OSCE find ways to protect journalists and countering propaganda

Two-day conference "The safety of journalists, freedom of speech and pluralism in conflicts" began in the OSCE headquarters in Vienna. The agenda  of the conference has focused mainly on the consequences of a hybrid war of Russia against Ukraine, which includes both military and political, as information tools  of aggression. According to the organizers of the conference, the victims of military information  offense of Russia become journalists on both sides, as well as the audience, which disoriented by the propaganda of state-controlled media.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic said that the world situation is characterized by  the attack of corrupt regimes on freedom of expression. "There is a hunting season against journalists, especially in conflict areas, where special place belongs to Ukraine," she said. Mijatovic called propaganda "a scar on the face of journalism," stressing the importance of countering it in modern terms.

According to the information  from journalists' organizations  mentioned by the Assistant UN Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Shemonovich, approximately  half of  journalists  killed in the world  have lost their lives outside of war zones. In Ukraine, over  the past 18 months, died eight journalists, there were 300 cases of violence, kidnapping, beatings, and  30 attacks on media offices. In Crimea, and closed all Ukrainian speaking and Crimean Tatar TV channels have been closed  in the Crimea.

During the performance  the Ukrainian and Russian sides exchanged accusations of restricting access to information and the dissemination of misinformation. However, the majority of the OSCE member states openly accused Russia of annexing parts of Ukraine and information aggression.

But despite the conference was attended by the participants of  information confrontation, journalists, unlike the politicians, were more predisposed to constructive discussions, it was especially noticeable by restraint of Russian journalists.

On the first day of the conference, which is attended by more than four hundred journalists, experts and representatives of the OSCE member-countries, were considered such topics as the safety of journalists, journalistic ethics while covering the conflict, regulation of the media under conflict situations.

The conference will result  in developing set of recommendations reflecting the best practices in the light of events in the conflict zones,  ensuring the safety of journalists, countering information warfare, and establishing trust between journalists representing the sides to the conflict. -0-