OSCE promotes media self-regulation in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, 20 March 2007 - Raising awareness in Kazakhstan on the benefits of media self-regulation was the aim of an OSCE-organized roundtable discussion in Astana today.

It brought together local journalists, media experts and government representatives. They underlined the need for journalists to abide by professional ethical guidelines. Media experts from Russia and Bulgaria spoke about the challenges of developing self-regulatory bodies in the new democracies, focusing on the examples of their countries.

In a letter to participants, Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, wrote: "Developing media self-regulation will largely contribute to the improvement of the media situation in Kazakhstan. The acknowledgement by media professionals of their public responsibilities will help maintain editorial freedom and stimulate the trust in the media. Instruments of media self-regulation are very well suited to increase media professionalism and could substitute State interference with the work of the media including in cases of defamation."

Ermukhamet Yertysbaev, the Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, said: "During the years of independence of Kazakhstan, the number of media outlets and non-governmental organizations working in the sphere of information has constantly increased. This could be a basis for development of the self-regulation. Today's Kazakhstan aims to develop a media community and we stand ready to be partners in this process."

As a result of the discussion, participants offered recommendations on ways to develop media self-regulation in Kazakhstan.

The event was organized by the OSCE Centre in Almaty, the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan. It was part of broader campaign by the OSCE Representative to promote of the mechanisms of media self-regulation in the OSCE Participating States.