To mark World Press Freedom Day 2019, the expert members of OSCE Group of Friends visited IPI’s office, International Press Institute (IPI), on 3 May 2019.

In a wide ranging exchange cooperation between human rights mechanisms, state institutions and civil society was discussed to end attacks against journalists, bring perpetrators of such crimes to justice and ensure that journalists can operate freely and without fear of retaliation. In particular, IPI welcomed once again the OSCE Ministerial Decision on the Safety of Journalists as an important confirmation of OSCE member states’ commitment to protecting independent journalism and stressed the need to work together to ensure the full implementation of such commitments.

A combination of diplomatic engagement and judicial measures can be an effective strategy to promote press freedom, safety of journalists and raise the cost of impunity for crimes against journalists, International Press Institute (IPI) executive director Barbara Trionfi said. “IPI has been monitoring and expressed concern over the use of anti-terrorism, national security and criminal defamation laws beyond their legitimate scope to clamp down on critical journalists. The abuse of cybercrime laws and legislation purportedly aimed at targeting disinformation has led to additional restrictions on independent journalism”, Trionfi noted. “The spread of disinformation represents a great concern to IPI’s community of members, and strengthening independent, public interest journalism is the best antidote to it.”