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CoE ADOPTS GUIDELINES ON PROTECTING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Politics

Strasbourg, 01.10.2007 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers just adopted several important documents related to the challenges freedom of expression and information face today in its 47 Member States. The Committee adopted Guidelines on protecting freedom of expression and information in times of crisis, a Declaration in which it calls on Member States to defend and promote investigative journalism and a Recommendation on promoting freedom of expression and information in the new information and communications environment.

The specific Guidelines on protecting freedom of expression and information in times of crisis in Member States have been adopted by the Committee due to their concern that crisis situations, such as wars and terrorist attacks, are still widespread and that governments may be tempted to restrict this right.

In the guidelines, the Committee requests Member States to assure to the maximum possible extent the safety of media professionals. However it also states that the need to guarantee safety should not be used by States to limit unnecessarily the rights of media professionals, their freedom of movement or access to information. The guidelines also recommend authorities to investigate promptly and thoroughly any killings or attacks on journalists and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

According to the guidelines, Member States should guarantee freedom of movement and access to information to media professionals in times of crisis, including access to crisis areas, and the military and civilian authorities should provide regular information to media professionals, on an equal basis for all. Member States should protect the right of journalists not to disclose their sources of information – in practice and by including it in national law – and should not oblige media professionals to hand out information or material, such as notes, photographs and video recordings.

The guidelines also mention the responsibilities of media professionals, whom it invites to adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards, considering their responsibility in crisis situations to make available to the public factual and comprehensive information. The Committee defends self-regulation as the most appropriate and effective mechanism for ensuring that the media act in a responsible way during times of crisis.

Investigative Journalism

In a Declaration on the protection and promotion of investigative journalism, the Committee of Ministers called on Member States to promote this kind of journalistic work to ensure the personal safety of the media professionals and promptly investigate all cases of violence against or intimidation of journalists.

The Declaration demands states to ensure the freedom of movement of media professionals and their access to information and to facilitate critical and in-depth reporting in service of democracy, as well as to ensure the right of journalists to protect their sources of information. It also asks Member States to incorporate in national legislation the recent case law of the European Court of Human Rights extending its protection of freedom of expression to journalistic research, which is essential for investigative journalism.

The Declaration requests Member States to ensure that deprivation of liberty, disproportionate pecuniary sanctions, prohibition to exercise the journalistic profession, seizure of professional material or search of premises are not misused to intimidate investigative journalists.

In the document the Committee expresses its worry concerning recent developments in some countries towards limitations on freedom of expression and information in the name of protecting public safety and fighting terrorism, lawsuits against media professionals for acquiring or publishing information of public interest, and cases of unjustified surveillance of journalists, including the monitoring of their communications.

The Ministers also invite the media, journalists and their associations to encourage and support investigative journalism while respecting human rights and applying high ethical standards. In their declaration they point out the essential function of the media as public watchdog and that democracy would be “severely crippled” without investigative journalism, which helps expose legal or ethical wrongs.

The Declaration acknowledges the important work of investigative journalists who engage in accurate, in-depth and critical reporting on matters of special public concern, and underlines that it has to be distinguished from journalistic practices which involve exposing people private lives in a way incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Committee of Ministers also adopted a Recommendation on promoting freedom of expression and information in the new information and communications environment, in which it recommends Member States to follow a number of guidelines on this issue in cooperation with the private sector, civil society and the media. The recommendation follows a specific request of the Committee of Ministers to the Council of Europe to prepare guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of intermediaries and other internet actors in promoting freedom of expression.

Member States, the private sector and civil society are encouraged to raise citizens’ awareness of, and to improve their skills, when using the Internet and ICTs. The Recommendation underlines the importance of transparency and the provision of information, guidance and assistance between the State and private sector actors vis-a-vis users, in particular with regard to situations such as the monitoring of email and the use of the Internet, the processing of personal data, determining the level of personal anonymity when using technologies and services, and the profiling of user information or the listing and prioritisation of information provided by search machines.

The Recommendation also includes guidelines concerning the blocking of access to and filtering of content, and to the removal of content deemed to be illegal. There is also specific mention of the need to develop common standards and strategies with regard to children’s exposure to content and behaviours carrying a risk of harm to human dignity or individual rights and to the filtering mechanisms designed for children.

The Committee of Ministers also encourages Member States to promote affordable access to information technology infrastructures, in order to maximise the enjoyment of the right of the freedom of expression and information. To achieve this goal, the Recommendation encourages governments to create an environment that is attractive for the private sector to invest in ICT infrastructures and services – including a stable legal and regulatory framework-, among other measures such as facilitating community based networks or reviewing and creating universal services obligations.

The Committee also recommends Member States, that in order to facilitate the access to information as a public service, they should promote the installation of Internet access points in public authorities’ buildings and increase the amount of information on their online services so that they allow every individual to access public information.

Lastly, the Committee encourages States to create, in cooperation with other stakeholders, a clear legal framework on the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, and invites the operators in the private sector to acknowledge its evolving ethical roles and responsibilities, cooperating in the review of their actions which impact individual rights and freedoms, and to do so by self-regulation.