Joint Statement on Safety of Journalists and Access to Information During the COVID-19 Crisis
On April 15, 2020, the 4 Groups of Friends on Safety/Protection of Journalists operating in the margins of international organizations in New York, Paris, Geneva and Vienna, have issued a joint statement on safety of journalists and access to information during the COVID-19 crisis. This appeared to be the very first joint statement of these 4 Groups of Friends in history.
Lithuania, who is proudly co-chairing the Groups of Friends on Safety of Journalists in New York and Vienna, fully supports free, independent & pluralistic media, which is playing an indispensable role in political and public life in every country. Its role is crucial in informing the public during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, as well as countering disinformation by providing access to accurate, fact-based & verified information.
The co-chairs and co-signatories of the joint statement expressed their concern for the recent increase in restricting measures taken by states that disproportionately limit the right to freedom of expression and impede journalists and media workers from reporting on the COVID-19 crisis. Arrests, persecution and harassment against journalists and media workers, especially women, as well as smear campaigns to discredit their work and criminalisation of alleged misinformation, online and offline, become more and more frequent. The fight against pandemics and declarations of state of emergency shall not be used to restrict freedom of media or to threaten the safety of journalists.
In total, 41 member states of the 4 Groups of Friends on Safety of Journalists have co-signed this joint statement, including all 16 member states of the Group of Friends of Safety of Journalists in Vienna (Austria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America).
The full text of the joint statement can be accessed here.
