Serbia and Montenegro (1993-2006)

Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: Media-specific Provisions in Opinion on Kosovo

IRIS 2006-4:1/2

Tarlach McGonagle

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) recently adopted an Opinion on the implementation of the FCNM in Kosovo.

In its Opinion, the Advisory Committee made a number of specific recommendations to the (international and local) authorities in Kosovo, including to: “Process rapidly the delayed application for radio and TV licenses, with a view to expanding the scope and diversity of broadcasting for and by minority communities, and take further steps to ensure that all communities have equal access to public service broadcasting” (para. 154).

The Opinion also contains a discussion of a number of media-related issues, such as: fair and responsible reporting by the broadcast media and the goal of promoting tolerance ((para. 58); see further: IRIS Special - Political Debate and the Role of the Media, pp. 101-103); law and practice governing the use of minority languages in the media (paras. 65 and 66); “significant delays” in the “processing of applications for licenses to broadcast in areas that are currently underserved and applications for multi-ethnic stations” (para. 67); specific guarantees for the provision of minority-language programming in public service broadcasting (para 68) and current practice relating to the same (para. 69), as well as technical difficulties pertaining to the reception of public service broadcasting signals in certain areas densely populated by specific minority communities (para. 70).

The FCNM provides for a monitoring system based on periodic State reporting. The Opinion discussed supra does not fall squarely within the ordinary monitoring work of the Advisory Committee; rather, it was adopted pursuant to the Agreement between the Council of Europe and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) on the Technical Arrangements Related to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, concluded on 23 August 2004.