DUSHANBE, November 1, Asia-Plus — The issue of self-regulation is of significant importance for Tajikistan, because after the civil war the country got in the democratic way of development of society, Ambassador Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, remarked while inaugurating the 9th Central Asia Media Conference in Dushanbe today.
Speaking at conference, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti noted that self-regulation does not mean censorship, but it is a democratic institution promoting dialogue between media and society, “and in my opinion, the self-regulation institution helps media protect themselves.”
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media also noted that self-regulation will promote improvement of work of media. “”Journalist who is confident of facts stated in materials is more protected than that who criticizes irresponsibly,” Miklos Haraszti said.
During the conference it was also noted that different countries had elaborated their own systems of self-regulation.
The conference participants termed editorial boards and press services as examples of self-regulation mechanisms. In both cases, complaints and claims against journalists are considered by representatives of media themselves and case is not brought to court.
Mr. Ognian Zlatev, Managing Director, Medial Development Center, Bulgaria, who read a paper on the shared benefits of media self-regulation, noted that it is necessary to establish media self-regulation centers in every country. “At present there is no well-defined structure of self-regulation centers, because each country chooses its own model of actions, but there is no sense in elaborating and adopting the ethical code of conduct for journalists without such centers, because the code will just remain on paper and not be implemented.”
The 9th Central Asia Media Conference, formally titled “Developing Media Self-Regulation in Central Asia: Towards Independent and Responsible Media” and organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, aims to increase the understanding of the role of mechanisms that help balance the rights and responsibilities of editors and journalists.
