A/HRC/RES/45/18 the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development, Recalling that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities, in accordance with article 19, paragraph 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, in building and supporting the functioning of inclusive societies and democracies, an informed citizenry, the rule of law and participation in public affairs, in holding public institutions and officials accountable, including by exposing corruption, Underlining that the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, includes the right to seek, receive and impart information held by public authorities, subject only to any restrictions that fully comply with international law, and stressing the importance of freedom of access to information to the work of journalists and media workers, and that they themselves also play a critical role in the enjoyment of this right, Underlining also that any measure or restriction introduced under emergency measures must be necessary, proportionate to the evaluated risk and applied in a nondiscriminatory way, have a specific focus and duration, and be in accordance with the State’s obligations under applicable international human rights law, and that the right to seek, receive and impart information requires that media freedom and the safety of journalists is protected during a state of emergency, including in the context of protests, Underlining further that journalists and media workers serve a crucial function in times of crisis, and that States must take active measures to ensure that individuals and communities are fully informed about the full scope that any threat poses to their lives and health in order to make appropriate personal choices and decisions, Recognizing the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, and in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving and where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing, Recognizing also the importance of investigative journalism and that the ability of the media to investigate and to publish the results of their investigations, including on the Internet, without fear of reprisals, plays an important role in societies, including in contributing to holding public institutions and officials accountable or detecting cases of corruption, and revealing human rights abuses by business enterprises, Underlining the importance of voluntary professional principles and ethics developed and observed by the media, Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including individual journalists, which increases the risk of threats and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism, Alarmed also at acts of intimidation and reprisal directed against foreign journalists and media workers, especially by political leaders, public officials and/or authorities through, inter alia, the arbitrary and unwarranted denial of accreditation or visas in connection with their journalistic work, Recognizing the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including to inform the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods, Deeply concerned that the work of journalists and media workers often puts them at specific risk of human rights violations and abuses, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, arbitrary expulsion, physical and sexual violence, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment of all kinds, including by the 2