Foreign Legal Instruments

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Article 11

This discusses Freedom of Expression and Information. Paragraph 2 of Article 11 states that ‘The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.’

26th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO (1991), Resolution 4.3

This resolution recognizes that a free, pluralistic and independent press is an essential component of any democratic society. You will need to scroll down the document to Resolution 4.3., which is on page 68.

United Nations/ UNESCO Seminar on “Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press, Declaration of Windhoek, (1991)

This declaration was endorsed by the General Conference of UNESCO at its twenty-sixth session – 1991. It holds that the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation. It explains what is meant by pluralism in this context and offers some ways towards protecting it.

UNESCO Seminar on Promoting Independent and Pluralistic Asian Media, held at Alma-Ata, Declaration of Alma Ata, (1995)

The Declaration can be accessed at the UNESCO official website.

Council of Europe, Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on Media Pluralism and Diversity of Media Content (2007)

Measures promoting content diversity and measures promoting structural pluralism of the media are among the recommendations in this document.

Miklós Haraszti, Media Pluralism and Human Rights, (Commissioner for Human Rights, 2011)

This paper reflects on media freedom in Europe. It provides an introduction to the key issues involved, and to the international instruments that discuss media pluralism.

High Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism, A free and pluralistic media to sustain European Democracy, (January 2013)

The Report can be downloaded from the official European Union website.

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes speaking about Media Pluralism and Freedom in a Connected Europe (guest speaker series at the Institute of International & European Affairs, 2013)

The video includes a discussion of the importance of media pluralism.

Open Society Foundations, Mapping the Digital Media Reports

This is a global research project supported by the Open Society Foundations, which documents how countries around the world are dealing with the transition from traditional to digital media. Many of the country reports contain a discussion of media ownership. It is a wonderful resource to gain a comparative perspective.

Stay updated about our latest news and events.