Film on the training of Ukrainian law enforcement officers on freedom of expression & safety of journalists

The following video provides an insight into the project “Promoting Human Rights and the Rule of Law through Freedom of Expression and the Safety of Journalists in Ukraine”. The 3-day workshop aimed at fostering a dialogue between law enforcement officers and the media follows the experience of the participating law enforcement officers and journalists and documents their reactions during and after the training and their expectations from future collaborative efforts.

“This is the first time I do this kind of training “, explained Ms Oksana Zayets, 27 years old, from the Department of Human Rights of the National Police of Ukraine.  “I had the opportunity to practice skills I will able to apply to many situations in relation with journalists. As police officers, we deal with journalists all the time and it is essential that we are well trained to deal with them.”

Elena Fionova, 1^st Lieutenant of the National Police of Kiev City joined the Police’s communication department in order foster a dialogue with the people. Fionova remarked after the training - “I have learnt to put myself in the shoes of journalists and they have learnt to put themselves in the shoes of police officers. During the training, we talked about our experiences and discussed many topics and I hope there will be peace between the policy and journalists. I really hope so because we do our respective jobs all for the well-being of the citizens”

The project was implemented in the framework of the UN Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity as well as UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). The UN Plan is a unique mechanism that brings together all stakeholders to solve the challenges tied to protecting the safety of journalists and combating impunity at the global, regional, and national levels. This project has been jointly organized and implemented by UNESCO and EUAM Ukraine, and made possible with the support of the Republic of Lithuania. Other partners for this project included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine, National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO, Ukrainian National Police, Ukrinform (Ukrainian multimedia platform for broadcasting), National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, and the Institute of Mass Information.