Prevention of violence against journalists focus of OSCE seminar in Turkmenistan

An OSCE-organized online seminar on international standards and national experiences in preventing violence against journalists and promoting their rights was held from 27 to 28 June 2022.

Two international experts facilitated the meeting for representatives of structures involved in the implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) for 2021-2025 provisions on freedom of the media and freedom of the journalistic profession.

The two-day event brought together representatives from the Mejlis (lower chamber) of the Milli Gengesh (parliament), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ombudsperson's Office, the Supreme Court, the Bar Association, and the Institute for State, Law and Democracy, lecturers from institutions of higher education as well as journalists from national print, broadcast and online media.

The experts covered a number of important issues related to the safety of journalists, including the creation of a safe environment for their work and protection of female journalists online. They elaborated on the rights of journalists in the 21st century and journalists' relations with the audience.

"Journalists play a vital role in covering important political processes, and ensuring the safety of journalists helps to strengthen democratic states," said John MacGregor, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

"Since 1975, the OSCE participating States have significantly enhanced the package of commitments ensuring the media freedom and we firmly believe that our event will make an efficient contribution to the practical implementation of the relevant provisions of the National Human Rights Action Plan," added MacGregor.

Andrey Rikhter, Advisor to the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), presented the OSCE's key commitments related to the freedom of the media and the 2018 Ministerial Decision on the Safety of Journalists, which calls on the OSCE participating States "to fully implement all OSCE commitments and their international obligations related to freedom of expression and media freedom, including by respecting, promoting and protecting the freedom to seek, receive and impart information regardless of frontiers."