Activities of Mounir SATOURI related to 2022/2057(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the protection of journalists around the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter
Amendments (37)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
— having regard to the Daphne Caruana Prize of the European Parliament, established in December 2019 as a tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese anti-corruption investigative journalist and blogger who was killed in a car bomb attack in 2017, and which rewards on a yearly basis outstanding journalism that promotes or defends the core principles and values of the European Union such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)
Citation 19 a (new)
— having regard to the awarding of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitri Mouratov, respectively from the Philippines and Russia, as a recognition of their outstanding efforts to safeguard freedom of journalists,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas every human being has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; whereas this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any medium and regardless of borders; whereas democracies can only function when citizens have access to independent informationand reliable information and when public authorities are effectively scrutinized by media and other external observers; whereas media freedom and pluralism are crucial components of the right to freedom of expression and information; whereas key democratic tasks of the media include strengthening transparency and democratic accountability; whereas journalists play an essential role in promoting democratic values, human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas a journalist is an individual who, on a professional basis, observes, describes, documents and analyses events, statements, policies and any proposals that could affect society, with the purpose of systematising such information and gathering and analysing facts to inform segments of society or society as a whole; whereas the UN Human Rights Committee, in its general comment No. 34 (2011) has defined journalism as “a function shared by a wide range of actors, including professional full-time reporters and analysts, as well as bloggers and others who engage in forms of self-publication in print, on the Internet or elsewhere”;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas states have obligations to safeguard the fundamental rights associated with journalistsm and media freedom, such as the right to freedom of expression and opinion, the right to respect journalists' correspondance in its various forms, the right to life and the right to personal dignity; whereas international human rights law establishes that the protection of journalists includes preventing all forms of discrimination without distinction of any kind, including race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, and property, birth or other status;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas professional journalistjournalists and other media workers have a mission to provide the public with information on general or specialised topics of interest as responsibly and as objectively as possible; whereas it is important to consider the societal role played by all media workers and support staff, as well as community media workers and so-called citizen journalists;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas recent years have shown a growing pattern of intimidation aimed at silencing journalists, in particular war correspondentsphysical attacks, harassment, including online, and intimidation aimed at silencing and slandering journalists, including those covering conflicts as well as corporate abuse; whereas this is a situation that requires urgent action to uphold the essential role of the independent media in ensuring transparency and accountability for violations by state and non-state actors;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the challenges that journalists encounter in undertaking their work are manifold, including restrictions on movement, such as deportations and denial of access to a country or a particular area, travel bans, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence, particularly against female journalists, confiscation of and damage to equipment, information theft, illegal surveillance and office break- ins, intimidation, harassment of family members, death threats, stigmatisation and smear campaigns to discredit journalists, abusive legal proceedings, abductions, enforced disappearances, killings and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
Amendment 45 #
H. whereas technological innovation has increased the capacity of individuals, governments and other bodies to spy on journalistgovernments, corporate actors, individuals, and other bodies to spy on journalists, violate their right to privacy and their right to the confidentiality of their sources, compromise their digital security and force censorship upon them; whereas such attacks may include collecting data illegally or against international human rights law and privacy standards, compromising journalists’ accounts, locking them out of their accounts, subjecting them to intrusive malware, targeting them with hateful and violent content and gathering and publishing personal information about them online; whereas surveillance and digital threats are having a negative impact on press freedom worldwide and limit journalists’ ability to investigate and report;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2022, 66 journalists were killed and 64 were reported missing; whereas according to Reporters Without Borders, 533 journalists are currently detained for carrying out their journalistic activity;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas media capture, a lack of institutional transparency, hate speech and disinformation are increasingly being exploited for political and economic purposes to intensify social polarisation or to pursue private economic interests;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)
Recital Q a (new)
Q a. whereas well-funded and strong public media service are guarantors of democratic societies; whereas, however, public service media and its journalists have been facing a number of growing challenges, including political and market pressure, as well as cuts in government spending, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas in severalmany countries, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are used by political and financial actors for the purpose of silencing critical voices or scaring journalists into halting investigations into corruption and other matters of public interest; whereas this is especially common in countries with defamation or libel laws that are easier to abuse; whereas third countries or their proxies are engaged in SLAPPs against European journalists within EU national jurisdictions;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital V a (new)
Recital V a (new)
