The European Union and the Council of Europe launch an online course in support of legal professionals in Northern Macedonia to better support the protection of journalists

With the launch of the JUFREX / HELP online course: "Training of legal professionals for the protection and safety of journalists" for judges, public prosecutors and lawyers in Northern Macedonia, The European Union and the Council of Europe have once again shown their support for the protection and safety of journalists.

The course starts online Council of Europe Platform for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) and is part of a joint project of the EU and the Council of Europe Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Northern Macedonia (EUFREX), which aims to strengthen free, independent and diverse media as an essential part of a democratic society.

The Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Northern Macedonia, David Gerehe said The value of this course, which aims to further assist legal professionals, journalists and law enforcement officials in identifying and addressing threats to media actors, is still greater at a time when freedom of expression - a key element of democracy and an essential value of the EU - faces numerous challenges, not only in the country but also in the EU and around the world. Journalists continue to be the target of verbal and physical attacks, and face obstruction in their daily work, which in turn jeopardizes their key role as guardians in society. The latest such example in our country is the recent attack on a TV crew in Gostivar. "We recommend changes and amendments to the legislation in order to improve the position of media actors, but we also emphasize the importance of broad and comprehensive consultations that should result in quality laws that will then be fully implemented in practice."

Patrick Penkins, The Head of the Information Society Department thanked the participants for their cooperation in strengthening the capacities of legal professionals in order to ensure freedom of expression through the protection of journalists. "Given the harmful consequences of attacks on journalists in democratic societies, the protection of journalists and other media actors is a high priority for the Council of Europe. Through a series of activities, the Council of Europe seeks to enable journalists and other media actors in their Member States to fulfill their roles as guardians of democracy, without interference or fear, and that none a crime committed against a journalist and other media actor and will not go unpunished, " concluded Penins.

Natasha Gaber - Damjanovska, Director of the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors of Northern Macedonia, reaffirmed their commitment to follow European standards in the education of judges and public prosecutors.. "The cooperation with the EUFREX project in the past period has greatly contributed to the training of judges (jk) and public prosecutors in the field of freedom of expression, and in the future we will focus on the latest developments in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. rights in the field of protection and safety of journalists "said Gaber-Damjanovska.

In his address, The President of the Bar Association of Northern Macedonia, Ljubomir Mihajlovski, referred to the successful cooperation with the joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Northern Macedonia. He stressed that the knowledge gained by lawyers from this type of training motivates them to use and apply European standards and case law of the European Court of Human Rights in their professional everyday life.

Dragan Sekulovski, Executive Director of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, spoke on behalf of journalists and other media actors in Northern Macedonia. "Greater political will and systematic solutions are needed that will lead to resolving old cases of attacks on a journalist and preventing new attacks." The second thing that needs to be done is to increase the social standards of journalists and the guaranteed socio-economic status of all professional media actors. "Increasing the economic standards of journalists is important to make them more resilient to pressure and to be more motivated to produce quality content in the service of the public interest." concluded Sekulovski.

The course will be led by two local tutors who will judge their colleagues, public prosecutors and lawyers and will assist them in identifying and addressing threats against journalists. other media actor (s) and. The topics within the training are discussed in a practical way, through presentations, interactive exercises, knowledge tests and reflection exercises.

The UFREX / HELS online course provides an overview of key standards and legal frameworks for the protection of journalists, helps to identify and understand the various forms of pressure faced by journalists, and offers mechanisms to combat and prevent of impunity. The course - which lasts 10 hours - is interactive and uses innovative teaching methods. In addition to the tutoring course, the course is also available for self-study and anyone interested can register for free at the link.

This activity is organized within the joint program of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal instrument for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022", And the project"Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Northern Macedonia", And was implemented in cooperation with the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors and the Bar Association of Northern Macedonia.