An inter- professional hybrid workshop on Media coverage of the war heritage, war crime trials and reconciliation processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), gathered together the media professionals and representatives of the judiciary.

The goal of the workshop was not only to enhance understanding of professional and ethical standards and obligations of journalists in reporting on the war heritage, war crimes trials, as well as the contribution of the media to the processes of dealing with the past, reconciliation and building a society of tolerance, but also to improve the exchange of information between the professional communities. It has been emphasised that the attitude of BiH media towards dealing with the past and the reconciliation processes is mostly determinated by the politics, while numerous media in the post-war period have become an instrument for promotion of the hate speech and relativization of the war crimes. That is why it is important to apply the European standards and case-law of the European Court for Human Rights in the domestic legal system. A need for improvement of co-operation between two professional communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the media and the judiciary, has also been emphasised.

Council of Europe standards, through the case law of the European Court for Human Rights, were presented by the Council of Europe expert Ara Ghazaryan, and several local experts and representatives of the respective communities took part as the panelists at the workshop and participated in the discussion. The event was organised in a hybrid manner, combining online and offline participation, in partnership with Association of Journalists of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This workshop was organised within the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”, and its action on “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (JUFREX)”.