DUSHANBE, November 19, 2014, Asia-Plus — An annual EU – Tajikistan Civil Society Seminar on freedom of media in Tajikistan was held in Dushanbe from November 18-19.
According to the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Tajikistan, the seminar brought together over 60 Tajik leading human rights NGOs, media organizations, European and regional experts, Government representatives and the international community.
Comprehensive discussions covered various aspects, inter alia, general situation with the media freedom, access to information, concept of information security in Tajikistan, responsible journalism and professional ethics, transition to a digital switchover.
Civil Society representatives adopted a number of recommendations aimed to further promote media freedom in the country. In accordance with the regular practice, the EU Delegation will submit these recommendations to the Government of Tajikistan for further discussion during the upcoming round of the EU – Tajikistan Dialogue on Human Rights, scheduled for 2015.
The EU – Tajikistan Civil Society Seminar is part of the annual Human Rights Dialogue held between the European Union and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan to discuss a range of issues in the field of human rights. The dialogue was initiated after the adoption of the Strategy “The EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership” by the European Council in June 2007 and aims to promote respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the principles of democracy.
The European Union, composed of 28 Member States, is the world’s biggest aid donor. Tajikistan got the main share of bilateral assistance in the Central Asian region ( €66 million for 2007-2010 and 62 million for 2011-2013) in support to sector programs, technical assistance and grants. It focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management. Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water / environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The EU is active in Tajikistan since 1992 and provides approximately EUR 25 million annually in development assistance.
