OSCE Representative Désir met Swiss President Alain Berset to discuss closer co-operation

VIENNA, 8 January 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir met with the President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset today in Vienna.

The meeting is part of the first foreign visit by President Berset since his election in December 2017.

“The visit is a strong sign of support by President Berset to the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and his commitment to media freedom,” said Désir.

During the meeting, President Berset and the Representative underlined the urgency of protecting the safety of journalists and media freedom in the OSCE region in a time of increasing threats against journalists, including the high number of journalists being imprisoned for their work.

The meeting focused on the main priorities of the Office of the Representative.

“The first priority is to improve the safety of journalists and combat impunity for killings, violence and other threats. In the current security context the second priority is to ensure that freedom of expression does not suffer in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Too many journalists are censored, prosecuted or in jail under false accusations. Every such case is a clear violation of OSCE commitments to media freedom,” said Désir.

President Berset and the Representative also discussed the many challenges to media freedom in the digital era, and ways to combat propaganda and so-called “fake news” through promotion of media literacy, ethical journalism media pluralism.

The Representative presented the projects of the Office on Safety of Female Journalists Online (#SOFJO), the dialogue between Russian and Ukrainian journalists, the dialogue between journalists in Cyprus, and the regional conferences to promote media freedom in Central Asia, South Caucasus and South Eastern Europe. They also discussed common priorities for strengthening media freedom in the OSCE region as a cornerstone of human rights, democracy and common security.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.