Dear UN colleagues, representatives of the Mongolian journalism and media,  

Dear Ms. Naranjargal, 

I very much welcome this event on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day 2024. This day is a valuable opportunity for all of us to be reminded of the critical role of independent media for democracy and of the importance to uphold people’s right to access quality, fact-based information. This day should contribute to foster a whole-of-society approach in defending free and independent media, at a time where they are threatened by a growing number of abusive laws under the guise of national security, counter-terrorism or fighting ‘fake news’.

In that respect, the European Union strongly condemns media censorship imposed by Russian authorities through the closing of the most prominent media outlets, the banning of the websites of a number of independent media organisations and the arrest and condemnation of journalists in the context of the unprovoked and unjustified military invasion of Ukraine.

Media freedom and pluralism have suffered a sharp decline in recent years. Today, as many as 85 percent of people live in countries where media freedom has worsened in the past five years. The situation of freedom of expression has deteriorated in 35 countries in 2023. 

The European Union commends the efforts made by the National Human Rights Commission to promote and protect fundamental freedoms in Mongolia. As regards press freedom, we believe that Mongolia can further improve its ranking in the annual World Press Freedom Index and do better than its 2023 score of 88th out of 180 countries. The UN and independent observers have documented that several Mongolian journalists have been subject to threats and pressure, which undermines media independence. There must be no tolerance for arbitrary detention to silence journalists and free speech. The pollicisation of media outlets through media ownership is another source of concern. 

Our open societies are increasingly targeted by disinformation: some countries use it to destabilise other countries and indeed Mongolia is heavily confronted with this issue. However, when tabling new draft laws, government and parliament should be aware that censorship and banning do very little to stop disinformation and are often even counter-productive, whereas fact-checking through trustworthy and independent media should be the norm.

I note in that context that the recent adoption of the draft Law on Professional Associations faces criticism from civil society organizations, which have raised concerns about vague terms and restrictive clauses in the text, which could possibly lead to a shrinking of civil society space.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This year’s theme of the World Press Freedom Day is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis.” This theme is of particular relevance for Mongolia where biodiversity is at high risk, overgrazing is devastating and much remains to be done to fight the effects of climate change. As we celebrate this year the 35th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the EU and Mongolia, I would like to reiterate the strong commitment of the European Union to work with Mongolia on this issue.

I wish you a fruitful discussion today and a good World Press Freedom Day! 

There is no democracy without a truly free press.

Thank you.