. If you know of an attack on media freedom during this crisis, please use this form to report it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship has filed an alert with the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism following the UK government’s attempt to exclude selected journalists and media outlets from a press briefing yesterday. The platform is a public space aimed at facilitating the compilation and dissemination of information on concerns about media freedom in Council of Europe member states.
“We are increasingly concerned at the government’s attitude to media freedom,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship. “This is the ninth platform alert relating to the UK since the beginning of 2019 – and a reply has only been received to one of those alerts.” The latest alert was sent by the Council of Europe to the UK government this morning.
“Last year the government launched its Media Freedom Coalition, but how can it be seen to be serious in its promotion of media freedom around the world if it cannot respect it at home? It is extremely concerning that the government’s ill-advised approach to the media, which saw a litany of incidents during the election campaign, has continued into 2020, including with threats to appoint a member of the Conservative Party as chairman of the BBC.”
Index on Censorship calls on the government to respect the role the media in holding power to account and to refrain from actions that impede journalists from carrying out their work. It calls on the government to engage with the Council of Europe by submitting timely and comprehensive replies to the platform.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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مبنى حكومي في أسمرة، عاصمة إريتريا Charles Roffey/Flickr
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]أبراهام ت. زير هو المدير التنفيذي لمؤسسة بين إريتريا في المنفى[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]