Freedom of the press is under severe threat across the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) region and the OSCE’s 57 participating states must do more to protect the safety of journalists, CPJ Deputy Executive Director Rob Mahoney told a United States Congress commission today.
Appearing virtually at a hearing held by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better known as the Helsinki Commission, Mahoney detailed the most pressing threats to independent media across the OSCE region and made a series of recommendations.
“CPJ research shows that journalists and independent media are under attack in nearly all OSCE countries,” Mahoney said in prepared remarks. “Without sustained and concerted support for journalists and pushback against attacks on the press, the region will only continue to see a worsening atmosphere for journalism.”
Mahoney spoke alongside Teresa Ribeiro, Representative on Freedom of the Media for the OSCE, as well as media and civil society representatives.
You can read his full testimony here.