The Council of Europe and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) are jointly organising on 15 December in Strasbourg a high level seminar to discuss the potential for co-operation to promote and protect freedom of expression and the safety of journalists in member states.
The seminar is a follow up to a proposal made by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland in his 2015 annual report to launch a two-year programme to support national mechanisms to protect journalists.
The event is bringing together the representatives of National Human Rights Institutions and other national mechanisms, as well as former judges of the European Court of Human Rights and representatives of other Council of Europe’s bodies dealing with this issue.
Journalists’ organizations are also participating, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Association of European Journalists (AEJ), and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Secretary General Jagland and Adriana van Dooijeweert, President of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, are speaking at the opening.