"The purpose of this ITP and this reference book material, is to look at ways
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to strengthen independent journalism with a “public interest” mission, both through voluntary self-regulation and a better un derstanding of official oversight and legal safeguards for the news media, in all its different forms and po litical environments." (Introduction)
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"This guide aims to provide practical information and guidance to civil society organisations who consider intervening in cases before national
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or international courts as so-called ‘amicus curiae’ or ‘third party intervener’. It is focused on interventions in cases concerning freedom of expression and the safety of journalists, but the information it provides is broadly applicable to other human rights cases as well. The legal term often used for these interventions is ‘amicus curiae intervention’. ‘Amicus curiae’ is a Latin term that literally means ‘friend of the court’. It indicates a person or organisation who participates in the case to provide an external perspective, independent from the parties. There are different interpretations as to what the ‘proper’ role of an amicus curiae is. This guide uses the term to describe a civil society organisation that intervenes in a case which is closely connected with that organisation’s mission (for example, a media freedom NGO intervening in the case of a journalist standing trial for defamation) to provide their perspective on the case. In some countries and before some courts, the term ‘third party’ or ‘third party intervener’ is preferred." (Introduction)
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"This report indicates that through complex set of mechanism the previous government, as well as authorities, gave their best to fully control
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the media sphere with the final aim to advance and prolong their reign. These tendencies can be observed through analysing the onground work and comparing it with theoretical research in a coherent framework of tools and strategies that were used as a sort of blueprint on how to control the media. One the one hand, political elites, linked with a lack of political will to protect journalists and freedom of the media, are partially responsible for the unsatisfactory situation in the country. On the other side a fair share of the responsibility lies at international organisations and journalists themselves for not being fully proactive in tackling pressing issues. With the given testimonials of Macedonian journalists and media workers underlining this assessment, the report gives on-ground perspective and first-hand experience on the main issues that are undermining professional journalism in the country." (Abstract)
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"The primary objective of the 2015 NIMP Mission was
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to provide technical inputs to activities underway under UNESCO’s Safety of Journalists project, particularly in terms of setting up an independent national mechanism on safety at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Another key objective was to advocate in favour of international best practices on press freedom, freedom of expression (FOE) and the right to information (RTI). Unlike previous missions, where advocacy had been the main objective, the 2015 Mission focused on three areas: The architecture of the NHRC mechanism, including a review of the procedures, by-laws, structure and organisation for making it an effective tool for ensuring safety of journalists and free expression advocates; Advocating in favour of respect for international standards on free expression and the safety of journalists, including via enabling provisions on free expression in the new constitution; Activities relating to the UNESCO safety project where there was need for international technical support." (IMS website)
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"Incidents of physical violence and – worse still – impunity for those who commit such acts continue in Croatia, an unacceptable situation for an EU member state. On
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the other, legal provisions such as the country’s criminal defamation and shaming laws have been abused to punish investigative journalists for doing their jobs. Such trends can and must be reversed. But it is also clear that ‘informal’ limits to free expression, which can be more easily disguised and hence denied, are at work in Croatia. These limits include excessive political influence in the media as well as politically motivated discourse that seeks to undercut critical journalism by singling out its practitioners as “activists” or even “traitors”. These patterns have an impact both on the production of content, through direct pressure or self-censorship, and on the reception of content by the public. The most glaring example of recent political influence is the recent government’s obvious interference at the public broadcaster HRT." (Conclusion, page 15)
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"Voters need and deserve to hear a full range of voices as they decide their future and '
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The Post' has played a vital role in providing an alternative to government-dominated mass media in Zambia. Unshackling that voice is critical if Zambians are to vote in an atmosphere that can be deemed free and fair. The ZRA has refused to work with The Post to reconcile its disputed debts and allow payment, making the seizure appear to be an effort by President Lungu to silence a persistent critic in order to hold on to power. IPI and the AMI are concerned that, if allowed to stand, the effort could have an extremely negative impact on democracy in the region, insofar as other leaders might take note and seek to misuse state power to similar ends." (Conclusion)
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"The aim of the present book is to provide both empirical
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and theoretical input to the discussions of the role of journalism and media in conflict and post-conflict situations and in the often rather muddy waters between them. Together, the contributions to this book from different parts of the world emphasise that discussions about post-conflict situations will gain from including the media. At the same time, the contributions problematise the concept of post-conflict and powerfully illustrate that the phase between war/conflict and peace is neither unidirectional nor linear, as the use of the concept sometimes seems to imply. Reaching a peace agreement or arranging for the termination of hostilities is, in itself, no guarantee that peace can be secured. The examples from Afghanistan, Colombia and South Sudan in this book show this up clearly. Remaining post-conflict societal friction may even be as threatening to long-lasting peace as the war itself. Hence, post-conflict may be seen as a “conflict situation in which open warfare has come to an end. However, such situations remain tense for years or decades and can easily relapse into large-scale violence” (Junne and Verkoren 2005)." (Introduction, pages 16-17)
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"There are a multitude of UN legal instruments which pertain to the rights of
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freedom of expression and information, and this book is the first to comprehensively map them and their function. It details the chequered history of both rights within the UN system and evaluates the suitability of the system for overcoming contemporary challenges and threats to the rights. Leading scholars address key issues, such as how the rights to freedom of expression and information can come into conflict with other human rights and with public policy goals, such as counter-terrorism. The book's institutional focus comprises five international treaties, UNESCO and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression." (Publisher description)
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The following report documents the findings of a delegation comprised of representatives fro
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m six international rights groups (three members and three partners of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, IFEX), which carried out a fact-finding mission between 20-30 November, 2011, in order to gain an understanding of the state of free expression and the status of human rights defenders in Bahrain. The 11 recommendations made in this report include calls to end the harassment, imprisonment and prosecution of Bahraini citizens for what essentially amount to persecution of free expression and legitimate human rights work.
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"The objective of the press freedom
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mission conducted by the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), was to the assess the media situation in Montenegro following several developments: a) the introduction of new media-related laws, including decriminalisation of defamation and libel; b) follow-up of the activities related to attacks on journalists, including the 2004 assassination of Dusko Jovanovic, editor-in-chief of the daily Dan; c) fact-finding about pressures on media; and e) evaluation of the steps taken towards the establishment of self-regulatory bodies." (Commentary)
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"This report outlines the findings and conclusions derived from the assessment mission under
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taken by the ‘Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa’ to Liberia in December 2003. This mission brought together the expertise of a number of the national, regional and international media development and freedom of expression actors. The report seeks to layout collaborative approaches for supporting the media during the immediate and longer-term transition periods, both in terms of overcoming obstacles and developing capacities and resources, as well as contributing towards the creation of lasting peace, stability and democracy." (Executive summary, page 3)
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