Activities of Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR 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 (23)
Amendment 30 #
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 correspondents and investigative journalists working to expose corruption; whereas this is a situation that requires urgent action to uphold the essential role of the independent media in ensuring transparency and accountability;
Amendment 50 #
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, in line with the data published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 1,668 journalists have been killed worldwide in connection with their work between 2003 and 2022 and a total of 533 journalists are detained in accordance with RSF’s 2022 annual round-up of violence and abuses against journalists;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas transparency of media ownership and funding is an absolute precondition for ensuring media pluralism and independent journalism;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S
Recital S
S. whereas female journalists face gender-specific forms of violence, such as sexual and online harassment; whereas online harassment and abuse are often highly sexualised, based not on the content of victims’ work, but on their physical traits, cultural backgrounds or private lives; whereas these threats may lead female journalists to self-censor and have a chilling effect on press freedom and freedom of expression; whereas experts have consistently found evidence that women are in the minority across media sectors, particularly in creative roles, and are severely underrepresented at senior decision-making levels; whereas misogyny behaviour and gender-based violence against women journalists online cannot be tolerated or normalised; whereas sexist hate speech is stigmatising, generates fear and shame, as well as psychological, professional and reputational damage, it also raises concerns related to digital privacy and security threats; whereas in extreme cases, online threats that are not criminalised can escalate to physical violence, harassment and abuse in offline contexts;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas in several 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, as well in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U
Recital U
U. whereas the spread of misinformation, fake news, propaganda and disinformation creates a climate of global scepticism among the population with regard to information in general, which exposes journalists to distrust and poses a threat to freedom of information, democratic debate and the independence of the media, and has increased the need for high-quality media sources; whereas the public online space of journalistic information needs to be distinguished from other online environments that don’t follow the same legislation, rules and ethics of journalism; whereas the online space should be regulated in order to protect journalists and citizens from propaganda, fake news and disinformation;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its concern about the lack of specific legal or policy frameworks protecting journalists and media workers from violence, threats and intimidation at global scale; calls on public figures and authority representatives to refrain from denigrating journalists in public, as this undermines trust in the media across society; underlines the important role of journalists in reporting on protests and demonstrations and calls for them to be protected so that they can carry out their jobs without fear; calls on third countries to enact legislation and policies with the objective of preventing, protecting and prosecuting cases of repression of journalists, as well as to involve them in these processes so their experiences and knowledge can be reflected in the outcome;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Deplores the fact that journalists and media workers often work in precarious conditions, as well as temporary and unstable contracts, which compromises their ability to work in a safe and enabling environment; underlines the precarity of employment conditions for journalists, specially in times of conflict, where they are underpaid, overexploited and sent without the necessary protection; 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;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls that media organizations worldwide have a duty of care towards journalists employed by them or producing the content these organizations acquire; underlines that journalists should receive the necessary training, particularly safety and first aid, from media organizations; stresses that special attention should be given to freelance and young journalists as this category is particularly increasing and many endure precarious labour and safety conditions;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Calls on media companies operating in third countries to respect due diligence and labour obligations regarding employed journalists, as well as those from which they acquire journalistic content; further stresses the importance of these companies respecting the rights and freedoms of their employees as well as ensuring minimum and dignified working conditions; recalls the importance of the EU corporate sustainability due diligence mechanism and its application to media companies in order to ensure human rights protection in this sector;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls the need to pay particular attention to satire and humour, which are used by press cartoonists to inform, promote democratic values, defend human rights and fundamental freedoms and protest against crime, corruption and abuses of power, and which are used in evidencing and combating censorship;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the attempts by public authorities 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; deplores the adoption by third countries of so-called foreign agents laws which are being used to silence and repress journalism; stresses that the EU must uphold the protection of journalist and freedom of opinion and expression as one of its main priorities, and to this end, lead a pact and work in alliance with other democracies and like- minded partners;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Condemns the use of SLAPPs to silence or intimidate journalists and outlets 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 asks the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to encourage third countries, principally 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; calls for additional support in legal assistance for journalists being the target of SLAPPs, and for the EU to develop comprehensive guidelines for prosecutors tackling SLAPPs and to provide them and judges with training on the matter;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Urges the EU, Member States and international organisations to further promote already-existing protection mechanisms and to ensure that they are known and accessible to journalists and relevant civil society organisations in third countries, paying special attention to those in remote areas;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Welcomes and encourages further projects resembling Reporters Without Borders’ digital vest app, which should be available in other EU languages besides Spanish, or the Hannah Arendt Initiative aiming at protecting journalists in situations of danger by setting-up an emergency program for averting immediate threats to media workers in their countries of origin in a targeted and rapid manner; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to support these sorts of initiatives and develop an early warning mechanism with tailor-made guidelines for journalists to follow when they are at risk;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Insists on enhancing collaboration between online platforms, governments 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; calls on the need to implement measures to protect journalists from online and gender-based violence on social media and other digital platforms; stresses the importance of promptly removing online comments or reactions that undermine the safety of journalists in order to curb their uncontrolled spread;
Amendment 162 #
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 of promptly removing online comments or reactions that undermine the safety of journalists in order to curb their uncontrolled spread; urges third countries authorities to investigate and prosecute cases of online harassment and abuse;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the EU delegations and EU Member States’ diplomatic missions to apply the EU human rights guidelines on freedom of expression online and offline in a uniform and consistent manner as they pertain to protecting journalists and defending press freedom; strongly encourage the EEAS and Member States to undertake all efforts to promote, harness and share examples of good practices, especially with EU officials prior to assignments in third countries;
Amendment 173 #
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; 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; recalls the importance of the EU Delegations in this regard as those implementing the EU mechanism for protection of Human Rights Defenders, which includes journalists, as well as EU dedicated programmes to support independent media and journalists’ safety; highlights the need for the EEAS and the EU Delegations to count with the appropiate financial and personnel resources in order to better tackle the challenges that journalists face worldwide;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to further stregnhten their capacity building suppport by assisting third countries in developing and enacting legal frameworks favourable to the protection of journalists, freedom of expression and freedom of information;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on EU delegations, EU Member State diplomatic missions and like-minded partners to engage in proactive outreach to and support for journalist communities in third countries with a view to supporting their work and working conditions, to make regular assessments of the press freedom environment in each respective third country, including ongoing or emerging risks to journalists, and to seek ways to put in place either measures that could prevent abuses from occurring or protection measures, including providing demonstrable and visible moral support to journalists at risk; calls on both EU Delegations and Member States to provide additional financial and human resources to the protection of journalists;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22 a. Urges Member States to lead by example regarding the protection of journalists when performing their duties, and the concomitant observance of the human rights to freedom of expression and information that integrate the basis of democracy;