Sofia (Bulgaria), September 13 {No. 97-148}- Media professionals from 40 European countries in Sofia today adopted by acclamation a Declaration urging, notably, the release of imprisoned journalists, the prosecution of crimes committed against journalists, media self-regulation, journalistic ethics, and unbiased reporting on ethnic minorities at the close of the European Seminar on Promoting Independent and Pluralistic Media with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe.
More that 300 journalists and representatives of professional media organisations took part in the four-day European Seminar, the last of five major regional meetings on this theme organised by UNESCO and the United Nations since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"The euphoric times after the end of the Cold War have ended," stressed Henrikas Yushkiavitshus, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication, Information and Informatics, "Eastern and Central European journalists today face serious problems like their colleagues in other regions of the world." He added, "the historical struggle for freedom of expression experienced in Western democracies in the past is today’s reality for many journalists in Eastern Europe."
The newly-adopted Sofia Declaration highlights Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), which enshrines the "freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, and regardless of frontiers." It urges the United Nations General Assembly to reinforce the practical application of Article 19 as an "important contribution to the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
The Declaration "strongly deplore[s] that nearly all assassinations and other crimes against journalists and other media professionals in Europe, as in other parts of the world, go unpunished." It calls on "governments to free immediately those journalists who have been jailed for their professional activities." It further urges access to governmental and inter-governmental information and asserts the right not to reveal sources of information.
"Neither a seminar nor a solemn declaration can miraculously remove the severe obstacles which still confront the free flow of information, which is still restricted in more than half the countries of the world," said Claude Moisy, French journalist and Chairman of the UNESCO Advisory Group on Press Freedom. "But the perseverance of professional organisations, and, above all, the steadfast commitment of UNESCO in this fight can contribute, little by little, to the opening of new spaces of liberty," he said.
"This conference has given a voice to journalists and media from all over Central and Eastern Europe who are fighting for press freedom," said Aidan White, General-Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (FIJ). "The Sofia Declaration is important: it puts pressure on governments to set the media free and warns the private sector that action needs to be taken against media concentration and activities which undermine standards of journalism," he explained, saying, "now we must put the Declaration into effect."
The Declaration notably calls on governments "to encourage diversity in forms of ownership by means of legal guarantees and by the allocation of public funds on a non-discriminatory basis." At the same time, it strongly supports media self-regulation, stressing that professional and ethical guidelines should be enforced by journalists themselves. It also underscores the need for private-sector media to strive for content quality in the face of "the increasing commercial and other pressures on all media."
Noting that "xenophobia and clashes between different ethnic and religious groups threaten peace and democracy in many parts of Europe," the Declaration calls for training in journalistic ethics to "sensitise journalists to prejudices and discrimination" as well as more balanced recruitment and editorial policies regarding ethnic minorities in Europe.
The Declaration - which will be submitted for adoption next month to UNESCO’s General Conference - recalls UNESCO’s 1945 Constitution upholding the "free flow of information by word and image," and the 1991 UNESCO General Conference resolution recognising that "a free, pluralistic and independent press is an essential component of any democratic society." It closes a cycle of five regional Declarations devoted respectively to the regions of Africa (Windhoek - May 3, 1991); Asia (Alma Ata - October 9, 1992); Latin America (Santiago - May 6, 1994); and the Arab Region (Sana’a - January 11, 1996).
"While each of the five Declarations highlights specific challenges facing the media in its region, all are wholly united in support the universal principles of press freedom and the free flow of information," said Alain Modoux, Director of UNESCO’s Press Freedom and Democracy Unit, adding that "this sends a strong signal to all the Member States of UNESCO and the United Nations."
The four Declarations and Plans of Action adopted at previous seminars have led to, among other things, the establishment of World Press Freedom Day (May 3) and the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Through its International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), UNESCO currently supports more than 160 public and private communication development initiatives with a total budget of more than US$32 million.
UNESCO and the United Nations organised the Sofia Seminar in co-operation with the FIJ, the World Association of Newspaper Publishers (FIEJ), the International Organisation of Journalists (IOJ), Reporters sans frontières (RSF), the World Press Freedom Committee (WPEC), the International Press Institute (IPI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Article 19, among others, with additional support from the Open Society, the United States government, the Free and Democratic Bulgaria Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNESCO’s IPDC.
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