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2 September 2010 Mr Maajid Nawaz Co-founder and co-director of Quilliam, the
counter-terrorism think tank 29 September 2010 Ambassador Marc Otte EU Special Representative for the Middle
East Peace Process Our meetings are usually held at the
London office of the European Parliament, 2 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1
(see News) ___________________________________ International AEJ Congress
2010 The AEJ's
2010 Congress will be held from 7 to 10 October in Ordu on Turkey's Black Sea
coast (see AEJ in Europe). ___________________________________ NEW AEJ and the Council of
Europe The AEJ is an official Observer at the Council of Europe's Media
Steering Committee. We are working with the CoE, alongside other media and human rights
bodies, on a new project to compile a database of information about serious
violations of media freedom by states. It will chart breaches of the CoE's Indicators
for Media in a Democracy. These include violence and wrongful police
action against journalists, significant editorial interference,
discrimination and lack of reasonable access to information. The database will be presented to CoE foreign ministers, the
Parliamentary Assembly, the European Court of Human Rights and others. It
will be accessible on a CoE website. A working
group has also been set up to focus on how CoE members are honouring the
pledge they made in 2009 to review their anti-terrorism laws for compliance
with article 10 of the ECHR. It appears that few, if any, have done so. For
the texts, see the civil
society statement and p.11 of the CoE ministers' resolution. The working
group will compile a report by October for the Media Committee's meeting in
November 2010. The AEJ's Media Freedom Representative would welcome news of
any concerns in this field – reporting terrorism, protecting sources,
surveillance and data collection, abuses by police etc. ___________________________________ John Coleman We
announce with great sorrow that John Coleman died on 5 January 2010. He
was a frequent participant in AEJ meetings, livening our discussions with an
enthusiasm and originality that was wholly unique. He will be sorely missed.
An obituary was published in The
Daily Telegraph on 29 January |
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The AEJ is an independent, self-funding association for journalists, writers and specialists in European affairs. The UK section is part of a Europe-wide network of some 20 national sections across Europe, with more than 1000 members in all. In the UK section, we arrange for leading newsmakers from across Europe to give briefings to us about once a month, over lunch at the office of the European Parliament in London. We also organise special events, such as seminars, from time to time. The AEJ offers journalists the chance to be part of a network of media professionals and experts on European issues. Membership can provide valuable mutual support for individual journalists (it is open to both UK and non-UK nationals). If you would like to join, please go to the Membership page. We are not tied to any institutional or political group but are recognised by the Council of Europe, the OSCE and UNESCO. Our goals are to advance knowledge and debate on European affairs and to uphold media freedom. Internationally, the AEJ has an active programme of professional activities and the annual AEJ Congress is a forum for debate on matters of common concern to journalists across the continent. A high priority is given to the AEJ's Media Freedom Project. AEJ Media Freedom Project The AEJ plays an international role in promoting the protection of freedom of expression and journalism through its Media Freedom Representative, William Horsley (also Chairman of the UK section). In 2008, we were granted observer status at the Council of Europe's Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services (CDMC). This allows the AEJ to take part in the Council of Europe's policy-making deliberations on a wide range of issues and to raise all problems faced by journalists with Europe's watchdog for freedom of expession and human rights. William
Horsley is active at both the CoE Committee and its working group on the impact
of anti-terrorism and state security laws on freedom of expression. He does
so in parallel with representatives of bodies such as the IFJ, the IPI,
Article 19 and Reporters without Borders. On 26 October 2009, he presented a report to the Council of Europe revealing that 20
journalists were killed in the past three years in Europe and that
violence, repressive laws and political interference continue to plague the
media. At
present, the AEJ has two points of focus: the CoE members' promise
in 2009 to review their anti-terrorism laws so that they do not block
legitimate freedom of expression, and the compilation of a database of
violations of the Indicators
for Media in a Democracy. The AEJ
Media Freedom Network is made up of committed members in all national sections.
Projects on selected topics and themes are followed up at AEJ
meetings and debates at the annual congress. The Project's first achievement was the AEJ Media Freedom Survey. It was published to considerable acclaim at the 2007 Dublin Congress and was supplemented by two further reports in 2008. |
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