2001 press releases

U.S. Statement to OSCE on Freedom of Expression and the Media (March 12, 2001)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to thank Mr. Duve and our keynote speaker, Kevin Klose, for their thought-provoking statements and remind all that the United States considers free speech to be one of the OSCE's core commitments.  It is one of those commitments that goes back to the beginning of this organization and remains a central focal point for what we need to do here.

We believe the work of our Free Media Representative, and his office, and the work of the other OSCE institutions such as the High Commissioner on National Minorities and ODIHR [Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] - along with that of the field missions, increasingly that of the field missions - plays an important role in assisting states in meeting their commitments in this area.

We hope that this meeting will mark the continuation of a discussion, a milestone in that discussion, of how states can strengthen respect for freedom of media and freedom of expression.

As Mr. Duve noted, censorship by disappearance and killing represents the most blatant assault on freedom of expression and in this regard we want to stress our concern regarding the killing of Mr. Gongadze and the disappearance and fate of Mr. Zavadskiy in Belarus.

We call for expeditious and transparent resolution of these and other outstanding cases in other countries.

I would just like to add that in thinking about the uses of this meeting, and also more broadly, the work of this organization on freedom of expression, we come up with a number of issues that we think this organization needs to pursue, both now and in the continuing work of its institutions and in our work around the table here, and if I can quickly go through some of these -

- The first would be the promotion of a supportive environment for independent journalists in which just such disappearances and killings could not take place;

- The second, promotion of a legal enabling environment for independent journalists, in the legal context it would work to the elimination of criminal defamation statutes and insult laws, which can have a particularly chilling effect on freedom of expression in a society;

- Another would be support for the work of non-governmental organizations and professional organizations seeking to improve standards of journalism.

- Also important is the development of a set of standards for the editorial independence of state-owned media, a recent case in point being, of course, the Czech situation, which was resolved and was a useful case for all of us to observe;

- Also, support for concrete ways to ensure non-discriminatory treatment in the enjoyment of linguistic rights - an environment in which minorities can maintain and develop their identity including through the media;

- And, finally, something that has already been touched on:  support for unrestricted access to the internet, an increasingly important and relevant issue for us all.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.