“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, reads the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
اضافة اعلان
Marking 75 years since then, the protection of freedom of
expression remains a key priority for EU human rights action. This year we join
UNESCO in emphasizing that, today more than ever, freedom of expression is crucial
for all other human rights and contributes decisively to “Shaping a Future of
Rights”.
While the preservation of free, independent, and pluralistic media is vital for
resilient and healthy democracies, press freedom is at stake in most parts of the world today.
Journalists, media workers, and all those who bring independent quality
information to the public, shed light on the gross human rights violations and
atrocities and hold those in power to account increasingly face discredit,
threats and attacks, including through disinformation.
While the preservation of free, independent, and pluralistic media is vital for resilient and healthy
democracies, press freedom is at stake in most parts of the world today.
Reporters in an attacked Ukraine, journalists in Belarus and Afghanistan,
independent media in the Middle East and North Africa, local journalists in Central America, the Nobel
Prize laureates in The Philippines and Russia and many other media workers worldwide, including in
Europe, continue to pay a high price for exercising their profession.
Women journalists are particularly vulnerable to threats and increasing
attacks, both offline and online. They are exposed to stigmatization, sexist hate speech, trolling,
sexual and gender-based violence and even murder. Around 73 percent of women journalists have
experienced online threats, abuse and harassment in the course of their work.
We have never seen as many women journalists in detention as today.
As a staunch defender of the right to freedom of expression, the EU condemns
all forms of threats and violence against journalists and supports media
workers in danger through local missions and via dedicated programs, such as
the Safejournalists platform in the Western Balkans, the Support to independent media and fundamental freedoms project in Cambodia and the Media
Resilience program in Afghanistan.
Women journalists are particularly vulnerable to threats and increasing attacks, both offline and
online. They are exposed to stigmatization, sexist hate speech, trolling, sexual and gender-based
violence and even murder.
In parallel, the EU is taking action within the union: countering strategic
lawsuits against public participation, regulating digital services and markets, and proposing an EU
Media Freedom Act.
Simultaneously, we are building up critical capacity to counter foreign
information manipulation and interference, and to help citizens in Europe strengthen their resilience to
disinformation, manipulation and propaganda, with initiatives such as the EU vs Disinfo
platform and the European Digital Media Observatory.
Defending and promoting press freedom is a universal mission that knows no
borders. The EU will remain committed to engage with governments, the media, and civil society, both
in international for a as well as at the local level, to take initiative and
strengthen press freedom around the world.
Josep Borrell is the high Representative of the EU for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy.
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