20 Mar Declaration for Media Reporting on LGBTI Promoted in Skopje
Declaration on Ethical and Professional Media Reporting on Topics Related to LEGBTI was launched at the Agency for Audio and Audio-Visual Media Services, on March 22, 2018.
The Declaration comes as a result of the initiative of the Coalition Margins, together with the Council for Media Ethics, the Association of Journalists of the Republic of Macedonia and the Agency of Audio and Audio-Visual Media Services. By launching this Declaration, the initiators expressed their joint commitments and efforts to prevent discriminatory and derogatory speech towards the LGBTI population in the media, and to encourage the media to promote sexual and gender diversity as well as protection of LGBTI rights.
The Agency Director Zoran Trajchevski, Marina Tuneva from the Council for Media Ethics, Deniz Sulejman from the Association of Journalists and Slavcho Dimitrov from the Coalition Margins addressed the attendees.
The Director of the Agency for Audio and Audio-Visual Media Services emphasized the previous cooperation between the Agency and the civil society organizations representing the rights of the LGBTI people, as well as the Agency’s activities towards the purposes of monitoring and prevention of discriminatory speech and hate speech on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in media. In his address Trajchevski pointed out that the Agency had conducted a new survey in which the views of the media audience on the topics related to LGBTI in the media are measured and analyzed. Marina Tuneva from the Council for Media Ethics stressed the importance of self-regulation in the media, as well as their key role in promoting and protecting the rights of LGBTI people. Based on previous practices and the reviewed complaints and initiatives of the Council, Tuneva pointed to the main features of media reporting on topics related to LGBTI. Sulejman from the Association of Journalists reminded the media of the provisions and values promoted by the Code of the Journalists of Macedonia, and reminded about the Associations’ efforts and proposals for introduction of sexual orientation as prohibited grounds for discrimination in the new Law on Media.
The initiators of the Declaration once again encouraged all the media outlets that had not signed the Declaration by then, to do so, and thus reaffirm their commitment as well as send a clear message to the citizens that they condemn the discrimination and hate speech against LGBTI people, and recognize their role in advocating and promoting human rights.
This initiative is a part of the USAID Project for Inclusion of the LGBTI, implemented in partnership between the Coalition Margins, the LGBTI Support Center and LGBT United Tetovo.
The Declaration is available in [english], [macedonian] and [albanian].
