Global Freedom of Expression

Dunja Mijatović

Dunja Mijatović of Bosnia and Herzegovina was elected as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on January 24, 2018. Previously, she was appointed OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in March 2010, and reappointed for a second term in March 2013. She is an expert in media law and regulation. In 1998, as one of the founders of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, she helped to create a legal, regulatory and policy framework for the media in a complex post-war society. She was also involved in setting up a self-regulatory Press Council and the first Free Media Helpline in South East Europe. In 2007 she was elected Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Agencies. 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. As an expert on media and communications legislation, she has worked in Armenia, Austria, Iraq, Jordan, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Morocco and the UK.