A discussion table to assess the reality of legislation and regulatory frameworks for the media in Iraq
In the context of the multi-donor project MDP, to promote freedom of expression and protection of journalists in Iraq, implemented by UNESCO, a round table was held to discuss and assess the role of regulatory frameworks for the media sector in the country and the impact of the absence of legislation on this basic right and the safety of journalists.
In partnership with the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and the Journalists Syndicate, a group of specialists, activists in media development, and journalists discussed the role of the Media and Communications Commission as the national regulator for media and communications.
The attendees indicated a clear absence of the Commission in playing its true role, keeping media problems and disputes away from the corridors of the courts, and trying to solve them in accordance with the codes of professional conduct and the rules of broadcasting and transmission that it has, and in accordance with Order 65, which is considered a law for the Commission in the absence of its permanent law.
UNESCO, based on the demands of the judiciary to find logical solutions to the chaos of information and communications and digital challenges, facilitated the process of discussion between journalists on the one hand and the judiciary on the other hand in order to chart a correct path through which the defects in the regulatory and legislative environment are diagnosed and solutions are presented in this direction.
The attendees also pointed out that the Commission did not exercise its role in guiding the course of enacting laws regulating the media and focused only on communications, while neglecting the support of the media and journalist community, at least organizationally, to bypass legal prosecutions. Even in terms of censorship, its role was limited to selective punitive aspects of certain media institutions at the expense of the rest.
The judicial authority diagnosed during the session a clear shortcoming in regulating this sector with the absence of legislation, specifically with regard to digital media, which made the judges embarrassed while considering issues related to publishing and digital media.
It is noteworthy that this assessment will be a basic basis for the next UNESCO report to the International Council for the Development of Communication and Media in Paris at the beginning of next year.
