The International Press Institute (IPI) today became a partner to the Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, through which media freedom organisations inform the Council of Europe and disseminate information on alleged violations of media freedom.

The Executive Director of IPI Barbara Trionfi signed the agreement to join the platform during a meeting with the Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland.

“I am pleased to welcome the International Press Institute to the Council of Europe Platform. IPI’s reputation as a staunch defender of freedom of expression is well-established and I am convinced that this new partnership will strengthen the impact of the platform and will help the Council of Europe to better address media freedom challenges Europe faces today”, said Thorbjørn Jagland at the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding.

“IPI is proud to join the Council of Europe Platform, which we are confident can play an important role in helping ensure that media freedom violations in Council of Europe are promptly addressed. We are looking forward to contributing to the Platform and to deepening our cooperation with Council of Europe institutions in support of the fundmental rights of media freedom and freedom of expression”, added IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi, who joined Jagland in Strasbourg to sign the Memorandum.

IPI is the eighth organisation to join the Platform, following Article 19, the Association of European Journalists, Committee to Protect Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders.

Since April 2015, when the platform was launched, the partner organisations have published 153 alerts concerning 26 member states. 46 alerts concern physical attacks on journalists, 38 alerts the detention and imprisonment of journalists, 8 impunity cases, 15 harassment or intimidation of journalists, and other 46 acts that have a chilling effect on media freedom.

The platform allows these partners to issue alerts concerning media freedom threats and to bring them to the attention of the Council of Europe institutions. Once the alerts are published, they are sent to the authorities of the concerned country and to the different Council of Europe institutions. The Council of Europe institutions may react publicly or start a dialogue on the issue with the authorities. Subsequently, responses of the member states and follow-up action taken by the different institutions are also posted on the platform. The governments of the states concerned replied in 63 cases.

In a Recommendation adopted yesterday, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe encourages member states to take specific measures to prevent violations of media freedom to effectively protect journalism and journalists, and to prosecute crimes committed against them