Dunja Mijatović

Dunja Mijatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дуња Мијатовић; born 8 September 1964)[1] is a Bosnian human rights expert and activist, serving as the 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 new post on 1 April 2018.

Dunja Mijatović
Дуња Мијатовић
Mijatović in 2015
Commissioner for Human Rights
Assumed office
1 April 2018
Preceded byNils Muižnieks
Personal details
Born (1964-09-08) 8 September 1964
Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Parent
EducationUniversity of Sarajevo

Mijatović is an expert on media law and media regulation, who served from 2010 to 2017 as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM).[2]

Early life and education

Dunja Mijatović is the daughter of politician Tatjana Ljujić-Mijatović, the former member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War. Having studied in a variety of countries, Mijatović earned her B.Sc. at the University of Sarajevo in 1987. She then pursued a joint M.A. in European studies at a variety of universities (University of Sarajevo, University of Sussex, University of Bologna and London School of Economics),[3] graduating in 2002 with a Master’s thesis on "The Internet and Freedom of Expression".

Mijatović is a native speaker of Serbo-Croatian. She is also fluent in English and German and has a working knowledge of French and Russian.[3]

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.[3] She was also involved in setting up a self-regulatory press council and the first free media helpline in Southeast Europe.[4]

EU and Council of Europe posts; lecturing at home and abroad (2007–2010)

In 2007, Mijatović was elected Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Agencies,[5] the first woman and the first person from a non-EU Member State to hold the post. Prior to that appointment, 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 a Declaration on the “Protection and promotion of investigative journalism” and issued Guidelines on "protecting freedom of expression and information in times of crisis.”[6]

As an expert on media and communications legislation, she has worked in a number of countries.

In addition, she has lectured, in her home country and abroad, on various aspects of media freedom and regulation. Since 2000 she has taught media regulation at the Universities of Sarajevo and Banja Luka and, among other teaching positions, has lectured at the Academy for Political Excellence (2007-2009) and has served, since 2008, as a permanent lecturer with the joint OSCE / Ministry of Security project on "Media, Security and Hate Crime".

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (2010–2016)
Mijatović alongside U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 8 December 2016

In 2010 Mijatović succeeded Miklós Haraszti as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RfoM).

In accordance with the 1997 Directive that established the post, Mijatović aimed to fulfil her mandate as OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media[7] by observing relevant media developments in OSCE participating States, advocating and promoting full compliance with OSCE principles and commitments concerning freedom of expression and free media, and sending early warnings and implementing rapid responses in cases of non-compliance.[8]

In March 2013 she was reappointed for a second three-year term as OSCE RFoM Representative.

Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights (2018–present)

On 24 January 2018, Mijatović was elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to serve as the Council's Commissioner on Human Rights for a non-renewable term of six years.[9] She took up her new post on 1 April 2018.

Recognition
  • 2015 – Médaille Charlemagne pour les Médias Européens[10]

References
  1. "Dunja Mijatović's curriculum vitae". Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. "Dunja Mijatović elected Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights". www.assembly.coe.int. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  3. CV, OSCE RFoM
  4. Short Bio, European Commission
  5. EPRA
  6. CV Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, OSCE BiH
  7. 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.
  8. OSCE RFoM
  9. "Dunja Mijatović elected Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights", Parliamentary Assembly - Council of Europe, 24 January 2018 (Retrieved 10 April 2019).
  10. "Médaille Charlemagne – Dunja Mijatović (2015)". medaille-charlemagne.eu. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
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