Recommendation No. 2013-04 of November 20, 2013 on the treatment of international conflicts, civil wars and terrorist acts by audiovisual communication services.

The French Superior Audiovisual Council,

Having regard to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, in particular those relating to prisoners of war and to the protection of artificial persons in time of war, as well as their additional protocols of June 8, 1977;

Having regard to Law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, as amended, on freedom of communication, in particular articles 1, 3-1, 15, 28 and 33-1;

Having regard to notice n° 2003-2 of March 18, 2003 relating to the conflict in the Middle East;

Having regard to notice no. 2004-8 of December 7, 2004 to all television and radio services concerning international conflicts and their possible repercussions in France;

Having regard to the notice of June 7, 2005 to television service editors concerning the labelling of programmes for younger viewers and the classification of programmes;

Vu la délibération du 17 avril 2007 relative à l'intervention de mineurs dans le cadre d'émissions de télévision diffusées en métropole et dans les départements d'overseas France ;

Having regard to the deliberation of December 20, 2011 on the protection of youngsters, ethics and accessibility of programs on on-demand audiovisual media services;

The treatment of situations of war or conflict by audiovisual communication services was set out in two Council notices, that of March 18, 2003 on the conflict in the Middle East and that of December 7, 2004 to all television and radio services on international conflicts and their possible repercussions in France.

In view of developments in the international context, the Council has consulted widely with the main audiovisual groups and journalists in order to adopt the present notice on the treatment of international conflicts, civil wars and terrorist acts by audiovisual communication services.

The Council is fully aware of the particular difficulties encountered by journalists in carrying out their fundamental mission of informing the public, and of the dangers involved in gathering images and reporting the facts. While the freedom to inform, a constitutional principle enshrined in article 11 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and reiterated in article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (ECHR), must be preserved, the Council wishes to point out that, by virtue of the same articles and texts, as well as the provisions of law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986 on freedom of communication, its agreement or its specifications, in exercising their editorial responsibility, broadcasters must also abide by human dignity and the honesty of information.

After deliberation, the French Superior Audiovisual Council has issued the following notice to all audiovisual communication services concerning the treatment of international conflicts, civil wars and terrorist acts.

For each program dealing with these issues, the Conseil recommends that broadcasters ensure compliance with the following principles:

1. Human dignity

• Refraining from overtly indulgent presentations of violence or human suffering when showing images of people killed or wounded and the reactions of their loved ones;
• By preserving the dignity of hostages, particularly when their image or any other element enabling them to be identified is used by kidnappers;
• By scrupulously respecting the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols relative to the protection of prisoners of war and artificial persons in time of war.

2. Public order and honesty of information

• By treating international conflicts likely to fuel tensions and antagonisms within the population, or to lead to attitudes of rejection or xenophobia towards certain communities or countries, with the necessary balance and rigor;
• By checking the accuracy of the information shown or, in the event of uncertainty, by qualifying it, presenting it conditionally and quoting its source and date, subject to the protection of sources guaranteed by law no. 2010-1 of January 4, 2010 on the protection of journalists' sources;
• In the event of diffusion of inaccurate information, to proceed to its rectification as soon as possible and under comparable conditions of exposure;
• By accompanying the diffusion of archive images with an on-air reference to their origin.

3. Personal protection

• By ensuring that the diffusion of sounds and/or images that are difficult to sustain is systematically preceded by an explicit warning to the public, designed to protect the most vulnerable from their possible impact;
• By constantly vigilantly ensuring compliance with the rules laid down in the June 7, 2005 notice to television service editors concerning youth signage and program classification, and with the December 20, 2011 decision on the protection of youngsters and the ethics and accessibility of programs for younger viewers on on-demand audiovisual media services.

The notices n° 2003-2 of March 18, 2003 relating to the conflict in the Middle East and n° 2004-8 of December 7, 2004 relating to international conflicts and their possible repercussions in France are abrogated.

The present notice is applicable throughout the French Republic.

It will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

Paris, November 20, 2013.

For the French Superior Audiovisual Council
Chairman
O. SCHRAMECK