IFJ Welcomes Launch of new Journalists Union in Bosnia

The International Federation of Journalists today congratulated the organizers of the new Journalists’ Union of Bosnia Herzegovina (BiH) due to be launched in Sarajevo on Saturday 11th December. The new union is the result of two years of negotiations that have led to the merging of three of the six journalists’ unions in Bosnia Herzegovina.

“This is a tremendous and long-overdue development with implications for all journalists in the country,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “This new organization is a first step towards the creation of a single, unified movement of journalists for Bosnia Herzegovina.”

The new union is the result of a merger between the Independent Union of Professional Journalists of BiH, the Association of Journalists APEL and the Independent Union of Journalists of Republika Srpska.

The merging of the six different journalists unions has been an IFJ objective since 1998 when all groups in the country signed a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding about the need for joint action and co-operation to defend journalists’ rights.

“This new union offers a challenge to other groups in the country to join in a process of unity and solidarity that can only strengthen the cause of free journalism for the future, added White. “Together journalists will be much better placed to defend their rights and to serve the public with quality, objective information.”

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The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 110 countries