The International Press Institute (IPI) yesterday joined OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović and representatives of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in urging Russian and Ukrainian journalists unions to continue an ongoing dialogue aimed improving journalists’ safety and resolving points of conflict.
IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi, Mijatović, IFJ Deputy General Secretary Jeremy Dear and RSF Austria President Rubina Moehring made the joint call as part of a meeting between senior representatives of the unions at Mijatović’s Vienna office.
Mijatović has hosted the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian dialogue of journalist associations since 2014, in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and forces loyal to Kiev.
The full text of the statement appears below.
Following yesterday’s meeting, participants agreed on a number of steps to improve journalists’ safety and professionalism, and they called on Mijatović to visit both Ukraine and Russia to urge greater support and consensus among journalists’ organisations on actions to protect media freedom in both countries.
STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN DIALOGUE OF JOURNALIST ASSOCIATIONS
We, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Executive Director of the International Press Institute, deputy General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, President of Reporters without Borders, Austria, acknowledge the efforts over the past two years of the participants of the Russian-Ukrainian dialogue of journalist associations and its contribution to solving problems, such as safety of journalists in the conflict zone.
We, the undersigned, appeal to the senior representatives from the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine, National Union of the Journalists of Ukraine, and the Russian Union of Journalists to continue the current dialogue between the professional associations under the auspices of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media based on the following principles:
The parties in the dialogue are public associations that share international professional standards and principles on freedom of the media; in this regard they are not and have never been parties in the conflict in and around Ukraine.
The parties in the dialogue sincerely believe in its value to protect the safety of the journalists covering the conflict, to diminish the level of hate speech and propaganda for war in the media of their countries.
The parties in the dialogue are legitimate participants of international professional associations and as such mutually respect each other, in this regard they will refrain from aggressive rhetoric against each other.
The parties in the dialogue are self-governed and as such will refrain from involving governmental agencies in their professional activity and disputes.
These are the principles which should guide us all in facilitating the dialogue of the journalist associations for the future of the profession in the region.
Signed:
Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media
Barbara Trionfi, Executive Director of the International Press Institute,
Jeremy Dear, deputy General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists,
Rubina Moehring, President of Reporters without Borders, Austria
Vienna, 30 May 2016
