Azernews.Az

BAKU - Proposals on the rules defining Azerbaijani journalists’ work and the libel law that has long been in international limelight were discussed in Baku on Thursday.

Aflatun Amashov, the Press Council chairman, told the roundtable conducted jointly with the OSCE Office in Baku, that efforts were being made together with the OSCE office to adopt regulations on journalists’ conduct and the Law on Defamation.

Bilge Cankorel, head of the OSCE Office, said meetings were being held with Azerbaijani officials to discuss the proposals and passage of the libel law.

He said the OSCE supported the Azerbaijani press watchdog’s endeavors in this area.

"We are ready to provide all kinds of assistance. We would like to see the Press Council as an entity covering the entire media of the country."

Cankorel said a conference on self-regulation of the media will be held in Azerbaijan in mid-September and attended by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic.

Speakers at the roundtable stressed the importance of passing a libel law in Azerbaijan soon.

In conclusion, a working group comprising chief editors of media outlets and experts was established to evaluate the proposals.

The Press Council and the OSCE office launched a project in March to improve rules of conduct for journalists and support defamation-related initiatives. Another roundtable meeting is to be organized later this month under the project. In September, a conference to be joined by international experts will be held.