COPENHAGEN, 3 May 2013 – The fundamental principles of press freedom should be respected and reinforced in the entire OSCE region, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Wolfgang Grossruck said today marking the 20th anniversary of the World Freedom Day.
“Despite the commitments taken by all participating States, today, press freedom is still limited and threats against journalists are too common in some OSCE countries,” said Grossruck. He also underlined the valuable work of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović in this field: “The work of the OSCE has been critical to shining the international spotlight on the worrying trend of intimidation, harassment and physical violence against journalists in our region.”
“The Parliamentary Assembly is also concerned about Internet censorship,” Grossruck said. “The emergence of new technologies and media should lead to greater freedom of expression and a more diverse free press, and it is unfortunate that some governments see these new technologies as new avenues for bullying independent voices.”
Grossruck further called on participating States to ensure that they take steps to implement their common commitments to press freedom.
“Our citizens all have the right to know and that means having a free press operating online and off,” Grossruck said. “I hope this year participating States will reach consensus and agree to uphold fundamental freedoms in the digital age.”
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993 and is commemorated each year on 3 May, which is the anniversary of the adoption of a set of press freedom principles known as the Declaration of Windhoek.
