Advisory Reports to the Media Freedom Coalition
Throughout 2020, the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom produced a series of four advisory reports that focus on improving international mechanisms to enforce international human rights norms. The recommendations from the four advisory reports request action from states, including state members of the Media Freedom Coalition, to promote and protect a vibrant free press and ensure the safety of journalists.
Advice on Promoting More Effective Investigations into Abuses Against Journalists
The Fourth Report by the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom
Details
The report concludes with three major recommendations to the signatories to the Global Pledge on Media Freedom, and other key governments, to strengthen investigations into attacks on journalists, address the issue of impunity and progress towards accountability, including the creation of a standing international Investigative Task Force.
Report on Providing Safe Refuge to Journalists at Risk
The Third Report by the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom
Details
The report recommends to members of the Media Freedom Coalition and partner States committed to the protection and promotion of media freedom: (i) the introduction of a new emergency visa for journalists at risk; and (ii) the implementation of a number of essential adjustments to the existing framework for safe relocation.
A Pressing Concern: Protecting and Promoting Press Freedom by Strengthening Consular Support to Journalists at Risk
The Second Report by the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom
Details
This report examines the existing State approaches respecting consular assistance for journalists at risk abroad, and proposes a new paradigm of justice and accountability organised around four recommendations:
- First, that consular protection by the Home State (where the journalist normally resides) is not a matter of discretion, but of legal obligation;
- Second, that the Host State (where the journalist is reporting) has responsibilities both to the Home State and to the journalist at risk;
- Third, that the rights of the journalist at risk are often marginalised or ignored, at the expense of consular protection;
- Finally, that the international community is not a bystander community, but a protective one.
Report on the Use of Targeted Sanctions to Protect Journalists
The First Report by the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom
Details
The report examines current challenges faced by journalists around the world and recommends the consistent use of targeted sanctions as a tool to enforce compliance with international human rights law, including the right to a free press. The report contains an in-depth analysis of the existing systems for targeted sanctions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union and concludes with eleven recommendations for designing and implementing global human rights sanctions regimes to better protect journalists around the world.
International Standards Research Reports
The Panel is working with leading academic institutions and law firms around the world to provide advice on model elements for the drafting and interpretation of legislation in line with international human rights standards.
This involves:
(1) reviewing the laws that are most frequently used to target media freedom and studying their use in prosecutions around the world;
(2) reviewing national and international standards relevant to such laws;
(3) reviewing existing guidance issued by international experts and bodies; and
(4) providing practical advice to governments, legislators and judges on drafting legislation, including specific guidance on penalties and language that would comply with international human rights law and reflect best practices in this area.
The High Level Panel addressing laws that are most frequently used to target journalists and those undertaking journalistic activity in six separate reports covering:
- Blasphemy laws;
- False Speech;
- Defamation and ‘insult’ laws;
- Espionage and Official Secrets laws;
- Hate speech;
- Internet Shutdowns and Access Bans.
On Religious Freedom and Discontent: Report on International Standards and Blasphemy Laws
The Fifth Report by the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom
Details
This report provides a series of recommendations concerning blasphemy laws – in summary, the recommendations are (1) the repeal of blasphemy laws, especially those that carry criminal penalties; (2) the steps that can be taken to limit the most prejudicial effects of such laws pending their repeal; and (3) non-legal interventions by states, including action that supports a rich and diverse media environment and encourages counter-speech by religious leaders and other actors.
