Tunisia-Office of HPR Speaker asks for improving professional status of journalists

The Office of the Speaker of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR)  properly called for the enhancement of the situation of journalists, fighting dangerous employment and adequately protecting them from violations.

It further asked to secure “gender equality in terms of wages, social coverage and the right to promotion and access to responsibilities,” the Office of the HPR Speaker announced in an official statement on World Press Freedom Day.

It likewise manifested the earnest wish to “strengthen quality journalism, take advantage of technological developments and make advance towards the independence of the sector and its neutrality, in a way that represents the plurality of viewpoints and communicating truths with accuracy, integrity and objectivity“.

“Those who operate in the sector have a tremendous responsibility to defend press freedom, which entails greater professionalism, a spirit of social responsibility, dedication to the code of honour and to the recommendations of professional bodies requesting for compliance with ethical rules,” the same source states.

It greatly emphasises the specific need to serve together to correct the deficiencies, showing its readiness to communicate promptly with the government, professional structures and specialists to put in place the required legislation to deliver the expected change and adequately support the sector.

It urged the committees and parliamentary blocs to prioritize the issues of the press, publishing, advertising and polling as part of their work, asking the government to provide urgent support to electronic and print media and find a solution to the situation of confiscated media institutions.

Finally, it stressed enough the necessity to put a close to the obstacles facing journalists in the active exercise of their profession, to assure them access to information and to provide them with conditions of safety and protection at this stage marked by the spread of COVID-19.