19 December 2003
FREE-EXPRESSION DECLINING, SAYS OUTGOING OSCE RAPPORTEUR
Six years after becoming the first Representative on Freedom of the Media for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Freimut Duve sees the situation changing for the worse in many of the regional security watchdog's member countries.
"The new media openness of the mid-1990s in some [OSCE participating] states has been replaced by nervousness, self-censorship and a constant fear of oppression," he says. "As a result of a shift in priorities, civil liberties, including freedom of expression, were pushed to the sidelines by what many countries believed were more pressing concerns."
Duve, who is leaving his post, presented his last report to the OSCE last week. The report singles out Russia, Italy and Turkmenistan as OSCE member countries where free expression has deteriorated since Duve first became the OSCE's Representative on Freedom in the Media in 1997.
Back then, media freedom across much of Europe was blooming as new democracies took root following the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
However, after September 11, many countries, led by the United States, have placed a higher priority on national security at the expense of human rights, Duve says. This sets a bad precedent for less democratic regimes who are using national security concerns to further repress the media, he argues.
The OSCE comprises 55 member countries in Europe, Central Asia and North America. It works on a wide range of security-building measures, including human rights, election monitoring, arms control, preventive diplomacy and post-conflict rehabilitation.
Read Duve's final report to the OSCE here: http://www.osce.org/documents/rfm/2003/12/1641_en.pdf
For more information on the activities of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, visit:
http://www.osce.org/fom/
(Image courtesy of OSCE)
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