Media Ethics Observer's Proposal to Public Television Regarding the Human Rights Defender

The Media Ethics Observer has issued a statement regarding the relationship between the Human Rights Defender and Public Television.

The statement particularly notes: “The conflict between two important public institutions—the Human Rights Defender and Public Television—that sometimes takes on an acute nature, is concerning and unacceptable. The Observer emphasizes once again that the disagreements between these institutions can be resolved not through public mutual accusations, but in a partner atmosphere through discussions.”

The Media Ethics Observer acknowledges the statistics presented about the coverage of the Human Rights Defender's activities, as well as the clarifications from the Public Broadcaster's council and executive leadership that they have attempted to reach verbal agreements on covering the Human Rights Defender's activities, but these have not laid the groundwork for further joint work.

Nevertheless, the Observer believes that the following section of the Public Broadcaster's council's clarification—“Many state and public institutions deal with human rights protection issues in Armenia, for instance, the courts, police, social security institutions, supervisory bodies, human rights protection NGOs, etc. All of these are also covered by 'News,' and the activity of the Human Rights Defender is clearly not the only one in the context of human rights protection”—places an unwarranted equal sign between the independent institution of human rights protection and state institutions, as well as between the Human Rights Defender and public organizations. Each of these institutions has its own functions, and addressing the activities of any one of them does not replace the coverage of the others.

Emphasizing the non-political attitude of public institutions toward each other and the need for stable and effective collaboration among them, the Observer would consider it a positive step towards overcoming the accumulated problems regarding the subject matter to conduct a concluding interview dedicated to the six-year activity of outgoing Defender Arman Tatoyan, provided that it is free from mutual accusations and unnecessary aggression and focuses solely on the activities of the Human Rights Defender.”