Dunja Mijatović

Dunja Mijatović
Dunja Mijatovic at the Central Asia Media Conference, Bishkek, June 2013
Commissioner for Human Rights
In office
April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2024
Preceded by Nils Muižnieks
Personal details
Occupation Human rights advocate

Dunja Mijatović (born 8 September 1964 Bosnia and Herzegovina) is the current Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. She was elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 24 January 2018 and took up her function on 1 April 2018.

She is an expert on media law and media regulation, who from 2010 to 2016 served as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM).[1]

Early life and education

Dunja Mijatović is the daughter of Tatjana Ljujić-Mijatović, former Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Having studied in a variety of countries, Mijatović earned her B.Sc. at the University of Sarajevo in 1987, after which point she pursued a joint M.A. in European studies at the University of Sarajevo, University of Sussex, University of Bologna and London School of Economics.[2] She completed her studies in 2002 with a Master’s thesis on The Internet and Freedom of Expression.

Mijatović is a native speaker of Serbo-Croatian, fluent in English and German and has working knowledge in French and Russian.[2]

Career

Throughout her career, Mijatović has been engaged in media issues across a multitude of disciplines, with substantial experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as intergovernmental settings. As early as 1998, as one of the founders of the BiH Communications Regulatory Agency, she helped create a legal, regulatory and policy framework for the media in a complex post-war society.[2] She was also involved in setting up a self-regulatory press council and the first free media helpline in Southeast Europe.[3]

In 2007 Mijatović was elected Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Agencies.[4] She was the first non-EU Member State representative and the first woman to hold this post. Previously, she chaired the Council of Europe's Group of Specialists on Freedom of Expression and Information in Times of Crisis. During her chairmanship, the CoE Committee of Ministers adopted the Declaration by the Committee of Ministers on the “Protection and promotion of investigative journalism” and “Guidelines on protecting freedom of expression and information in times of crisis.”[5] As an expert on media and communications legislation, she has worked in a number of countries.

In addition, the Representative has served as a lecturer both in her home country and abroad. Among other teaching positions, since 2000 she has lectured on media regulation at the Universities of Sarajevo and Banja Luka, the Academy for Political Excellence (2007-2009) and since 2008 has been a permanent lecturer on Media, Security and Hate Crime, a joint OSCE and Ministry of Security project.

In 2010 Mijatović succeeded Miklós Haraszti as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RfoM). She has aimed to fulfill her mandate as OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media[6] Pursuant to this decision, Mijatović holds the role of observing relevant media developments in OSCE participating States and, advocating and promoting full compliance with OSCE principles and commitments with respect to freedom of expression and free media and providing early warnings and rapid responses for resolution in cases of non-compliance.[7] In March 2013 she was reappointed for a second three-year term as OSCE RFoM Representative.

Recognition

  • 2015 – Médaille Charlemagne pour les Médias Européens

References

  1. ↑ "Dunja Mijatović elected Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights". www.assembly.coe.int. Archived from the original on 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  2. 1 2 3 CV, OSCE RFoM
  3. ↑ Short Bio, European Commission
  4. ↑ EPRA
  5. ↑ CV, OSCE BiH
  6. ↑ Decision No. 193 of the Permanent Council of the OSCE, “Establishment of the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mandate of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media on November 5th, 1997.
  7. ↑ OSCE RFoM
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