On the occasion of the 2023 US Summit for Democracy, hosted by the United States, the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom and Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Institute.

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are preconditions to a functioning democracy and to lasting peace. As the United States and over 100 partner governments around the world meet at the Second US Summit for Democracy to highlight the steps they have taken in the past year to build more resilient democracies, one of the bodies advising them – the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom – will come to Georgetown Law, with special guests, to discuss their work and advice to those States.

The focus of the Panel at Georgetown Law will be on protective measures rooted in international law that can be taken by States in the face of the rise in the physical and digital threats to journalists’ safety and the restrictions on their work. The High Level Panel will speak to some of their recommendations to the Media Freedom Coalition of States, as well as some of the new challenges that lie ahead including in:

The abuse of surveillance technology, as deployed against journalists and human rights defenders.
The provision of Safe Refuge for Journalists at Risk and the Panel’s Emergency Visa Mechanism.
The establishment of a multilateral mechanism to support independent investigations into the killing and abuse of journalists globally.

• Chaired by:

Professor Can Yeğinsu, Barrister, Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law, and Deputy Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom

• Speakers:

Catherine Amirfar, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Deputy Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom

Lynn Sicade, Director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs in the US Department of State's Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labour

Nushin Sarkarati, Deputy Director of the Strategic Litigation Project, The Atlantic Council

Laurent Richard, Founder and Executive Director, Forbidden Stories

Jodie Ginsberg, President, Committee to Protect Journalists

• Closing remarks:

Professor Elisa Massimino, Executive Director, Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute

Further information on the High Level Panel’s recommendations to States: https://www.ibanet.org/HRI-Secretariat/Reports#Advisory

Follow the High Level Panel on Twitter: twitter.com/HLPMediaFreedom

Protecting the Truth Tellers in the 21st Century