KABUL - A joint committee of journalists and media organizations in Afghanistan has drafted code of ethics for journalism, which will be finalized by the end of this year after nationwide consultations amongst journalists.

Commenting on the drafting process, Zia Bomiya, a member of the Afghanistan Journalists’ Federation (AJF) told a gathering of journalists in Kabul today that the need to develop codes of journalism in Afghanistan was felt following consistent criticism by the Afghan government and some corners of society that journalists needed a better ethical or professional framework. This draft set of codes was written by the journalists for the journalists to regulate their daily reporting, he said.

“To achieve this objective, we needed a joint forum of journalists for better coordination and effective actions and initially formed a 14 members committee, which was soon expanded to 35 members given the demands and needs of media organizations,” said Mr. Bomiya.

He said that the 35 members committee, in which the Ministry of Information and Culture is an integral part later agreed with full consensus to form a working committee of seven members to analyze some of the existing ethical codes and the codes of ethics of other countries for journalists and prepare the first draft.

From the outset UNAMA’s communication department was involved in this in a supportive role, says Massoumeh Torfeh, Director of Strategic Communications and Spokespersons Unit. “The initial gathering of journalists happened in UNAMA last June in close consultation with the Ministry of Information and Culture.

International codes of journalism, as well as the previously written but not implemented Afghan codes of journalism were discussed and debated amongst journalists for a few months and a very first draft was prepared for broader consultation.” Then the Minister of Information and Culture, Makhdoom Raheen, invited all journalists to hold a broader meeting and form relevant committees to embark on finalizing these. Months of consultations amongst journalists ensued.

The working committee developed the first draft during a period of over a month and submitted to the 35 members committee for review, said Mr. Bomiya in today’s press conference.

“We will finalize the code of ethics for journalists after nationwide consultations,” said Mr. Bomiya. “We are planning to organize meetings of journalists in four big provinces of the country and later a big gathering of journalist in Kabul, in which journalist and representatives of media organizations will be invited from all parts of the country to get their approval on the draft.”

Mr. Bomiya also said that in agreement with the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Afghanistan Journalists’ Federation (AJF) will take the responsibility of finalizing the code of ethics for journalists from now onward.

Formed in January 2013, AJF is a an umbrella media body comprising nine Afghan journalist associations and media rights groups, which works to ensure freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution of Afghanistan and defend rights of journalists in the country.

Mr. Bomiya said that United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is a key partner and supporter in the process of developing codes of ethics for Afghan journalists. He said that negotiations are in progress with some other donors about their commitments in this regard.

Although the full content of draft code of ethics will only be made public once all journalists across Afghanistan have debated its details, a member of the working committee, Hashmat Radfar said that the draft has six parts, which include preambles, accountability of journalists and media organizations, independence of journalists and media organizations, balance, mitigation of risks for journalists and authenticity.