Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir said on Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a deteriorating situation for press workers in many OSCE member countries and brought about new issues, namely financial insecurity
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir said on Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a deteriorating situation for press workers in many OSCE member countries and brought about new issues, namely financial insecurity.
"Presenting my report to the @OSCE Permanent Council today in #Vienna, I underlined that the press is in danger in too many places in the OSCE region, with the pandemic amplifying existing trends and adding new problems, including the dire economic situation many media are facing," Desir tweeted.
Desir also called on OSCE member countries to protect press workers, fight impunity of crimes against reporters, respect the independence of the media and support pluralism.
The representative also mentioned that he has assisted countries in shaping new policies linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and state of emergency laws with OSCE and international standards.
Desir also urged OSCE members to come up with a strong economic support plan to "save" the media which is "suffering major economic losses" amid the global health crisis.
In the report, Desir mentioned that he "had to intervene" on more than 200 cases related to the legal situation of reporters, many of them related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 200 individual cases include 104 cases of detentions and 20 court proceedings against reporters, the OSCE representative added.
Desir also said that the situation with long prison sentences and pre-trial detentions of journalists was the most challenging in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
