12 July 2021
On 12 July 2021, UNESCO organised training for judiciary training centres and media, in cooperation with UN agencies in Central Asia. Training for judges and prosecutors is part of the UN plan of action on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity.
This training aims to provide judiciaries with an overview of the international and regional legal framework underpinning the right to freedom of expression, access to information, safety of journalists. It is designed for judicial officers, as they are essential partners in the development, interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of laws related to freedom of expression, press freedom and the safety of journalists.This training is consistent with the UNESCO’s objectives to promote freedom of expression, press freedom, media development, and universal access to information and knowledge, for building peaceful, just and inclusive knowledge societies.
The regional interactive programme started with a presentation by the former head of the Centre for International Studies at The Hague Academy of International Law, and Professor at the Faculty of Law of Aix-en-Provence, France. She will share European experience in relation to freedom of expression, the legitimate limits, and related decisions.
The recommendations were discussed in online breakout sessions.
Issues covered: Safety of Journalists, Freedom of expression, Rabat Plan of Action on Issue of Hate Speech, General standards and prosecutors’ guidelines, dialogue with press and discussions.
The expected results:
- A judiciary with deeper knowledge on freedom of expression and press for the consolidation of democracy in the country, as well as the role of journalists: their rights and obligations, as well as their limitations and violations.
- An environment that improved relationship between the judiciary and the press, contributing to a greater access to the information of the state of the processes in investigation or in judgment that represents a great public interest.
- A judiciary committed to engage in efforts to combat impunity for crimes and attacks against journalists to ensure freedom of expression and press freedom in the country.
- A set of recommendations are produced for the advocacy work in the areas of defending press freedoms and raising awareness of judicial processes on press crimes and journalists' defense.
- A set of recommendations are developed for the inclusion of the thematic of freedom of expression and safety of journalists’ issues into the training curriculum for the judiciary.
- Agenda (EN, RU)
- UN Human Rights Committee's General Comment No. 34 deals with the right to freedom of expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (RU, EN)
- UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity (RU, EN)
- Guidelines for prosecutors on crimes against journalists (EN, RU, UZK)
- Manual Freedom of Expression and Public Order (EN)
- Brochure "Freedom of Expression and Public Order: Fostering Relationships Between Security Forces and Journalists" (RU, EN)
- Rabat plan of action on issue of hate speech (RU, EN)
- Safety of journalists covering protests (RU, EN)
- Standards on media pluralism (EN)
- Draft report on safety of journalists in Kazakhstan (RU)
- Video of training security forces in The Gambia (EN)
- Short version of the video of training security forces in Tunisia (EN)
- Long version of the video of training security forces in Tunisia (EN)
- Standards on access to information (EN)
Video record of the webinar in English
UNESCO's flagship Judges Initiative was launched in 2013 to reinforce the knowledge and expertise of actors of the judiciary through series of MOOCs, workshops and seminars on issues related to freedom of expression. Since then, more than 23,000 judicial actors and representatives of civil society have been trained on freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists in Latin America, Africa and the Arab region. The contribution of UNESCO to the project organized in Uzbekistan was supported by Open Society Foundations.
Permanent link: http://en.unesco.kz/judiciary-training-on-freedom-of-expression