Joint Statement by the Informal Group of Friends of Safety of Journalists, November 2026
Outi Hyvärinen, Permanent Representative of Finland to the OSCE, delivers the Joint Statement by the Informal Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists on the November 2026 Report by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
Chair,
I am delivering this statement on behalf of the following members of the Informal Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists: Austria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and my own country Finland.
Dear Ambassador Braathu,
We are pleased to see you again in the Permanent Council and to hear your latest progress report. The large number of topics contained in this report illustrates the remarkable work of your team, compact but very dedicated, knowledgeable and well connected with the relevant actors for the promotion and defence of Freedom of the media.
Freedom of the media is an inseparable component of democracy and crucial to the stability of our societies and our collective security. Yet, despite participating States’ commitments, journalists continue to face an increasingly hostile environment across the OSCE region, including harassment, censorship, violence, arbitrary detention and legal pressure. Women journalists continue to face gender-based violence, both online and offline. We are also seeing transnational repression becoming a growing threat to journalists in exile.
On 2 November, we marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. Ending impunity for crimes against journalists requires States to ensure accountability by investigating allegations of violence against journalists in a timely, impartial and effective manner, bringing perpetrators to justice, and ensuring victims have access to appropriate remedies. Yet too often, rather than protecting journalists and investigating crimes against them, we see judicial and penal systems being used against journalists themselves while attacks against them remain unpunished across the OSCE region.
Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine remains a major threat to the safety of journalists. Journalists continue to be killed or subjected to arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance, while media workers and infrastructure have repeatedly come under Russian attack. Testimonies from journalists who attended this year’s WHDC underlined the need for urgent and practical solutions for their protection when they cover the battlefield. We call on the Russian Federation to immediately and unconditionally release all media professionals imprisoned because of their professional activities, including in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
In Russia itself, independent journalists continue to face criminalisation and prosecution. The closure of independent outlet “Novaya Gazeta” and the designation of its entire editorial team as “foreign agents” by the Russian authorities is yet another example of this concerning trend.
In Belarus, independent journalism has effectively been criminalised. Journalists and media workers continue to face arbitrary arrests, lengthy prison sentences and prosecution on politically motivated charges, often under the pretext of combating so-called “extremism” and “terrorism”. Independent media outlets have been shut down or labelled as “extremist”, while journalists who have fled the country continue to face intimidation, surveillance and reprisals, including against their family members. These practices not only silence independent voices but also deprive Belarusian society of its fundamental right to access free and reliable information.
We are also deeply concerned by the erosion of media freedom elsewhere across the OSCE region. Journalists have been arrested, prosecuted and convicted in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These developments underline the need for all participating States to uphold their international obligations and OSCE commitments on media freedom and the safety of journalists.
Dear Ambassador,
We count on your vigilance to raise these issues and to continue to provide assistance to the participating States in facing these and other challenges.
In this context, full implementation of our OSCE commitments, including Ministerial Council Decision No. 3/18 on the Safety of Journalists, remains crucial. Participating States must ensure that their laws, policies and practices do not limit the ability of journalists to work independently and without undue interference; publicly and unequivocally condemn attacks and violence against journalists; and ensure that political leaders and public authorities refrain from intimidating, threatening or condoning attacks against them.
Ending impunity is not only about protecting journalists. It is about defending media freedom, democracy and our collective security. There is no security without media freedom. Dear Ambassador,
We reaffirm our commitment to protect journalists, uphold media freedom and support you in exercising your mandate. We wish you all the best in your endeavours.
Thank you.