74 Principle 15. Community media 1. States shall facilitate the establishment of community media as independent nonprofit entities, with the objective of developing and disseminating content that is relevant to the interests of geographic communities or communities sharing common interests such as language and culture. 2. The regulation of community broadcasting shall be governed in accordance with the following principles: a. The ownership, management and programming of community broadcasters shall be representative of the community. b. Licensing processes shall be simple, expeditious and cost effective, and guarantee community participation. c. Licensing requirements shall fulfil the objectives of community broadcasting and shall not be prohibitive. d. States shall allocate a fixed percentage of available radio frequency spectrum to community broadcasters to encourage diversity. Principle 16. regulation Self-regulation and co- 1. States shall encourage media selfregulation which shall be impartial, expeditious, cost-effective, and promote high standards in the media. 2. Codes of ethics and conduct shall be developed by the media through transparent and participatory processes and shall be effectively implemented to ensure the observance of the highest standards of professionalism by the media. 3. Co-regulation may also be encouraged by States as a complement to self-regulation, founded on informed collaboration between stakeholders including the public regulatory authority, media and civil society. Principle 17. Regulatory bodies for broadcast, telecommunications and the internet 1. A public regulatory authority that exercises powers in the areas of broadcast, telecommunications or internet infrastructure shall be independent and adequately protected against interference of a political, commercial or other nature. 2. The appointment process for members of a public regulatory body overseeing broadcast, telecommunications or internet infrastructure shall be independent and adequately protected against interference. The process shall be open, transparent and involve the participation of relevant stakeholders. 3. Any public regulatory authority that exercises powers in broadcast, telecommunications or internet infrastructure shall be accountable to the public. 4. A multi-stakeholder model of regulation shall be encouraged to develop shared principles, rules, decision-making procedures and programmes to shape the use and evolution of the internet. 5. The powers of regulatory bodies shall be administrative in nature and shall not seek to usurp the role of the courts. Principle 18. Complaints 1. Public complaints systems for print, broadcast, online media and internet intermediaries shall be widely accessible and determined in accordance with established rules and codes of conduct. 2. Any regulatory body established to adjudicate complaints about media content shall be protected against political, commercial or any other undue interference. Principle 19. Protection of journalists and other media practitioners 1. The right to express oneself through the media by practising journalism shall not be subject to undue legal restrictions. 2. Journalists and other media practitioners shall be free to organise themselves into unions and associations. Principle 20. Safety of journalists and other media practitioners 1. States shall guarantee the safety of journalists and other media practitioners. 2. States shall take measures to prevent attacks on journalists and other media practitioners, including murder, extra-judicial killing, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearance, kidnapping, intimidation, threats and unlawful surveillance undertaken by State and non-State actors. 3. States shall take measures to raise the awareness and build the capacities of journalists and other media practitioners, policy makers and other stakeholders on laws and standards for ensuring the safety of journalists and other media practitioners. 4. States shall take effective legal and other measures to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of attacks against journalists and other media practitioners, and ensure that victims have access to effective remedies. 5. States shall be liable for the conduct of law enforcement, security, intelligence, military and other personnel which threatens, undermines or violates the safety of journalists and other media practitioners. 6. States shall take specific measures to ensure the safety of female journalists and media practitioners by addressing gender-specific