ARTICLE 19 STATEMENT ON NEW PROVISIONS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TELEVISION AND RADIO

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[07:21 pm] 31 May, 2007

ARTICLE 19 welcomes the amendments to the Law of the Republic of
Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of the National Commission on
Television and Radio, adopted on 26 February 2007, and signed by
the President on 20 March 2007. They demonstrate the government’s
political will to improve existing legislation. The new definition
of the National Commission on Television and Radio (Commission) as an
"independent regulatory body, which ensures the freedom, independence
and diversity of the broadcasting media" is especially welcomed.

Meanwhile we remain concerned at the actual level of independence of
the Commission. The stipulation that the Commission will be composed of
eight members (compared with the current nine members), half of them
to be appointed by the National Assembly and the other half by the
President, is a central issue in the amendments. Previously all nine
members of the Commission were appointed by the President. Currently
there is also no mechanism for public consultation for the
nomination of members. The new amendments do not address the issue
of nomination. Moreover, there are no provisions stating that the
members should reflect Armenia’s social and political diversity,
or that the appointment process should be open and transparent.

Although the amendments improve the law, they are still not
satisfactory and fail to guarantee the autonomy and independence
of the Commission. This concern is especially pressing when the
Parliamentary majority and the President have the same political
affiliation, as is the case in Armenia.

Broadcasting is by far the most important source of information and
entertainment in Armenia. The difficulty of distributing newspapers,
especially to the remote regions of the country, makes the broadcast
media effectively the only source of information for the majority
of the population. As a result of this central role and its growing
profitability, broadcasting media has crucial political and economic
power. Thus, the independence and the diversity of broadcast media
are decisive for the freedom of expression in the country.

Therefore, it is of paramount importance that the Commission
responsible for the distribution of broadcast licences enjoys full
and unconditional independence from government control and any form of
political and/or commercial interference. The process for appointing
members should be open and democratic and should not be dominated by
any particular political party or commercial interest. Such a process
should include public consultation with civil society in relation to
the nomination of members in order to ensure adequate representation
of the political and social diversity of the country.

In order to achieve this, we recommend that nominations be elicited
from the public through advertisements in leading media outlets,
and the Commission’s selection hearings be held in public, so as to
allow input and comments from any interested party. The appointment
of half the members by the president, and the lack of procedure for
nomination of members, clearly do not meet the international standards
listed above.

We therefore call on the National Assembly of Armenia to further
review the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure
of the National Commission on Television and Radio so as to ensure
the following:

The president should not have the power to appoint half of the
members of the Commission. Instead, all members should be appointed
by an all-party body, such as the Parliament, or directly by civil
society groups.

Appointment of members to the Commission should be based on public
interest considerations. To promote this, public nominations should
be allowed and advertisements announcing the process should be placed
in leading media outlets.

The Law should require the Commission’s selection hearings to take
place in public and in a manner that allows for input from any
interested party.

The Law should stipulate that the members of the Commission as a
whole should reflect the diverse makeup of Armenian society.