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The judiciary plays an essential role in the protection of freedom of expression, freedom of press and access to information. It can, in particular, ensure the safety of journalists, in terms of prevention, protection against, and prosecution of crimes and attacks against journalists.

Since 2013, UNESCO’s Judges’ Initiative has raised the capacities of judicial actors on international and regional standards on freedom of expression, access to information and the safety of journalists in over 160 countries around the world. Over 36,000 judicial actors, including judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, have been trained on these issues, notably through a , on-the-ground training and workshops for Supreme Court judges, and the publications of a number of and .

Within the framework of the Judges' Initiative, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ organized national trainings for the judiciary on regional and international standards on freedom of expression and safety of journalists, most recently in Bolivia, , Iraq, and Nepal in addition to the implementation of Training of Trainers (ToT) for trainers from Portuguese-speaking African countries in Brazil and another ToT in Nairobi.

With a more regional focus, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ also implemented sub-regional trainings such as the sub-regional training for ECOWAS region judges and . In addition to this sub-regional focus, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ organized specific international and national training courses for prosecutors in India,  Italy, Peru, and Thailand. In addition, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ been supporting the development of ’s , providing a global perspective on jurisprudence related to freedom of expression around the world.

As a part of this strategy, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ also signed Memoranda of Understanding with regional Human Rights courts (the Caribbean Court of Justice, , , and the ), the and the , to facilitate activities such as workshops, MOOCs training of trainers, and strengthen cooperation on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists.

Consult our toolkits, guidelines and more resources on international standards on freedom of expression.