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October 25, 2025 – General –
The International Press Institute (IPI) formally adopted a landmark resolution at its 75th General Assembly, calling on national governments to urgently expand safeguards and support mechanisms for journalists forced into exile. The resolution emphasizes that exile should not equate to silencing: journalists displaced by repressive regimes must be enabled to continue independent work, maintain safe connections with home-communities, and receive protection for themselves and their families.
IPI’s policy document identifies three critical layers of action. First, states must prevent forced exile by strengthening domestic legal frameworks, guaranteeing a safe and enabling environment for journalists at risk. Second, for those already in exile, governments should ensure access to relocation programs, residence rights, financial support, psychological care, and opportunities to continue journalistic work from abroad. Third, host states must guard against transnational repression—when a journalist abroad is chased, surveilled, or intimidated by their home state. The resolution explicitly urges states to sanction such foreign interventions.
In its statement, IPI underscored the broader democratic risk posed by the exile of critical media voices. The organization argued that once journalists are forced out and unsupported, the information ecosystem of their origin countries deteriorates, press freedom suffers, and impunity for attacks on the media deepens. The resolution pointed to rising waves of exile amid escalations of harassment, legal repression, and physical threats globally.
While non-binding, the resolution carries strong moral and professional weight. IPI urged its 155 member organizations and partner states to incorporate the commitments into national legislation, refugee-protection frameworks, and media-freedom initiatives. Monitoring and annual review mechanisms were also proposed to ensure follow-through. As IPI Secretary-General Barbara Trionfi stated: “Journalists in exile are not a marginal case—they are front-line defenders of public-interest information.”
The resolution arrives at a moment when multiple media organizations around the world cite growing numbers of journalists in exile, particularly from authoritarian states, and expose host-state policies and international cooperation gaps in protecting those fleeing repression. With IPI’s guidance now sharpened, it remains to be seen how quickly governments will respond with concrete action rather than rhetorical commitment.
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