Q&A: Impunity and journalist safety are priority says new OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media plays a vital role that is valued by journalists and media freedom groups for its ability to speak out in defense of press freedom in participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
CPJ calls for OSCE to swiftly fill press freedom representative vacancy
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined seven other press freedom organizations in calling on the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to swiftly appoint a new representative on Freedom of the Media. The incumbent representative, Dunja Mijatović, has been an outspoken defender of press freedom, but she is…
EU rulings on whistleblowers and right-to-be-forgotten laws puts press freedom at risk
European journalists were reminded today that their freedom to report is not only determined by national laws, but increasingly by European institutions. Today, after years of political battle, the European Parliament adopted the Passenger Name Record directive, the Data Protection Package, and the Trade Secrets Protection Act. The stakes were immense and the debates long…
Cyberattacks rattle French, Belgian media outlets
The headquarters of Le Soir in the center of Brussels, two blocks away from the Parliament, look serene in the spring sunshine. No sign of violence scars the glass and stone facade. But the leading Belgian francophone daily, the flagship of the Rossel media group, has suffered a concussion. On Sunday a wave of hacking…
EU underscores support of free expression, but slights access to information
A new document on freedom of expression and opinion, adopted May 12 by the 28 foreign ministers of the European Union, presses nearly all the right buttons. Drawing its inspiration from international human rights norms as well as from the EU’s treaties and its charter of fundamental rights, the document reaffirms the role of freedom…
Duping pirates and endangering journalists
It could have been the script for a John Le Carré intrigue. On Saturday October 12, Belgian security agents arrested Mohamed Abdi Hassan, a kingpin of Somali piracy known as “Afweyne” (Big Mouth), and his associate Mohammed M. Aden, nicknamed Tiiceey, a former governor of Himan and Heeb province.
Greek far-right party casts shadow on Europe press freedom
The celebration Tuesday of the 50th anniversary of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) should have been a joyful and lighthearted affair. Dozens of journalists from all parts of the European Union had traveled to Brussels to share memories, new projects, champagne, and petits fours.
Recalling Rémi Ochlik, ‘a man of great value’
I liked Rémi a lot. Rémi was fragile, yet he didn’t really try to conceal the fact. His fragility was his strength, a formidable one at that. Unlike so many journalists of today, Rémi was a true idealist, a rare mix of innocence and panache, compassion and bravery.
DRC journalist Solange Lusiku honored for fortitude
Seated near the fireplace in a historical home in Tournai, a medieval town 70 miles from Brussels and a stone’s throw from the French border, while snow fell outside, Solange Lusiku Nsimire was enjoying not only the company of friends, but the chance to live for a few days without fearing suspicious noises in the…
CPJ calls on EU leaders to get their house in order
The European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels’ leading think tank, hosted CPJ for a policy dialogue marking the launch of our annual survey, Attacks on the Press, on Tuesday. CPJ’s visit to Brussels coincided with a heated debate over Hungary’s new controversial media law, which has eclipsed the country’s first months as EU’s rotating president. The…