Globe International is implementing a project titled Monitoring Press Freedom and Supporting Independent Media in Mongolia with the support of Open Society Institute based in London.
The main goal of this 2-year project is to protect the rights and independence of journalists by monitoring threats and attacks on journalists and media organisations thus contributing to promoting greater media freedom. Globe International has been monitoring the free expression violations since October 2005 with OSI Network Media Program support, and we registered 157 cases against media and journalists. Globe International is going to establish a self-alerting monitoring system, so that journalists would be able to report on their cases by themselves, not through somebody, i.e. a local monitor based in the provinces.
The project objectives are to build capacity of the journalists to get involved in a reliable self-alerting monitoring network, to promote the journalists’ awareness on reporting on violations of their rights and to educate them on legal safety and to publicise the free expression violations through national and international networks and campaign to protect the journalists.
The proposed project will carry out the following four inter-related activities:
Activity 1: Building a Self-alerting National Monitoring Network
Activity 2: Operating the On-line System and Distributing the Alerts
Activity 3: Launching On-line Education on Legal Safety
Activity 4: Promotion of GI Services for the Journalists
Monitoring activities have two important benefits: When violations occur, it allows GI, local media and civic groups, and literally hundreds of international free expression organisations and others to put pressure on the Mongolian government or business owners to rectify any action they’ve taken against media, and to not intimidate and attack journalists in the future. Secondly, Alerts produced by GI are e-mailed to international NGOs such as IFEX, IFJ, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, Forum Asia and others, and international bodies such as the UN Human Rights Commission, the World Bank, etc., foreign embassies where the protests are taken into consideration as human rights violations when such organisations are dealing with Mongolia in the future.
The new monitoring network will be established in order to allow journalists to report on their cases by themselves using a number of information distribution means mentioned below:
- On-line system
- Mobile phone network
- E-mail and Yahoo messenger
Several methods will be used to publicise the Alerts and other information such as:
- GI web site www.globeinter.org.mn
- GI e-mailing list
- GI bi-monthly webzine Globe News
- Press Conferences
- Media Freedom Report
Anticipated Outcomes of the Project
- The journalists will feel confident to report on their problems and cases
- The new system will expose the hidden facts of free expression violations
- Information received from the journalists will allow Globe International to take the appropriate actions towards improving the free expression situation in the country
- The entire public will be informed about the real situation of independent media and free expression through press conferences and media releases.