It was a privilege for all Maltese of goodwill to have renowned human rights lawyer and dynamic global keynote speaker Nomi Bar-Yaacov in Malta to deliver the Mabel Strickland Memorial Lecture last May 4. She truly captivated the audience on that day.

As of May 2026, global press freedom is experiencing its most severe decline in 25 years, with more than half of the world's countries experiencing difficult or very serious conditions. This regression is driven by a combination of technological threats, economic fragility, political hostility, and the systematic erosion of legal protections.

Most worrying, however, is how the use of spyware to survey journalists is growing, undermining the protection of confidential sources and forcing journalists into self-censorship. Furthermore, digital platforms, which act as primary news sources, prioritise engagement over accuracy, allowing misinformation to travel up to six times faster than verified news.

Since 2001, the expansion of increasingly restrictive legal arsenals, particularly those linked to national security policies, has been steadily eroding the right to information, even in democratic countries.

How much longer will we tolerate the suffocation of journalism, the systematic obstruction of reporters and the continued erosion of press freedom? Although attacks on the right to information are more diverse and sophisticated, their perpetrators are now operating in plain sight. Authoritarian states, complicit or incompetent political powers, predatory economic actors and under-regulated online platforms are directly and overwhelmingly responsible for the global decline in press freedom.

Given this context, inaction is a form of endorsement. It's no longer enough just to state principles. Effective measures to protect journalists are essential and must be seen as a catalyst for change.

Ongoing wars have had a stark impact this year, notably in Palestine, where Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Israel continues its offensive. Since October 2023, more than 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, including at least 70 who were slain while carrying out their work.

Among the countries closed off to the independent press, Vladimir Putin's Russia has become a specialist in using laws designed to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism to restrict press freedom. To date, the country holds 48 journalists behind bars. News professionals who wish to continue their work have been forced into exile, where they are still unable to escape legal persecution as it extends well beyond the country's borders.

These are all new worrying trends that have emerged over the past few years that the EU and national governments need to respond to. All over the globe, we are witnessing relentless cases of physical and verbal attacks, attacks against journalistic property and equipment, legal threats and lawsuits, and different forms of interference with journalistic work.

One alarming trend is that media freedom violations in which political actors were responsible are increasing, with most of them being verbal in nature, indicating a growing use of hostile rhetoric against the press.

Closer to home, media freedom in Europe is grappling with serious and sustained challenges from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, the continued rise of the far-right, the erosion of democratic norms and technological disruption from the emerging AI revolution. Worse, impunity for crimes against journalists remains a central concern for press freedom in Europe.

Demonstrations and protests, the likes we have seen in neighbouring Italy and France, constitute a most dangerous context for journalists, thus underscoring the importance of protection mechanisms for journalists and media workers covering these events.

Another structural challenge that will undoubtedly shape media ecosystems in the coming years is the economic fragility of independent journalism, as the financial environment for journalism is at a historic low point, with media outlets struggling to sustain basic operations. Undoubtedly, economic viability will be a defining battlefield for media freedom.

Ms Bar-Yaacov's contributions, as evidenced by her Mabel Strickland Memorial Lecture last May, continue to help shape informed public discourse at a critical moment for the freedom of the press and global security. Whoever attended that lecture could see firsthand how she combines real-world peace negotiation experience with sharp geopolitical analysis and practical negotiation insights, offering us a rare insider perspective on the Middle East and on how high-stakes negotiations succeed.

Nomi is today an acclaimed and celebrated international human rights lawyer and promoter of peace, acting as a legal expert, advocate, and agent of change, working to protect fundamental freedoms, upholding international law, and building sustainable peace in areas affected by conflict or oppression. Her role extends beyond litigation to include conflict resolution, institutional reform, and the empowerment of vulnerable populations.

One of the most important aspects of Nomi's lawyering piece is physically travelling to wherever her subjects are to work with them. While others may be working to end a conflict by putting boots on the ground, she seeks to end conflicts by putting her briefcase on the ground. Her effectiveness as a lawyer hinges on her ability to work anywhere around the world while maintaining access to resources and managing the risks of being in a conflict zone. By going where her subjects are, potentially for extended periods of time, her presence on the ground will be able to build trust with them in a way that other outside actors cannot.

Ultimately, her pervading message was loud and clear: we must make sure that freedom of expression and media freedom are protected because they are extremely important pillars of democracy.

Dr. Mark Said