Canada, Estonia and the Netherlands announce new chairship of the Media Freedom Coalition

June 6, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

Canada, Estonia and the Netherlands announce Estonia as the new co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC).

As current co-chairs of the MFC, Canada and the Netherlands are pleased to join Estonia in announcing that they will succeed Canada as co-chair on July 1, 2023. Estonia has been a highly engaged member of the Coalition since joining in September 2019. In addition, Estonia has a strong track record on media freedom, including providing emergency visas and residency permits for journalists at risk, and since 2021, has ranked in the top 10 of Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index.

Media freedom is increasingly endangered worldwide. Journalists, media workers and independent media outlets around the globe continue to be subjected to threats such as restrictive laws, censorship, punitive measures and physical violence simply for doing their work. As new co-chair, Estonia will lead the Coalition in its mission to protect and promote the human rights of journalists and media workers around the world. Estonia is committed to working with the members of the MFC to achieve its shared goals and objectives.

The chairship of the Coalition rotates among member states on a biannual basis. It was initially taken up by Canada and the United Kingdom, with the latter passing on its co-chair role to the Netherlands in February 2022.