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UK SECTION |
The AEJ is active across the continent
of Europe. Please visit its website, www.aej.org,
and check AEJ Newsletters
for information about what it is doing for its members |
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Lunchtime meetings 17 February 2012 HE
Mr Ünal Çeviköz Turkish Ambassador to the UK Meetings are usually held at the European Parliament’s London Office (Europe House, 32 Smith Square, SW1). The EP’s UK website gives details of its own events, of which visitors may be notified by email. You can see a
list of our recent lunchtime guests in Past Events _______________________________ UN Guide to Article 19 Professor Michael O’Flaherty, Deputy Chair of the UN Human Rights Committee and Commissioner for Human Rights in Northern Ireland, met members of the section on 19 January. He reported that the HRC’s definitive exposition on article 19 of the International Covenant has been published as “General Comment 34”. He had given a speech in June outlining its main findings at the Vilnius Conference on the safety of journalists (below). _______________________________ NEW: OSCE Guidebook on Journalists’ Safety William Horsley, the AEJ UK Chairman and International
Director of the Centre for Freedom of the Media, Mr Ažubalis said of the Guidebook: “I commend
it to every person, institution and government body concerned with the free
expression of the media, and the freedom of citizens to have access to public
information and knowledge, not just in the OSCE area, but throughout the
world.” The Guidebook sets out the obligations of OSCE participating states regarding all aspects of the safety of journalists, and describes best practice for protecting press freedom and freedom of expression in democratic societies. Separately,
the AEJ has called on the 56
OSCE governments to ratify the Vilnius
Recommendations. These were debated at a conference on the safety of
journalists organised by the current OSCE chair, Lithuania, on 7-8 June. For
further information, see the AEJ Media Freedom Representative's report and the Media Freedom page. This work is supported by the Initiative
on Impunity and the Rule of Law to establish the legal and political
framework needed to ensure that those who attack journalists are
investigated, prosecuted and punished. See Media Freedom (12
November 2011) _______________________________ Please
sign the petition to save the BBC World
Service from funding cuts ·
Report
of the NUJ's 15 March meeting ·
Minister on the "possibility"
of more funds ·
Letter
from Andrew Tyrie MP, Chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee, to the
Foreign Secretary ·
Comment
by AEJ member Richard Heller FCO
announcement on 22 June of an extra £2.2m a year for the World
Service to "maintain the current level of investment in the BBC Arabic
Service" |
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International AEJ Congress 2011 Last
year's annual congress was held in Bucharest on 10-12 November. The UK Section joins other sections in
thanking the Romanian Section for organising a highly successful and
memorable event. The theme of the congress was “Freedom and
Responsibility in the Mass Media” (see AEJ in Europe). For a visual
record, see Photo Gallery:
Bucharest 2011. _______________________________ About us 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. 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 is intended to 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 may be presented to CoE foreign ministers, the
Parliamentary Assembly, the European Court of Human Rights and others, and
made 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. |
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