V a. whereas a growing number of European journalists are forced to travel to conflict zones without insurance as the inscurance companies refuse to cover their stay;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that every human being has the right to freedom of opinion and expression and that this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any medium and regardless of borders; recalls the essential role that journalists play in promoting democratic values, human rights and fundamental freedoms, notably through scrutinising the activities of public authorities and elected officials;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls the essential role played by political and investigative journalists in fighting against human rights violations by performing their role as watchdogs for democracy and the rule of law through the collection of reliable and relevant information, thereby exposing state repressionviolations of national and international law, state repression, financial and corporate crimes, corruption, criminal networks and all kind of human rights abuses and environmental crimes and damages, which ensures the necessary checks and balances to hold persons in power to account; highlights the fact that these activities put journalists at increased personal risk;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates its continued deep concern about the state of media freedom in the word in the context of the abuses and attacks still being perpetrated against journalists and media workers in many countries, as well as the growing denigration of them in public, which particularly impacts political, investigative and cross-border journalism; Expresses particular concern for the situation of media organisations, journalists and professional organisations in North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cuba, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which are classified by the NGO Reporters Without Borders as the worst situations worldwide;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Agrees with the recent joint statement by High Representative Josep Borrell and Vice-President Vera Jourova on the international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists, highighting that "work needs to start at home"; in this regard, highlights with deep concern that the number of threats and attacks against journalists within the EU has been on the rise in the past years, including assassinations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their work in support of the protection of journalists, including within the European Union, also with a view of strengthening the EU's credibility when engaging with third countries on press freedom;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Deplores the fact that journalists and other media workers often work in precarious conditions, which compromises their ability to work in a safe and enabling environment; stresses that adequate working conditions for journalists and media workers are crucial to fostering high-quality journalism, allowing journalists to fulfil their missions and upholding the right to information and the right to be informed; stresses in this regard the need for adequate funding of the media;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls the need to pay particular attention to satire and humour, which are used by pressobligation to protect freedom of expression, including for satirists and cartoonists toas they promote democratic values, defend human rights and fundamental freedoms and protest against crime, religious bigotry, corruption and abuses of power, and which are used in evidencing and combating censorship and human rights violations;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Denounces the growing use of surveillance equipment to monitor, intercept and censor the work of journalists; condemns the involvement of States and private actors in this illicit surveillance, which among others violates the right to privacy and the protection of the sources of journalists; calls for a moratorium on the export of cyber- surveillance tools from the EU Member States to third countries; calls for all allegations of surveillance of journalists to be independently investigated and prosecuted, and for the perpetrators to be held accountable;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Regrets the absence of reliable data on the situation of journalists facing hostile working environments; pays tribute to organisations such as Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Frontline, the International Federation of Journalists and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, to name but a few, for their support for journalists and media workers in situations of danger that could threaten their security and well-being; calls on the Commission to develop holistic and sophisticated methodologies to seek ways of capturing data over longer periods time and for different types of violations against journalists; asks for effective monitoring toolkits to be developed and for the EEAS to report annually to Parliament on the global state of media freedom and violations of the rights of journalists worldwide;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the attempts by public authorities and actors from the private sector to silence independent media or undermine their freedom and pluralism; warns against practices that indirectly subdue such media by means of financial patronage and condemns, in particular, attempts to control media public service; expresses serious concern about monopolistic and oligopolistic practices related to media ownership and recalls that, as stated by the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, concentration of media ownership is a practice that runs counter to democracy and pluralism, as it impedes the diverse expression of the various sectors of society;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Condemns the use of SLAPPs to silence or intimidate journalists and outlets, including by the authorities of third countries against EU-based journalists and media, and to create a climate of fear to suppress their reporting; welcomes, in this regard, the Commission proposal for a directive against SLAPPs targeting journalists in the EU, and; calls for this legislation to adequately cover the external dimension of SLAPPs in order to protect EU-based journalists or human rights defenders from abusive lawsuits initiated by authorities from third countries or their proxies; asks the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to encourage third countries, prinespecipally like-minded partners who have not yet done so, to take similar initiative at national level and to engage on this matter at international level;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes actions aiming to raise awareness about the full range of EU and other international protection mechanisms and tools that can be urgently deployed in support of journalists in danger that are already available to EU/UN staff, organisations devoted to the protection of journalists and civil society organisations (CSOs); calls for a substantial increase in the funding of these protection mechanisms and tools by the EU and the Member States;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Insists on enhancing collaboration between online platforms and law enforcement authorities so as to effectively address the spread of messages that incite hatred or instigate violence towards journalists and media workers, taking into account the fact that women are particularly targeted; stresses the importance ofcalls on platforms to promptly removinge online comments or reactions that undermine the safety of journalists in order to curb their uncontrolled spreadand calls for holding the authors