Press statements of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

On 30 and 31 March 2022, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro visited Belgium.

On 28 and 29 March 2022, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro visited the institutions of the European Union in Brussels.

VIENNA, 1 March 2022- OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) Teresa Ribeiro presented today a legal analysis of two Maltese draft laws on media. This analysis is written by an independent international media expert and concerns Malta’s Bill of the Act “to amend the Constitution and various other laws to strengthen the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy and to implement various measures for the protection of the media and of journalists” and of the Bill of the Act “to provide for the establishment of structures for the protection of democratic society, including the protection of journalists, other persons with a role in the media and in non-governmental organisations and persons in public life”.

VIENNA, 24 February 2022 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, presented today a legal analysis of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Media”, adopted by the Milli Majlis (parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 30 December 2021. The law was later signed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on 8 February 2022.

VIENNA, 17 February 2022 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro reiterated today her concern regarding Ukraine’s practice of applying sanctions against media outlets.

VIENNA, 14 January 2022 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, today presented a legal analysis of the Law on Amendments of the Code of Audiovisual Media Services of the Republic of Moldova, no. 174/2018, adopted on 4 November 2021. The amendments lead to increased parliamentary control over the public service broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM) and the public authority regulating the public and private broadcast media, the Audiovisual Council.

VIENNA, 20 December 2021 – In response to the recent parliamentary approval of a draft bill that excludes companies from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) to hold broadcasting licenses in Poland, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro today reiterated her concern for its wider implications for media freedom and called on President Andrzej Duda to veto it.

VIENNA, 23 November 2021 – Addressing the genuine risk of being targeted with legal procedures and vexatious litigation that journalists and other media workers face, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, launched today a special report on legal harassment and abuse of the judicial system against the media.

VIENNA, 25 June 2021- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, concluded today the Third Central Asia Judicial Dialogue. During the two-day online event, about 45 participants including judges from all five Central Asian countries and international experts, discussed how to protect freedom of expression and freedom of the media while taking into account other human rights and encouraging the exchange of best practices among the judiciaries in the OSCE region.

VIENNA, 24 June 2021 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, today stated that the recently adopted laws in Belarus seriously contradict international human rights standards on freedom of expression and freedom of the media, including the OSCE commitments of the country.