OSCE-supported Guidebook on co-operation between police and journalists during mass events presented in Kyiv

KYIV, 19 December 2014 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, country’s Interior Ministry and the National Union of Journalists presented today a new guidebook on the effective co-operation between police and media during mass events and crises.

The guidebook, Interaction Between Journalists and Police Officers during Mass Events and Crisis Situations, aims at helping to decrease tensions between law enforcement officers and journalists. It includes recommendations on their effective co-operation during mass events, the rules of safe conduct and a detailed overview of the rights and responsibilities of both the police and journalists.

The guidebook is the result of joint work by  Ministry of Interior officers and media unions’ experts within a project, implemented by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

“The conflicts between law enforcers and media professionals are often a result of a lack of knowledge, misunderstanding or even failure to recognize the rights and mission of each other. And here I would like to stress a unique character of OSCE as an organization that was able to provide not only expert support, but also a platform of dialogue between the two professional communities to discuss difficult issues,” said Jeffrey Erlich, Senior Project Officer of  the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

The process also involved two sets of roundtable discussions between local law enforcement agencies and media in Kyiv, Odesa and Kharkiv regions, where the participants were able to share their concerns and discuss ideas and ways to improve their relations.