Mechanisms for protection of media professionals focus of OSCE workshops in Bosnia and Herzegovina

SARAJEVO, 29 June 2018 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded today in Zenica the last in a series of workshops on the professional reporting and protection mechanisms for journalists and media professionals. The workshops, held in Mostar, Banja Luka, Brcko, Bihac and Zenica, gathered around 100 journalists, students of journalism, photojournalists and cameramen. They were designed to familiarize journalists with the legal framework and professional standards governing their rights and obligations in order for them to be able to perform their duties and tasks in a professional manner.

“By organizing these workshops, the OSCE Mission to BiH aims to increase awareness amongst the media professionals about the existing legal instruments and mechanisms that provide for their protection and to promote professional and ethical standards in journalism,” said Zeljka Sulc, Spokesperson of the OSCE Mission to BiH. “This is especially important in times of frequent attacks and threats against journalists.”

Borka Rudic, Secretary General of BH Journalists, said that there is no right without responsibility when it comes to media professionalism. “If we exercise our right of freedom of expression, we must be prepared to abide by all provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. She emphasized that the Convention also foresees certain limitations to the freedom of expression. “These are formal limitations which have to have legitimate interests and legal justification, with the decisions on limitations of freedom of expressions being made in a transparent manner.”   

Ljiljana Zurovac, Programme Director at the BiH Press Council, said: “Both journalists and publishers are obligated to respect the citizens’ needs to have valuable, timely and relevant information.” She further underlined that the BiH Press Council, as a self-regulatory body, represents a mechanism for mediation between unsatisfied citizens and media, protecting the public from unprofessional reporting and the media from pressures that jeopardize the freedom of the media.

This was also an opportunity to present the OSCE Guidelines for Co-operation between Media and Police, which are aimed at promoting better understanding of the rights and responsibilities of police and journalists and furthering their co-operation in the field. 

The workshops are part of the OSCE Mission to BiH wider efforts in addressing the challenges related to media freedom and freedom of expression in Bosnia and Herzegovina.