“It is necessary to raise the awareness of law enforcement agencies to investigate attacks on journalists,” Lina Kushch

On March 6, the fourth meeting of the Coordination Committee under the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine (MCSC) for the implementation of the Council of Europe campaign Journalists Matter in Ukraine was held. At the meeting, the parties discussed the issue of the status of journalists and other media representatives, the ministry reported.

During the meeting, the participants discussed the current mechanisms for determining the status of journalists and other media representatives, as well as the need to bring national legislation into line with European legislation.

Senior Project Manager of the Council of Europe project Protection of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Media in Ukraine, Olena Demchenko, informed the members of the Coordination Committee about the results of the study by David Banisar called Defining Journalism: International Standards, prepared within the framework of the Council of Europe project Protection of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Media in Ukraine.

The participants of the meeting noted that the concept and status of a journalist are defined in the Law of Ukraine On State Support for the Media, Guarantees of Professional Activity and Social Protection of a Journalist: “A journalist is a creative employee of a media entity who professionally collects, receives, creates, edits, disseminates and ensures the preparation of information for the media.”

Responsibility for committing criminal offenses against journalists in connection with the performance of their professional duties or obstructing their official activities is provided for by the Penal Code of Ukraine.

“The norms of Ukrainian legislation that determine the status of a journalist are narrower than the norms of international law,” said Lina Kushch, the First Secretary of the NUJU. “When recording attacks against journalists, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine uses the recommendations of the Council of Europe, the UN, and UNESCO, which refer to all media workers, regardless of the presence of an editorial certificate. We consider it necessary to raise the awareness of law enforcement agencies, to develop recommendations for more effective investigation of attacks on journalists.”

The MCSC, within the framework of the work of the Coordination Committee for the implementation of the Council of Europe campaign Journalists Matter in Ukraine, cooperates with public organizations, representatives of media entities, the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Prosecutor General’s Office emphasized the National Coordinator of the Council of Europe campaign Journalists Matter in Ukraine/Director of the Department of Information Policy and Information Security of the MCSC, Hanna Krasnostup.

“In order to facilitate the professional activities of journalists, we propose to develop methodological recommendations and distribute them for use by law enforcement agencies,” she added.

Photo by MCSC