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Azerbaijan University of Languages
İndividual Work
Faculty: Journalism
Speciality: International journalism
Group: 440
Teacher: Asadova Ellada
Student: Asgarova Nazrin
Subject: International Journalism in the media
system .
Topic: Activities of the Council of Europe in

the field of mass media development.
Council of Europe (CoE), based in Strasbourg (France), now
covers virtually the entire European continent, with its 47 member
countries. Founded on 5 May 1949 by 10 countries, the Council of
Europe seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic
principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and
other reference texts on the protection of individuals. The Council of
Europe is very proactive in terms of protection of human rights and
promotion of social issues, many of which are of relevance to older
people and are explained below. This is why AGE has applied for a
consultative status to the Council of Europe to strengthen our
participation in the processes which are relevant to older people.
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a treaty
by which the member states of the Council of Europe undertake to
respect fundamental freedoms and rights. All EU member states have
ratified this Convention which is guaranteed by the European Court of
Human Rights in Strasbourg. Thanks to the Lisbon Treaty, the EU
will also become party to this treaty. The rights proclaimed in this
Convention, as well as the European Court of Human Rights case law
are very relevant for older people. AGE has published a briefing note
where reference to the provisions of the ECHR is made in terms of
human rights challenges that older people face. Additionally the
European Court of Human Rights regularly publishes factsheets on
landmark decisions it has taken in different areas, including issues of
mental health, social welfare, ethical issues in the use of new
technologies and others, all affecting older people’s lives.
The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty which
guarantees social and economic human rights. It was adopted in 1961
and revised in 1996.
The European Committee of Social Rights rules on the conformity of
the situation in States with the European Social Charter, The basic
rights set out in the Charter include housing, health, education,
employment, legal and social protection, movement of persons and
non-discrimination. Under an Additional Protocol to the Charter,
national and European trade unions and employers' organisations and
accreditated international NGOs are entitled to lodge collective
complaints of violations of the Charter with the Committee. In
addition, national NGOs may lodge complaints if the State concerned
has made a declaration to this effect. When the Committee finds a
violation of the Charter, the Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers invites the respondent State to take specific measures to
bring the situation into line with the Charter. The case law of the
European Committee of Social Rights touches upon many issues
relevant to older people, such as pensions, social assistance and
access to basic services. After receiving the participatory status with
the Council of Europe AGE has been included in the list of NGOs
which can lodge complaints to the European Committee on Social
Rights.
In 2012, the Steering Group on Human Rights of the Council of
Europe (CDDH) has given a mandate to a working group comprised
of experts from Council of Europe Member States (CDDH-AGE) in
view of elaborating, anon-binding instrument on the promotion of
the human rights of older persons. AGE and other expert
representatives from international organisations, civil society and
representatives of other Council of Europe intergovernmental
Committees took part in the work of this group that drafted
a Recommendation on the promotion of human rights of older
persons adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe in February 2014.
Activities in the field pf Mass Media.
The right to freedom of expression and freedom of the media as
protected by Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights
are pillars of democratic security in Europe. The Council of Europe
promotes an enabling environment for freedom of expression,
underpinned by legal guarantees for independence and diversity of
media and safety of journalists and other media actors.
The Media and Internet division of the Council of Europe is a
reference point within the broad area of the work accomplished by
different Council of Europe bodies on freedom of expression and
media. The division also ensures the work of the Steering Committee
on Media and Information Society (CDMSI).
The Media and Internet division issues publications on relevant topics
and organises activities, such as conferences, seminars and other
events to foster discussions on how to best preserve freedom of
expression and information in Europe. It also ensures co-
operation activities by offering expertise and assistance on Council of
Europe standards to media and new-media actors, as well as guidance
to governments and regulatory authorities in target countries. The aim
is to foster an enabling environment for freedom of expression by
taking into account the challenges of a changing media landscape.
The division works with various subjects under freedom of
expression, such as protection of journalism and safety of journalists,
decriminalisation of defamation, gender equality in the media,
countering hate speech.
Freedom of expression in times of conflict.

The right to freedom of expression and information constitutes one
of the essential foundations of democratic society. In conflict
situations and wars, the role of the media is critical in providing the
public with accurate and timely information. Trustworthy news and
images can contribute to the protection of civilians and conflict
prevention, bring to the attention of the international community the
horrors and reality of conflict and expose violations of human rights
and international humanitarian law.
As a consequence, the work of journalists in conflict zones is fraught
with dangers: denial of access, censorship, harassment, arbitrary
detention and attacks are alarmingly frequent. As others who decide
to work in conflict areas, journalists take consciously a special risk by
working there. However, they are considered civilians and, as such,
should not be targeted. Member states should recognise the crucial
importance and role of journalism and the media – and ultimately
individual journalists – in times of conflict and aggression. Safety of
journalists in conflict areas is instrumental to that end.
Conflict situations are also often a fertile soil for mass disinformation
campaignsintended to undermine the proper understanding of the
developments, as well more generally, security, public order and
peaceful democratic processes. There is a vital need to develop tools
to more effectively protect democracy from “information weapons”,
while preserving freedom of expression and freedom of the media
both in the countries involved in the conflict and more widely.
Source:
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Council-of-Europe
https://www.europarc.org/european-policy/council-of-europe/

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Azerbaijan University of Languages

Topic: Activities of the Council of Europe in

Freedom of expression in times of conflict.

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