4th July 2017 Hanoi, Vietnam
Those of you who follow our UKinVietnam Facebook page closely will know that the UK believes strongly in the value of a vibrant and dynamic media. The media plays a vital role in providing reliable and accurate information, and giving people the opportunity to discuss and debate issues freely. That is why I’m proud of […]
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8th January 2016
I was proud to be one of a number of Consuls General, who visited the offices of Cumhuriyet on 6 January. We made the following statement, and handed over a signed text: “As representatives of EU consulates based in Istanbul, we wish for Turkish journalists across the whole political spectrum to be able to exercise […]
14th September 2015 Havana, Cuba
15 September marks the UN International Day of Democracy, a day on which Governments are encouraged to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy. The UN General Assembly resolution establishing the day encourages all member states to bring the day to the awareness of their citizens. The resolution also reaffirms the […]
14th August 2015 London, UK
One week ago today, a blogger called Niloy Neel was hacked to death in Bangladesh. He was the fourth blogger to be murdered there this year. I’ve been meaning to start my own blog for some time: last week’s events made me determined that I shouldn’t put it off any longer. Freedom of speech is […]
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26th January 2012
Back in July 2010 I wrote a blog called How to stop censorship in Ukraine. Based on a discussion with journalists, I noted both areas for concern and some areas for optimism; and observed that freedom of the media would be critical for Ukraine’s relationship with the EU because the Copenhagen criteria, which set out […]