Globe International is starting new project   titled  “Defamation and Censorship”  funded by the Embassy of  the United states, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The proposed project is aimed at contributing to the dispensation of justice and democratization in Mongolia by protecting the rights of journalists to practice their profession through exposing the facts of censorship and nexus of defamation and censorship, reinforcing discussions on how defamatory legislation and use of the defamation laws affect the journalists’ rights’ and  encourage self-censorship among the journalists

         Globe International will carry out the following activities within three months of the project period:

Studies on defamation and censorship
Defamation legislation affects the journalists’ professional rights and it influences the increase of censorship. The number of defamation charges laid against media is increasing, and that journalists are losing more cases than in the past, it is important that Globe International increases its work in this area.  In order to expose the facts of censorship related to defamation cases against journalists, Globe International will set up a Study Team consisting from 4 persons: team leader, lawyer, researcher and team secretary.  The team will conduct the following studies:
            I. Nation-wide study on  the civil and criminal defamation cases heard by the courts in 2008 and 2009  
           II. Nation-wide survey among journalists on censorship
The studies will be conducted through review of the court cases, interview with journalists and questionnaires distributed to the journalists.

Audio handbook:  If you have legal problems… 
Mongolian journalists need to be better educated concerning their legal rights and how they can avoid being charged under the country’s laws.  The project will produce the twenty-minute audio handbooks for journalists, so they can learn without leaving their working places. The audio books will be produced basing on the cases against journalists and include the lawyer’s tips. It will educate the journalists how to be accurate in reporting, avoid the professional mistakes and respect the human rights. It also will educate them how to act, if they have the legal actions against them.

Seminar:   Defamation and Censorship
The project will organize a seminar where the results of the studies will be presented and discussed, and what should be done in order to implement the Media Freedom Law banned the censorship.  The seminar also will educate the journalists on how to avoid the legal entanglements and how to defend them. It will involve an estimated number of 30-40 journalists, lawyers and journalists’ organizations.
The event will be publicized through media, GI web site and webzine.