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Media's role in elections a hot topic in
Iraqi Kurdistan
5.5.2009
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May 5, 2009
Erbil-Hewler, Iraqi Kurdistan region,
— A World Press Freedom Day
conference organized in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan on
Sunday and sponsored by UNESCO and UNDP, saw a
lively and rich debate on press freedom issues in
the context of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the
upcoming regional and national elections.
“A free and fair press is the very foundation of a
well-functioning democracy, as well as the continued
development and progress of Iraq and Iraqi
Kurdistan,” Mr. Vehbi Selmani, acting head of UNDP’s
Erbil office, told participants.
“Helping Iraq with developing a strong and vibrant
press on both the regional and national level
remains one of the key priorities of UNDP in Iraq,”
he added.
As many of the country’s press outlets are owned by
political parties or entities with links to
politicians, news stories on political issues are
often one-sided or inaccurate. The number of such
articles is expected to increase in the run-up to
the regional vote in Iraqi Kurdistan on July 15 and
the national parliamentary elections expected in
December.
Together with other UN agencies, UNDP is supporting
Iraqi election authorities in establishing a
framework for media handling, as well as organising
several workshops and a major information campaign
for journalists on their rights and responsibilities
when reporting on popular votes. UNDP also worked
with the country’s Communications and Media
Commission (CMC) to update its Code of Conduct for
covering elections.
The Erbil conference was organised by the
independent national Iraqi news agency Aswat al-Iraq
and sponsored by UNESCO and UNDP through a
Spanish-funded programme to help develop Iraqi
media.
The gathering fostered a healthy and passionate
debate with a strong consensus in favour of a more
independent and unbiased Iraqi media and better
access to official information for journalists.
While the Iraqi constitution enshrines freedom of
expression,www.ekurd.net
it is silent on the right to
access official information for reporters and the
public in general.
The participants, totalling over a hundred of the
region’s leading journalists, politicians, media
experts and officials, stressed in their
interventions the importance of neutral and
professional reporting during the upcoming rounds of
regional and national elections.
The strong consensus resulted in the setup of an
ad-hoc body to monitor the press coverage of the
regional Iraqi Kurdistan elections, with the aim of
curbing the most serious partisan excesses. A
document,www.ekurd.net
named the Erbil Declaration and
reflecting the participants’ support of a free and
independent press and better access to official
information for journalists, was also adopted by the
conference.
A similar event organised by the international media
development NGO IREX and supported by UNESCO and
UNDP took place in Baghdad, featuring panel debates
with senior officials and media representatives and
with over 500 visitors during a full day of events.
UNDP has maintained an office and a team of experts
in Erbil to serve the Iraqi Kurdistan region for
several decades, currently implementing a portfolio
of some 20 different development projects.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency,
undp.org
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