Freedom of expression, opinion must be improved across OSCE region, conference participants say

VIENNA, 3 July 2014 – Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy and must be ensured and strengthened in the OSCE region, participants said today at the opening of a two-day OSCE human rights meeting in Vienna.

The annual OSCE meeting, organized by the Swiss Chairmanship, the Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), brought together government and civil society representatives from the OSCE’s 57 participating States, to discuss rights and responsibilities arising from the right to free expression.

Keynote speaker Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said obstacles to the rights of free expression and free opinion undermine the development and safeguarding of all other fundamental rights.

"The freedoms of opinion and expression are intertwined, together with the right of access to information,” Pillay said. “They are enabling rights – rights that empower individuals to argue for their due enjoyment of all other rights, from fair trials and free elections to decent living conditions.

“Conversely, obstacles to these freedoms undermine all other rights, including civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights and the right to development," Pillay said.

Ambassador Thomas Greminger of Switzerland, the Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council, stressed the pivotal role of freedom of expression to any democratic society.

“Given its critical role in democracy, the right to freedom of expression should be promoted to the maximum extent possible,” Greminger said. “Having the possibility of openly discussing sensitive questions, expressing critical views, or raising uncomfortable issues for ruling political parties are fundamental aspects of freedom of expression.

“This distinguishes a pluralistic democratic society from a totalitarian or dictatorial regime,” Greminger said.

Michael Georg Link, Director of ODIHR, emphasized effective protection measures from acts intended to silence or intimidate human rights defenders.

“A genuine and effective exercise of freedom of expression does not depend merely on the State’s duty not to interfere. It also requires positive measures of protection”.

“Without effective protection from acts intended to silence or intimidate human rights defenders or journalists and full enjoyment of the right to seek and impart information, there can be no independent human rights monitoring or reporting,” Link said.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, said that a key obstacle to fully embrace and implement OSCE commitments on freedom of expression is the lack of political will.

“The question is if OSCE participating States have achieved progress since this organization was founded in 1975 to ensure that we can speak our minds freely, without fear or repercussions,” Mijatović said. “Some significant steps have been taken, but I believe that we all agree on the fact that in many of the participating States we are light years away from living in societies where these noble notions are part of people’s everyday lives. This must change.”