The Safety of Journalists Toolbox presents national instruments and initiatives from across the OSCE region and makes them accessible to interested stakeholders. It is a practical instrument to showcase existing measures on the safety of journalists from across the entire OSCE region and thereby encourage further action. The Toolbox is the result of the work carried out in the framework of the OSCE RFoM project on the Safety of Journalists | OSCE and builds upon longstanding OSCE commitments. It provides an accessible and user-friendly set of tools to guide not only participating States, but also media outlets, journalists and civil society on how to implement relevant OSCE commitments and possibly develop National Action Plans on the Safety of Journalists.
With the adoption of OSCE Ministerial Council Decision 3/18 on the Safety of Journalists in 2018, the participating States committed to bringing their laws, policies and practices pertaining to media freedom fully in compliance with their international obligations and OSCE commitments and to promoting an environment for journalists where they can perform their work independently and without undue interference. The national instruments and initiatives included in this Toolbox take stock of existing policies and measures in OSCE participating States to promote and ensure the safety of journalists, with a forward-looking approach, taking into consideration possible improvements and existing gaps.
The Toolbox will be updated on a regular basis to include new developments and measures adopted by OSCE participating States related to journalists’ safety. The RFoM Office is planning different activities to make the Toolbox known to relevant stakeholders, including the media, journalists and state authorities (incl. police, judiciary, prosecution, etc.) across the OSCE region. This will be done inter alia in partnership with the field operations and their networks, as well as with other key partners of the OSCE RFoM, such as UNESCO, Council of Europe and other international or regional organizations and civil society.
The Toolbox
Source: EFJ