Statement by Ireland at the 1478th Meeting of the Permanent Council
Madam Chair,
Ireland fully aligns with the statement delivered by the EU, but allow me to add the following remarks in my national capacity.
I wish to welcome the Representative on Freedom of the Media back to the Permanent Council and to express sincere appreciation for the excellent work to promote and protect media freedom across the OSCE.
Ireland highly values the work of the Representative on Freedom of the Media. As the report presented to the Permanent Council today makes clear, this endeavour has never been more important. At a time of rising challenges to the work of independent media and unprecedented proliferation of disinformation particularly in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the significance of the role and mandate of the Representative cannot be understated.
I wish to congratulate the Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Maltese Chair-in-Office for organising a successful Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Media Literacy and Democracy last month. It served as a valuable opportunity to highlight the importance of media literacy, countering disinformation and strengthening the resilience of our democracies.
Representative Ribeiro, I would like to take this opportunity to express sincere thanks to you and your team for the support provided for Ireland’s work as Chair of the Human Dimension Committee.
Your participation at the April Human Dimension Committee meeting and the important points you highlighted including in relation to the safety of women journalists, the role of the media in conflict zones and the challenges faced by journalists covering the climate crisis facilitated a lively and engaging discussion. As the report today indicates, there is much of which you and your colleagues can be proud. Your dedication, perseverance and commitment continue to be a source of inspiration in the current challenging times.
Thank you.