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Ladies and Gentlemen

We are pleased to put between your hands this report About
 

Media and Democratic Transition

 

 

 

 

 

 Under the framework of working to establish free, fair and independent media which assumes transmitting accurate and precise information as its basic role, while providing dialogue areas between citizens and their representatives in parties and organizations (politicians and intellectuals) in a way that guarantees pluralism and variety, and assures balance within the society

 

Pursuant to its commitment to promote Democracy and the Democratic Transition path, and to establish bridges of communication and harmony among the different political and intellectual elites in Tunisia.


 

 

The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) a workshop entitled "Media and Democratic Transition" on the 13th, 14th, 15th December 2013 at the Moevenpick Hotel, Sousse.

 

The workshop lasted for three days; its agenda included six workshops interposed by the intervention of Professor Reno De Laprose, a university professor and an expert in media and communication at Illinois University in Sweden. His speech was about the transgressions of the means of media in the period of Democratic Transition.

  

The workshop tackled the following points:

  • The ethics of the career of Journalism.
  • The role of media in the period of Democratic Transition.
  • Media and its role in restraining political violence.
  • The mechanisms to guarantee justice and transparency in the public financing of media and publicity.
  • Reviewing the legislative framework to guarantee respecting Clause 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Clause 19 of the International Convention on Political and Civil Rights.
  • Pluralism and the Editorial Line of Media Institutions.
 

 
 

  

The main goal behind organizing such an event is to sensitize all the components of the Media System of the efficient role that the journalist could play in the democratic building process as well as in posing visions to reform the audio�visual sector.

 

Journalists, bloggers, civil society activists, politicians, executives, and deputies at the National Constituent Assembly participated at the workshop.
 

   

   

After lengthy discussions, during which conceptions about the horizons of media in this transitional period that Tunisia is witnessing were provided, we attained the following recommendations:

  • Urging the media to adhere to the ethics of the profession and to what this requires of accuracy, impartiality, investigation, professionalism, responsibility as fundamental principles; internationally accepted and recognized, when transferring the information.
  • Ativating the mechanisms of the Supreme Independent Body for Audiovisual Media in controlling all incitement to violence, calling for the issuance of monthly reports about violations and hatred speech, and inviting professional structures to monitor respect for the ethics the profession, also, the media institution's managers should be responsible for its speeches.
 

   

  • Establishing a Council for Written and Electronic Press and constitutionalizing it to enjoy legal force to help achieve the desired goals especially in the field of regulating the sector.
  • Inviting media institutions to abide by the rules of fair competition and to get away from all media incitement that could adversely affect the community.
  • Mainstreaming Editorial Boards in media institutions and activating their roles.

 

  • Calling for strictness in the application of laws and decrees in what relates to incitement to violence, the dissemination of hatred speech, and any dangerous violations of the law.
  • Changing traceability procedures while devoting the role to the Public Prosecution in crimes of defamation and insulting.
  • Explicitly quoting in Decrees 115 and 116 the abolition or adoption of the Penal Code' articles in Press Crimes (Similar to the Labor Code's articles).
  • Reviewing and developing education programs and curricula in the basic and professional teaching institutions in the field of journalism, media, and communication.
  • Calling for the rehabilitation and retraining of journalists in matters related to the ethics and legal regulations associated with inciting to violence.
  • Designing criteria for assigning public publicity by public institutions.
  • Finding mechanisms to support small, regional, and local media institutions and developing their competitiveness capability through the available incentives.
  • Ensuring the transparency of financing media institutions, determining the ceiling of owning media institutions, and developing a legal mechanism to monitor foreign funding which should not exceed one third.
  • Calling for developing and amending the Code of Honor of Arab Media required that it is consistent with international standards and that all parties concerned in media in Tunisia participate in it before its approval by the Arab Media Ministers. 

 

   

 

 

   

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