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November 04, 2025 – General –
UNESCO has announced the sixth Call for Partnerships under the Global Media Defence Fund (GMDF), aimed at strengthening legal protections for journalists who face coordinated legal threats, including strategic lawsuits, criminal charges, and unjustified detention. This initiative invites non-profit organisations to submit proposals by January 2, 2026, with grants ranging from USD 15,000 to USD 50,000.
The appeal follows a survey revealing that 68 percent of judicial actors now perceive strategic lawsuits against journalists and media outlets as increasingly sophisticated, with media lawyers citing significant barriers such as limited resources and threats of reprisals. The GMDF emphasises that safeguarding journalists through robust legal support is crucial for ensuring investigative work can proceed – and for interrupting cycles of impunity when crimes are committed against media workers.
The Call covers three priority areas: rapid legal assistance and mechanisms to provide journalists with urgent access to defence and peer-support networks; investigative journalism targeted at advancing accountability where journalists are attacked or jailed; and strategic litigation efforts that protect independent media ecosystems at national and regional levels. Eligible applicants include NGOs, media associations, lawyers’ associations, aid organisations, and academic institutions, each with at least two years of operational experience.
Since its establishment as a Multi-Partner Trust Fund under UNESCO’s Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, the GMDF has funded approximately 170 projects, assisting over 9,000 journalists, 1,600 lawyers, and 300 media organisations worldwide. Funding has been provided by a wide range of countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and several others, as well as private sector donor Siemens AG.
The launch of this new funding round underlines that legal harassment of journalists remains a grave and growing concern worldwide. By investing in legal defence, strategic litigation, and investigative journalism, the GMDF seeks to enable media professionals to operate with stronger protection and hold perpetrators of press-freedom abuses to account.
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