Senior officials of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) warned about potential violations of fundamental freedoms after the authorities of Republika Srpska, Bosnia's Serb-dominated region, issued a decree that could prevent media and journalists from reporting freely on the Covid-19 pandemic, urging the Bosnian entity to withdraw the document.
On 10 April, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, and Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kathleen Kavalec, sent a letter to RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic, following the adoption of a decree prohibiting incitement to panic and disorder during the state of emergency.
The decree, published in the Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska on 6 April, forbids the media and the general public from spreading false news that incites panic and prescribes significant fines for those who do so.
“We take note of the public statements by President Cvijanovic that followed our letter, in which she suggests there may be no need to implement such regulation or similar limitations,” said the OSCE officials.
“We fully understand the aim of tackling the dissemination of ‘fake news’ that could pose a risk to public health, or which could create panic and disorder during this health crisis,” Désir and Kavalec said. “However, it is important to ensure the free flow of information and that the media can work free from any kind of pressure, in order for them to provide essential information to the public, including on vital health measures,” they added.
In their letter, the OSCE officials also noted that such a decree could lead to censorship and self-censorship, as well as arbitrary and disproportionate penalties. This, they said, could undermine media freedom and the fundamental human right of freedom of expression.
Furthermore, they were particularly concerned that the decree does not provide concrete details on how these offences would be determined, or on which jurisprudence they are based.
“We recall our press statement published on 23 March 2020 (https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/449041), and we encourage the authorities in the Republika Srpska to take the statement into consideration in the framework of the current state of emergency,” Désir and Kavalec said.
They called on the authorities to withdraw the decree, reiterating their readiness to assist the state and entity authorities and to provide expert analysis on any media freedom issue.
