A conference entitled “Favorable Media Environment Is an Important Factor in Legal Education of Society” will take place in Dushanbe on May 14.
The event is organized by the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) Committee on International Affairs, Public Associations and Information in collaboration with the Khoma Public Association under support of the European Union.
The conference is reportedly aimed at once again reviewing the media bill with a wider range of representatives of relevant government bodies ad international organizations as well as media
Press release issued by the Khoma Public Association, in particular, notes that in Tajikistan, activities of mass media are regulated mainly by two laws: the Law on Print and Other Mass Media (the media law) and the Law on Television and Radio-broadcasting.
Meanwhile, rapid development of technologies and Tajikistan’s international obligations reportedly obliges to adapt these documents to international standards and modern conditions.
By the decision adopted by the Majlisi Namoyandagon Committee on International Affairs, Public Associations and Information a Working Group was set up in March 2023 to draft the media bill. The working group members include representatives of relevant government bodies and civil society who have studied experience of various countries of the region and analyzed legislative acts regulating mass media’s activities.
The Working Group has developed a draft of a new law and held public discussions with representatives of civil society, media and lawyers in Dushanbe and in Sughd and Khatlon provinces.
As a result of public discussions, about 100 proposals were reportedly received and they once again were discussed by the Working Group members.
Recall, the Law on Print and Other Mass Media of Tajikistan, which was adopted in 2013, regulates the mass media sector in Tajikistan. It sets out explicit guarantees for media freedom and includes provisions relating to the language of media communications, state support of the media, the rights and duties of journalists, the registration of media outlets, and media management and operations. It also guarantees the right of reply and refutation, copyright and the operation of foreign media outlets in Tajikistan.
It, particular, recognizes that international treaties, to which Tajikistan is a party, apply to the regulation of media, proclaims that media in Tajikistan are free and that everyone has a right to seek, obtain and distribute information, express his/her convictions and distribute them in the mass media, and bans censorship and persecution for criticism and establishes legal liability for violations of the freedom of media.
In the meantime, experts note that the 2013 media law includes a number of provisions that are in breach of international freedom of expression standards, in particular, the regulations dealing with: media registration; content restrictions; the right of reply and refutation; access to state information; the protection of confidential information; the accreditation of journalists; duties of journalists; and the accreditation of foreign media.
