Isabel Santos addresses the media freedom conference in Warsaw, 13 May 2013. (OSCE/ODIHR Piotr Markowski)WARSAW, 13 May 2013 – Governments must protect media freedom online and off to be in line with international commitments and to ensure respect for citizens' fundamental freedoms, the vice-chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's human rights committee said today at the opening of an international media freedom conference.

Speaking to an audience of diplomats and civil society representatives at the start of the OSCE Human Dimension Seminar in Warsaw, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal) called media freedom the background for the other commitments related to rights to expression, assembly, and fair elections.

Speaking of the OSCE's founding document, the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, Santos said "The agreements made going on 40 years now must be upheld whether we are using a transistor radio or an iPhone. The platform was never the issue when debating media freedom – it was always the practice. It's time all participating States confirm that view."

Santos called for countries to decriminalize libel, parliaments and governments to show more openness and transparency, and civil society to provide actionable input for the OSCE region to strengthen its commitment to media freedom.