Kurt Wimmer, the chairman of the IREX Board of Directors, partner in the law firm of Covington & Burling, and chair of the First Amendment Advisory Council of the Media Institute, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a witness at the hearing "Public Diplomacy and International Free Press." Wimmer and his colleagues at Covington & Burling have worked on media law issues in more than 20 countries for IREX and other organizations, helping to reform media laws and regulations to promote independent media and enhance free speech rights.
The Committee is examining US Public Diplomacy efforts and US support for the development of independent media worldwide and believes that the development of strong and effective independent media in countries throughout the world is in America's national interest.
Wimmer echoes this view, arguing "the development of a free, fair, and independent global press is essential to world freedom and to America's national security." He indicates that US assistance to date has allowed independent media to take hold, has changed the media law landscape, and has helped change societies for the better.
Independent media supported by the United States played a critical role in the downfall of Milosevic, having helped stabilize and democratize Bosnia and Kosovo, and are at the forefront of promoting democracy and challenging repression in many other countries. In discussing current media assistance efforts and the expansion of media assistance globally, Wimmer argues that ongoing efforts in Eastern Europe and Eurasia must continue so that media and free speech rights are sustainable.
As the United States looks to expand media assistance into new regions, Wimmer believes the US government must make a commitment that is long-term in scope; must ensure that assistance is separated from short-term policy goals and political influence; must engage the US media community; and must undertake comprehensive global assessments of the media, looking to the IREX Media Sustainability Index [5] as an example.
Download Kurt Wimmer's Testimony
* Written Testimony (PDF, 43KB) [6]
* Verbal Testimony (PDF, 95KB) [7]