Conference on Safety of Journalists in the OSCE Region

Physical harm to journalists is the most severe form of interference with the profession. However, the spectrum applied against media professionals in the OSCE region is manifold. Unless law enforcement undergoes a major overhaul of the treatment of these cases of violence, true freedom of the press will remain jeopardized by journalists’ fear of covering issues such as corruption and human rights violations.

The purpose of the Conference is to examine and review the current situation relating to the safety of journalists, to share  problems and best practices, to determine the principal requirements for reforming relevant legislation, law-enforcement practices, and judicial instruments, and to initiate the formulation of recommendations to the governments on ways of improving the security of journalists in the OSCE area.

The Conference will focus on the following three areas:

• The role of governments in ensuring the safety of journalists;
• Contributions from civil society, including journalists and media NGOs;
• Best practices in legislation, law-enforcement and judicial instruments to ensure the safety of journalists.

In addition, on the margins of the Conference on 7 June 2011 a side event will be organized by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

The working languages of the Conference will be English and Russian. This event is open to members of civil society.

On-line registration for all participants is available at http://esbo.urm.lt/index.php?1060692063

In case of any questions, please contact Ms. Viktorija Budreckaitė at Viktorija.Budreckaite@urm.lt or Mrs. Eglė Kviliūtė-Bukauskienė at Egle.Kviliute-Bukauskiene@urm.lt.