How to protect journalists and other media actors? (2020)

Violence against journalists is on the rise across Council of Europe member States – attacks are getting more severe and include, in some cases, murders and car bombs, as well as other forms of physical violence and threats. The present Implementation guide aims to provide member States with concrete responses to the question what can and should be done to protect journalists and other media actors.

It does so by providing more context to the Committee of Ministers Recommendation on the Protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and other media actors, including references to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and to other sources. More importantly, it showcases concrete valuable practices in the area and makes suggestions for implementation of the Recommendation, with a view to removing the issue of safety and impunity from the realm of mere theory and projecting it into actionable measures. A self-assessment tool offered by the Implementation guide is intended to help member States objectively review the state of implementation of the Recommendation in their respective jurisdictions.