Activity Details (ID# 10583)

Activity Synopsis

The objective of the round-table was to provoke a discussion among the Ukrainian media on the way in which they had covered the first and the second round of the presidential elections, as many media outlets had failed to provide free, fair and balance coverage of the electoral campaign. A related objective was to stimulate a discussion on what measures should be taken by the media in order to remedy these deficiencies in the run-up to the rerun of the second round of the Presidential elections on 26 December. Finally, a third objective was to identify what legal and other measures should be taken in the more longer term in order to secure the independence and pluralism of the media in Ukraine.

 

The practical organisation of the round-table was excellent, thanks to the active assistance of the three local partners. A number of Council of Europe documents in Ukrainian on media and elections were distributed (information handbook and Recommendation n° R (99) 15 concerning media coverage of election campaigns).

The discussion among the participants was very lively. There was a consensus to acknowledge that the coverage of the first and the second round of the Presidential elections by a large number of media had not been fair and balanced, although it was noted that the situation had improved since the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to cancel the results of the elections and to organise a rerun of the second round.

Regarding the future, the following priority areas were identified regarding the measures that should be taken to secure the independence and pluralism of the media in Ukraine, both in the short-term perspective of the rerun of the second round and in the more longer term: 1. promoting ethical and professional standards of journalism through internal mechanisms in the media and training activities, 2. promoting a dialogue between journalists and the owners/managers of the media in order to strike a balance between their respective rights and preserve the editorial autonomy of journalists vis-à-vis any undue pressure, 3. promoting the necessary changes in legislation in order to distance the media, and in particular public television and radio, from public authorities, 4. transforming the municipal media into independent and impartial public service media outlets, 5. promoting dialogue between journalists from the different parts of Ukraine in order to increase mutual understanding between them and the appreciation by the public of the concerns/expectations expressed in the different regions of Ukraine.

Some TV crews covered the first part of the round-table, which was opened by Mr Marek Ziolkovski, Ambassador of Poland to Ukraine, in his capacity as representative of the presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

 

The possible follow-up which may be given to the priorities areas identified during the round-table will be determined later in the wider context of the discussions to be held with the new Ukrainian authorities on future co-operation between the Council of Europe and Ukraine. 

Media professionals from the written press and the electronic media, both from Kyiv and the regions, representatives of the central and local offices of the National Council for Radio and Television of Ukraine, of the Central Electoral Commission and of the Media Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, representatives of the OSCE and Embassies in Ukraine as well as of local and international NGOs dealing with freedom of expression issues in Ukraine 

Mr Karol Jakubowicz (Poland), Chairman of the Steering Committee on the Mass Media (CDMM) of the Council of Europe

 

Christophe Poirel, Deputy to the Secretary of the Committee of Ministers