of these comments accountable;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Calls for the strict enforcement and monitoring of the EU dual-use goods regulation and ensure that no EU export can be made which enables authoritarian regimes to target or attack journalists;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to always weigh the option of voiced public action against silent diplomacy; highlights the importance of building civil society’s understanding of the EU delegations’ modus operandi in the interest of human rights; highlights the importance of greater transparency of the EU delegations’ modus operandi and for journalists and other media professionals to be actively included in the monitoring and policy development by the EU delegations and EEAS and Commission services in relation to media freedom; encourages, in this regard, the EU delegations to make, to the extent possible, more public statements, both pre-emptively and in response to serious violations of or restrictions on the right to the freedom of opinion and expression; calls on EU Delegations and Member States' missions to prioritise robust and public action in cases of attacks and detention of journalists in third countries;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Denounces the unrelented persecution of Julian Assange for his invaluable contribution to exposing war crimes and to promoting transparency and accountability of State actors; condemns his continued detention in the United Kingdom; warns against his extradition to the USA where he risks being exposed to further, serious human rights violations, and calls on the British authorities to immediately release him; calls on the US authorities to drop the espionage and all other charges against him that relate to his publishing activities as part of his work with Wikileaks; holds that the public interest of certain information under secrecy provisions may outweigh the interests of secrecy and justify its disclosure; expresses its fullest admiration and support to whistleblowers and their publishers exposing abuse around the world;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the EEAS to establish an urgency response plan to be followed by the EU delegations with a range of protective tools, such as the issuing of statements, coordinating trial monitoring, conducting prison visits, visiting the homes or offices of at-risk journalists, raising cases urgently with the authorities, using bilateral dialogues to raise press freedom concerns, facilitating rest and respite opportunities for at-risk or traumatised journalists, supporting temporary relocation and/or evacuation, providing physical accompaniment in extreme situations, and seeking to advocate and build the capacity of local law enforcement, judicial and governmental authorities to protect journalists, including by pushing for full accountability for abuses of press freedom; calls for particular attention to be paid to journalists held hostage as well as to the protection of family members of targeted journalists;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Stresses that visas are a key tool to access the territory of the Member States in a safe manner and that, in order to effectively assist journalists at risk, the Commission should take a proactive role towards the establishment of an EU-wide scheme for issuing short-term visas for such media professionals; underlines the need for Member States to make visa requirements and conditions less stringent for journalists in need of emergency evacuation; calls on Member States to raise the level of awareness among officials in relation to the particular needs and challenges of applications by journalists;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. CRecalls the centrality of the human rights clause in the EU's bilateral agreements; calls for particular attention to be given to serious violations of the rights of journalists in the activation and application of this clause; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote sustainable measures in all their agreements and partnerships with third countries aimed at financing and supporting media pluralism and independent journalism; calls, in this regard, on the Commission and the Member States to allocate funds to that end, including by increasing the allocation for the human rights and democracy thematic programme of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI); in this respect, urges the Commission to pay particular attention to encouraging and supporting third countries to adopt laws or review and revise existing ones, relating to freedom of expression online and offline in order to ensure their alignment with international standards, such as the repeal of legislation that allows to criminalise the work of journalists; also calls for EU support to build the capacity of national jurisdictions and law enforcement bodies in ensuring that all attacks against journalists are investigated and prosecuted and that adequate protection mechanisms are in place;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to ensure that EU funding programmes are known and accessible to local CSOs active on journalist safety and freedom of expression and, when appropriate, to encourage and support them to apply to such programmes and to play a lead roleassist CSOs in shaping and implementing relevant projects; underlines the need to ensure a balance between EU funding for projects to promote journalist safety and to support media development, in line with the NDICI’s thematic programme on human rights and democracy and its multiannual indicative programming and related indicators; reiterates its call to simplify the application process in order to making it less bureaucratic;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Calls on the Commission to propose the creation of an EU insurance scheme dedicated to insuring European journalists travelling to conflict zones;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Strongly encourages increasing support for funding programmes, statements and public events aimed at enhancing monitoring and protection mechanisms of the UN andlevel and that of regional human rights mechanisms, including the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, in consultation with journalists and CSOs supporting journalists; welcomes the work of the UN special procedures in addressing threats against journalists, including that of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, among others her recommendation to create an international task force on the prevention, investigation and prosecution of attacks on journalists;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22 a. Welcomes the Partnership on Information and Democracy gathering 50 States from all regions, which calls for the establishment of democratic safeguards in the communication and information space and recognises the right to reliable information; supports the implementation of the Partnership on Information and Democracy’s recommendations in order to inform EU action in support of partner countries in this field;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22 b. Calls on private sector companies, notably in the digital sector, to conduct effective and thorough due diligence to prevent or mitigate any adverse impact on freedom of expression, media pluralism and rights of journalists resulting from their operations, products or services;