The members of the International Press Institute, meeting at their 63rd Annual General Assembly during the IPI World Congress on April 14, 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa, adopted by unanimous vote a resolution calling on authorities in Russia and Ukraine to end pressure on news media and to allow the open exchange of information.

IPI members noted that as the world waits to see whether events following Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine will lead to a military conflict that could potentially pull in other nations, a “media war” has already erupted in the region. They also noted that the first casualty has been the open exchange of information within and between both countries.

Journalists seeking to report from Crimea have faced violence, harassment and intimidation, and the signals of Ukrainian broadcasters have been blocked or dropped by cable providers in Crimea. Meanwhile, authorities and cable providers across Ukraine have blocked the programming of state-controlled media outlets from Russia, accusing those outlets of broadcasting falsehoods, war propaganda and hate speech. Russian journalists report having been denied entry to Ukraine, while Ukrainian and foreign journalists were barred from entering Crimea.

Press freedom has also suffered in Russia, where authorities have used the situation as a pretext to place ever-greater pressure on media outlets, with some going so far as to suggest that journalists and others who report unwelcome viewpoints are “traitors”. IPI members noted that these developments – coming in a region in which pressure on journalists and impunity for crimes against them have remained rampant in recent years – are particularly troubling, as they threaten to silence the few remaining independent voices in Russia.

Accordingly, IPI members expressed their solidarity with the thousands of Russians who took to the streets of Moscow on April 13, 2014 in a “March for Truth”, demonstrating “For a truthful and independent mass media”, “For the right of information”, and “For an open minded community without xenophobia”. IPI members also called on all authorities throughout Russia and Ukraine, including the de facto authorities in Crimea, to:

– End all official harassment and intimidation of news media, both foreign and domestic.

– Hold accountable all individuals involved in threats against or attacks on journalists.

– Allow all journalists free movement in order to carry out their duties.End the practice of blocking broadcasters’ signals or pressuring cable providers to drop those signals, absent clear evidence of calls to violence.

– Refrain from all statements that could be construed as approval of harassment, intimidation or violence directed at journalists.