On World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has stressed the need for concrete actions from European governments to defend and protect media freedom. 84 journalists are currently in prison in Europe, just for doing their job. And 44 journalists have been killed in Europe since 2015.
The EFJ calls on states to fulfill their commitments and obligations to protect journalists and media independence and pluralism. The EFJ also joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to combat journalists’ surveillance.
Cases of spying on journalists and media workers using sophisticated spyware programs have multiplied in recent years all over the world. To mark World Press Freedom Day, IFJ and EFJ and all their affiliates urge governments and international bodies to work together with journalists’ unions and associations to develop strict regulations that ban surveillance of journalists and recognise the inviolability of journalists’ communications.
In recent months, media organizations and international bodies have reported multiple cases of espionage on media professionals. In July 2021,the Forbidden Stories project revealed that 180 journalists’ smartphones were infected with Pegasus spyware all over the world, including in Hungary, Belgium, Azerbaijan and France.
The IFJ and EFJ call on governments to enshrine in domestic law the inviolability of journalists’ communications both abstractly and in the framing of specific laws and regulations such as those on domestic surveillance. We call on the international community to build a regulatory regime that allows the inspection and regulation of all organisations supplying products that have the capacity to undermine journalists’ fundamental rights and freedoms.
The EFJ welcomes Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic‘s call to reinforce the safety of journalists covering conflicts.
