Side event “Turning justice against freedom of expression"
Date
04 May 2024
AT
Discussion on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)
LOCATION
Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile; and online
THEME
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY GLOBAL CONFERENCE
Side event
“Turning justice against freedom of expression: how to tackle the increasing use of SLAPPs to silence journalists and others investigating and reporting on the current environmental crisis.”
Saturday 4 May 2024, 10:00 – 11:00 UTC−4, Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Room 2, Santiago, Chile; and online.
Background
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are increasingly used by state actors, but also more and more by business actors, against journalists, media workers, human rights defenders and environmental activists. The side event will give an overview of that concerning trend and examine factors that favour it, including legal frameworks criminalizing defamation. It will also explore means and actions that can be used to tackle that trend, including anti-SLAPPs laws or the use by courts of abuse of process provisions, without jeopardizing the right to access to justice.
Panellists:
Ms Irene Khan
United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression
Ms Gypsy Guillén Kaiser
Advocacy and Communications Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Dr. Francesca Farrington
Anti-SLAPP Research Hub, University of Aberdeen
Ms Flutura Kusari
Senior Legal Advisor, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Ms Christen Dobson
Co-Head, Civic Freedoms & Human Rights Defenders Programme, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
Moderation will be provided by Renaud de Villaine, Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists Adviser, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Link to follow the event
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81882576192?pwd=bUeiqO3IMJ7aOU84pfCh1xdUBIh6RW.1
Documentation
- Flyer
- Briefers:
- Briefer on National Frameworks for the Safety of Journalists
- Self-protection measures to respond to threats to journalists
- Impact of Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Laws on Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists
- How international human rights standards and mechanisms help protect journalists
- The impact of SLAPPs on human rights and how to respond