19 of September: deadline for registration for "Freedom of expression in the times of armed conflict in Ukraine"

On 24 of September, the forum "Freedom of expression in the times of armed conflict in Ukraine" is to be held to discuss safety and protection of journalists, press freedom in the times of war, self-censorship and other issues. The round table is organized in Kyiv by the international human rights organization Freedom House in partnership with the Institute of Mass Information, the Human Rights Platform and the ZMINA Human Rights Center.

The conference is to last one day, there will be opportunity to join it online.

The aim of the forum is to unite a wide range of participants from all regions of Ukraine who share the same values ​​of human rights and freedom of expression and are willing to seek solutions to many challenges in several domains, such as security, protection of journalists, freedom of speech, access to information, digital rights and freedoms of artistic self-expression that have emerged in Ukrainian society since the beginning of the Russian aggression in 2014.

"Freely. Responsibly. Together” is the slogan of the forum, which reflects the values ​​and principles of partnership of co-organizers and participants of the event.

The human rights forum will consist of three main blocks:

Security and protection of journalists' rights. Analysis of trends in violations of freedom of speech in recent years, statistics on solving the attacks on journalists and the experience of promoting the legislative and systemic changes in the approaches of public authorities to the investigation of violations of journalists' rights.

Freedom of speech during wartime: international standards and Ukrainian practice. Review of recommendations for Ukraine in the field of digital rights, freedom of expression and the fight against misinformation. How to develop and adopt legislation that would protect the human right to access information and comply with international standards and case law of the European Court of Human Rights?

(Self) censorship and other problems in the field of media and arts. Publication of the results of the research on the challenges to freedom of expression and creative freedom during the war among artists and journalists. What is the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in cases of restriction of creative freedom in view of armed conflict, religion or morality? How do human rights activists and the media do assess the long-term impact of the omission of awkward or acute topics for a democratic society?

We invite human rights defenders, activists, journalists and anyone interested in human rights and freedom of expression to take part in the forum and join the sessions. The organizers of the forum cover funds for travel and accommodation for journalists and human rights activists from the regions of Ukraine.

Please, fill registration form until 19 of September (through) here.

Only registered participants will be able to receive links to online broadcasts of all sessions of the forum.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some technical limitations, the organizers reserve the right to refuse to participate despite timely and full registration.

For more detials, please contact: [email protected].

“Freedom of expression in the times of armed conflict” project is a joint project of four organizations: Freedom House, the Institute of Mass Information, the Human Rights Platform and the ZMINA Human Rights Center. The aim of the project is to protect and promote freedom of expression in Ukraine through monitoring, education and training, legal aid, information work and advocacy. Freedom of expression means an unconditional right of every person to any action or expression in compliance with the Constitution and international standards for the protection of human rights. The project has been implemented in Ukraine since 2018 with the financial support of Freedom House.