Azerbaijan is not fulfilling its international obligations regarding freedom of the media

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Question: Before the jubilee of the press, it is probably worth remembering the international obligations of Azerbaijan on media and the international documents that have been signed.

Answer: Azerbaijan's international obligations to the media are mainly related to joining international agreements. There is a regional European Convention on Human Rights and a UN Pact on Civil and Political Rights. The Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan ratified both documents and their provisions were to be considered the basis of the national media legislation. This is because the Article 10 of the Convention and the Article 19 of the Covenant also regulate freedom of expression. Freedom of expression also includes freedom of the media because the point is broad. Freedom of all media, the obligation of the state not to interfere with the activities of the media, pre-determined license conditions, etc. are included in these documents.

Question: Does Azerbaijan follow these obligations? Maybe some should, and some should not, trying to create the appearance that some obligations have been fulfilled? Does Azerbaijan's media legislation comply with international obligations? This refers to bringing the laws and codes governing the activities of journalists and media in line with these obligations.

Answer: The fulfillment of Azerbaijan's international obligations to the media can be assessed in two stages. The first is the adaptation of domestic legislation to it, and the second is the practical application of both national and international legislation. We have many problems in both aspects. Firstly, the Constitution of Azerbaijan clearly stated that there is freedom of information in Azerbaijan and the state guarantees freedom of the media. However, in the legislation regulating the activities of the media, there are a number of restrictions that do not correspond to either the second part of Article 10 of the Convention, or the second part of Article 19 of the UN Covenant. In this regard, there are serious problems in the legislation. In this regard, we regularly appear in the media. As for practice, there are very serious problems here. The biggest problems in practice are shown by the decisions of the European Court. In the decisions of the European Court against Azerbaijan, we see that a large number of violations of the Article 10 are recognized, and most of these violations follow not only from legislation, but also from practice. This is from the wrong application. From this point of view, we see that both from a legal and from a practical point of view, Azerbaijan does not strictly comply with its international obligations, that is, the obligations to join the convention rights.

Question: Azerbaijan is preparing a new law on the media. Issues related to this bill, while not being disclosed, are kept secret. It is known that the new law provides for the licensing of Internet television, a single certificate of license, and control over social networks. On this score, you are more knowledgeable than we are. Do you think that this bill will comply with international obligations and standards undertaken by Azerbaijan in the field of media?

Answer: In general, when developing a law on the media,   one should be guided by the extent to which it is necessary. If the new law on mass media was developed with the aim of introducing restrictions, then there was no need for the new law. Because the legislation was already sufficiently restrictive - existing laws and significant changes introduced to them later. It can be said that that freedom of the media is practically not visible in the legislative framework. The Law on Information and Information Protection contains provisions regarding the introduction of censorship during martial law and emergencies, as well as media regulation, blocking of Internet resources, etc.

That is, as already mentioned, if the law is adopted with the intention of introducing restrictions, then this is not necessary. If the talk is about the discussion of a new draft law, then first it must be presented, or its public discussion should start. The work must be carried out within this framework. However, in our case, public discussion is not part of the legislative process. That is, the society does not participate here. The talk is about a certain project located behind seven locks. Secondly, the content of the project is not presented. However, even if this draft was prepared without public scrutiny, in the end it should not have been sent to parliament without putting it up for public discussion. Unfortunately, this was not taken into account. Of course, there are certain points that they bring up for public comment. For example, licensing of some Internet TV channels, as well as the introduction of a single certificate. This suggests that the provisions of this law are largely generated by the desire to establish control over the media on the Internet. This contrasts sharply with Azerbaijan's international obligations, and in this regard, the country may face serious international and public censure.

Q: Why is the government preventing the media from doing their job in accordance with generally accepted standards?

Answer: The government does not give the media the opportunity to conduct their work in an ordinary, standard way, because the activities of the media are public control. If the media can exercise complete public control over governance, that will mean they will be a vehicle for exposing bad governance. The government wants only positive coverage. Therefore, the government needs loyal media to engage in its propaganda, and not to impartially and objectively inform the public. The games by the government around the media or establishing control over it under the pretext of supporting it, as well as the illegitimate desire to limit them under the pretext of improving legislation, is motivated by its unwillingness to govern in an environment where independent media operate. If the government wished for a form of government in which control was exercised by independent media, it would allow it. All attacks on the media, including under the guise of legal regulation, are undoubtedly aimed at establishing control over them and creating conditions for reporting what the government needs, not the truth.

Question: What steps should Azerbaijan take to ensure freedom of speech and fulfill international obligations?

Answer: Much can be talked about it. Naturally, the government should understand that if it wants the media in the country to be independent, it should not interfere in their activities. Intervention can take many forms. Intervention can be carried out by political, economic and legal means. Legal regulation of the media should be carried out in accordance with international standards. There should be no state-sponsored or state-supported media. Because if the government fosters only the media, it creates inequality and actually hinders the development of a free market environment. It is necessary to create conditions for a free advertising market. The government should not get involved in the advertising business. Naturally, this requires the development of small and medium-sized businesses. That is, market relations should be established freely. Therefore, it is important for the state to refrain from interfering in the economy. At the same time, if the government wants to develop the media, it must exempt or reduce taxes on advertising revenues in various media sectors. In this case, economic initiatives to present their goods and services in the media will be more attractive. To ensure the economic sustainability of the media, it is necessary to abandon the money transferred from shadow sources, direct, official grants and funds transferred as aid. Because of all this, the media are dependent and cannot develop. If all this is realized and the government creates an independent judiciary, then independent media may appear in the country. Without observing the above conditions, the existence of independent media outlets is out of the question.