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Several Portuguese media outlets were last month presented with the news that they have been banned from Russia, a commendable ‘prize’ for those who exercise this noble profession in a country governed by the rule of law. A plural press has always been and will continue to be one of the basic priorities of any form of democratic government, where autonomy, independence and, above all, the freedom to question must be fostered. Scrutiny and the truth have always bothered those who have things to hide, and the Kremlin is guilty of this.

In countries where there are obstacles to the search for truth and the reporting of facts, whether in Europe or beyond, there are usually political forces capitalising on this opacity and silence. In Russia, according to the ranking of the ‘Reporters Without Borders’ project, almost all independent media have been banned, blocked and/or declared ‘foreign agents’ since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the remainder subject to military censorship sponsored by the political apparatus. To the surprise of absolutely no democrats, in 2024 Russia is at the bottom of the world press freedom ranking (162/180 countries).

Perhaps the most disturbing fact in this conversation is that the political dimension of press freedom, which is complementary to the socio-cultural, security, economic and legislative dimensions, is the one that has deteriorated the most in recent years. In other words, it is politicians, governments and parties that pose a growing threat to journalism. If the role of states as guarantors of press freedom is not being fulfilled, there is also a worrying increase in pressure, coercion, disrespect, unaccountability and political hostility to proactively undermine free journalism, culminating in the instrumentalisation of the media for campaigns of harassment, disinformation and incitement to hatred. In a democracy, this tendency will lead us straight to a dictatorship.

There is a great need to rethink the protection of the press in full rights and safety, and this lacks effective legislative mechanisms at international level. Approved in 2015, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2222 refers, for example, to the need to protect journalists in the context of armed conflict, which did little to prevent the deaths of more than 100 journalists in the Israel-Gaza war. Even in times of peace, journalists are not free from attack, and women are prominent victims: they account for less than 15% of the world's arrests, but represent more than 50% of the long sentences handed down in 2023, according to the same report. Stories of murder, harassment and violence against women journalists reach us from Bangladesh and Iran to the USA and Canada (yes, within Western democracies journalists are also being silenced). Here’s what the EU is doing to protect press freedom and key (inter)national organisations around the world working on this issue:

• Committee to Protect Journalists

• Reporters Without Borders

• Justice for Journalists 

• European Federation of Journalists

• International Federation of Journalists

🌎 Growing in and out of your 9 to 5

BRAIN FOOD

• The global assault on women in politics @ Foreign Affairs

• Your career doesn’t need to have a purpose @ FORBES

• Feminist diplomacy in action (event recording) @ ECFR

• Call for Young Strategists Forum @ German Marshall Fund

• Call for international consultant - Gender Expert on Engaging men and boys in gender equality @ OSCE

• 2024 Paris Olympics will be first Olympics to achieve gender parity among competitors @ USA Today

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