Activity Details (ID# 12499)

Activity Synopsis

The objectives of this conference were:
• to take stock of the law and practice in South-Eastern Europe concerning the application of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the related case-law of the European Court of Human Rights;
• to identify the existing problems in safeguarding free speech and access to information and look for approaches to deal with them, especially in times of crisis;
• to address the rights and responsibilities of media professionals with respect to freedom of expression and information, especially in times of crisis.
 

The Conference’s main focus was on the situation in South-Eastern Europe with respect to the law and practice regarding the application of Article 10 of the ECHR and its case-law. The exercise of the right to information and freedom of expression in recent major crises in other parts of the world were also analysed, notably in the United Kingdom, Spain and the Russian Federation.
A number of existing problems were identified by participants, notably during times of crisis and approaches to deal with them were discussed. The rights and the responsibilities of media professionals when covering crisis situations were also addressed.
 

At the end of the Conference, the participants adopted conclusions and recommendations, summarised as follows:
• the urgent need to uphold freedom of expression and information, especially in times of crisis such as wars, terrorist attacks and natural disasters;
• that there is no need to introduce major new instruments or amend existing ones, as international standards (notably Article 10 of the ECHR) are largely sufficient to safeguard this freedom in times of crisis;
• the need to encourage national governments and parliaments to incorporate these international standards in their legislation and to implement them;
• that “times of crisis” or a “crisis situation” should not be confused with a “state of emergency”: the latter might justify some temporary restrictions of certain rights and liberties, however the former does not reach outside the limits of Article 10 paragraph 2 of the ECHR;
• that the right of citizens to receive information is an essential right in a democratic society, especially during times of crisis and public officials should ensure the freest possible access to information;
• that public authorities should be held accountable both by legal mechanisms and by watchdog institutions for any attempt to manipulate public opinion;
• that the relations between media professionals on the one hand, and police, prosecution and courts on the other, are crucial in times of crisis;
• that the right of journalists not to disclose their sources of information should be respected (Recommendation No. R (2000) 7 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe);
• that relevant stakeholders at the national level should consider the establishment of voluntary fora to facilitate the exercise of free expression and the right to information in times of crisis;
• that these stakeholders make a concerted effort at the national, regional, European and international level to guarantee, to the maximum possible extent, the safety of media professionals covering crisis situations, to train professionals in covering crisis situations, to promote mutual understanding and better exchange of information between public officials and media professionals and to offer the general public media literacy education;
• that civil society in general and specialised watchdog organisations in particular should make a special effort to contribute to the safeguarding of free speech and the right to information in times of crisis;
• that media professionals have a special responsibility in crisis situations to make available to the public timely, precise, factual, unbiased and comprehensive information while taking into consideration the rights of other people, their special sensitivities and the general uncertainty and fears in times of crisis;
• that self-regulation is the preferred mechanism for ensuring that media professionals perform in a responsible and professional way in times of crisis;
• that self-regulation may be improved by intensifying co-operation between self-regulatory bodies at both the regional and European levels;
• that self-regulatory bodies in South-Eastern Europe should consider stepping up their co-operation; and
• that the Council of Europe could support the organisation of a first meeting of South-East European self-regulatory bodies and provide further assistance in this respect.
 

Public officials, members of parliament, journalists, media lawyers and representatives of non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations. 

- Mr Gavin Millar, Lawyer, Doughty Street Chambers, London, United Kingdom;
- Mr Ronan Brady, Journalist, Dublin, Ireland;
- Mr Jon Devitt, Political Correspondent, BBC World Service and World TV, London, United Kingdom;
- Mr Mike Granatt, Partner, Luther Pendragon, London, United Kingdom;
- Mr Francisco Javier Inda, director of the Department of Interior, Government of the Basque Country, Biscayne, Spain;
- Mr Alexei Pankin, Comments and Opinion section editor, Izvestia, Moscow, Russian Federation;
- Mr Dmitry Golovanov, Lawyer, Moscow Media Law and Policy Centre, Moscow, Russian Federation;
- Mr Boris Malakhov, Deputy Director, Press and Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow, Russian Federation;
- Mr Jon Williams, TV Newsgathering Editor for the BBC, London, United Kingdom;
- Mr Dinko Kanchev, Chairman of the Executive Bureau, Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights Foundation, Sofia, Bulgaria;
- Ms Ioana Avadani, Director, Center for Independent Journalism, Bucharest, Romania;
- Ms Vesna Alaburić, Attorney-at-Law, Zagreb, Croatia;
- Mr Ranko Vujovic, Executive Director of UNEM (Union of independent electronic media of Montenegro), Podgorica, Serbia and Montenegro;
- Mr Remzi Lani, Director, Albanian Media Institute, Tirana, Albania;
- Mr Robert Gillette, Temporary Media Commissioner, Pristina, Kosovo/UNMIK;
- Ms Dunja mijatovic, Director of Broadcasting, Communications Regulatory Authority, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Ms Vitalia Pavlicenco, Vice-President of the Commission on external politics and of European integration, Chisinau, Moldova;
- Mr Roberto Belicanec, Executive Director, Media Development Center, Skopje, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”;
- Ms Ljubica Markovic, Director, Beta News Agency, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro;
- Mr Rory Dunlop, Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France;
- Dr Gregory Simons, Researcher, Crismart and Department of East European Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden.
 

Mr Terry Davis, Secretary General; Mr Hanno Hartig, Head of Department for Minorities, Media and Equality, DG -II; Mr Jan Malinowski, Head of the Media Division; Mr Ivan Nikoltchev, Ms Tanja Gerwien, Ms Monica Azulay-Gaspar, Media Division, DG – II.