The world’s leading newspaper body, representing more than 18,000 publications in 120 countries, has singled out Australia’s national security laws as a “threat to the future of journalism” and called on Tony Abbott to protect press freedom more effectively.

The board of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers has called on the Abbott government to revise the first tranche of national security laws, which criminalise reporting or disclosure of “special intelligence operations” and could result in journalists being jailed for up to 10 years.

The resolution on Sunday was one of only three made during the world publishing expo in Amsterdam, along with a statement about protecting journalists in conflict zones and a call for Venezuela to end limits on imported newsprint.

The statement raises particular concern about the “unprecedented” powers that grant the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) access to computer networks, as well as the offences for reporting on special intelligence operations.

The statement says the legislation “poses a real threat to the future of journalism, reducing the media’s ability to report on matters of public interest and fulfil its important institutional role in maintaining public accountability and scrutiny”.

It calls on the prime minister “to seek further advice and consultation to better protect the work of journalists, to listen to the numerous concerns of media professionals, academics and civil society organisations, and to ensure media freedoms are fully guaranteed before the law is enforced.”

World press freedom organisations have roundly condemned the laws as unnecessary restrictions.

On Sunday, senior Labor figure Anthony Albanese broke ranks on the laws – which the Labor party supported in parliament in September – and described the restrictions on journalists as “draconian”.