How to defend human and journalistic rights while performing professional duties: round table in Chernivtsi

Freedom of the media, in particular, of journalists working in them, is an essential component of freedom of expression and freedom of information. A wide range of issues on this issue was discussed during the round table meeting titled How to Defend Human and Journalistic Rights While Performing Professional Duties. At the initiative of the Journalists’ Solidarity Center of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and with the participation of journalists, representatives of law enforcement agencies, and local lawyers, an interesting and useful conversation about the rights of a journalist and a citizen took place. The speaker and moderator of the meeting was Yuliya Fushtei, a representative of the Regional Center for Free Legal Aid.

The rights and guarantees of the activities of both journalists and the media should be strictly observed, but the provisions of current legislation are not adhered to by everyone and not always.

During the meeting, the parties elaborated a memorandum of rights for the work of a journalist:

1. While performing professional duties, a journalist has the right to make written, audio, and video recordings using technical means, except in cases provided for by law.
2. A journalist has the right to freely visit the premises of government entities and open events held by them.
3. A journalist has the right not to disclose his sources of information, except in cases when he is obliged to do so by a court decision.
4. After presenting a document, a journalist has the right to collect information in areas of natural disasters, catastrophes, places of accidents, mass riots, and military operations, except in cases provided for by law.
5. A journalist has the right to distribute materials prepared by him under his signature (authorship) or a pseudonym (pseudonym).
6. A journalist has the right to refuse authorship (signature) of the material if its content after editorial editing contradicts his beliefs.
7. Documents confirming the status of a journalist may be:

• editorial ID;
• ID issued by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine;
• journalist ID issued by a media trade union;
• press cards of other journalistic organizations, including international ones.

Call the Unified Western Ukrainian JSC Lviv-Chernivtsi at 097 907 9702 (Nataliya Voitovych, the coordinator of the Lviv’s Center, and Volodymyr Bober, assistant). The Center’s address is 5 Solomiyi Krushelnytskoyi Street.

ABOUT JSC

The Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designated to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.

ABOUT UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.