At the end of a two-day conference on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists, held in Riga under the Latvian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe's Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge, emphasised the importance of protecting journalists and other media workers from intimidation and attacks.
"In a fast changing and sometimes challenging environment we need to ensure that journalists have the protection that is so essential to their work, such as the protection of confidential sources, news and the gathering and editing of information and news. We have to address the democratic backsliding that is now taking place on our continent, of which the arrest and intimidation of journalists and attacks on media workers is a key part", Mr Berge said.
At the opening of the conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and President of the Council of Europe´s Committee of Ministers, Krišjānis Kariņš, stressed that "independent journalism is vital for democracies to thrive in these challenging times of social media ubiquity and disinformation. We must work together to ensure the protection of journalists. Latvia fully supports the Council of Europe's Campaign for the Safety of Journalists".
The Minister of Culture of Latvia, Agnese Logina, said that "the security of journalists is directly linked to the security of our democracies. In Europe, as well as around the world, we have seen an increase in murders, violence, intimidation and threats against journalists. Our duty is to support those who sacrifice their well-being, comfort and security, for the sake of truth, accuracy and justice. To create an environment where the work of objective media and journalism can overcome the shadow of secrecy, violence and threat".
The conference "The Pen is mightier than the sword? Meeting today's challenges to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists", discussed current threats to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists, as well as challenges facing journalism in times of war and crisis.
During the conference, the Council of Europe launched a continent-wide Campaign for the Safety of Journalists aimed at setting a path for a safer, independent, pluralistic media environment.
