> Dear members,
Have been to two meetings back to back the past week and trying to get through the
email and catch up with your discussions.
I was in London to attend a meeting hosted by Article 19 (Forum Asia's project partner
on freedom of expression and information in the ASEAN region). Article 19 invited the
UN, OSCE and OAS special rapporteurs on freedom of expression, as well as civil society
orgs, to discuss current issues.
I circulated the Asia civil society statement to the meeting participants and will
follow up with the UNESCO rep who was also there, Sylvie Coudray, her suggestion that
we post the Bangkok statement on the UNESCO website. As CONGO has just finished I will
also include the final statement (on WSIS) to her as well.
Re the statement from the rapporteurs you might find their comments of WTO a useful
reference. Also, in parts of the discussion at the Bangkok workshop and at CONGO,
issues such as defamation were raised, and again, the rapporteurs' reference to the
issue should be useful to those concerned.
With best regards,
Sacha
>
> > 11 December 2002 - for immediate release
> >
> > The World Trade Organisation should respect freedom of expression and
> > information, say OSCE, UN and OAS freedom of expression representatives.
> >
> >
> > A joint Declaration issued by the three experts tasked with guaranteeing
> > free expression internationally1 calls on the WTO and other international
> > financial organisations to respect freedom of expression and the diversity
> > of information and ideas in future negotiations.
> >
> > The Rapporteurs stated:
> >
> > "Freedom of expression and access to information cannot just be protected
> > by governments. International institutions that wield tremendous power
> > must also examine the implications of their policies on human rights. The
> > new trade round at the WTO could create more open commercial markets for
> > the media. While this can have positive consequences in many parts of the
> > world, it must be done with regard to accepted international standards in
> > the field of free expression."
> >
> > "It is important that any trade agreements allow governments and the
> > domestic media to promote diversity of opinions and the widest access to
> > information.
> > Guarantees for freedom of expression have been hard fought for over
> > centuries but they can easily be rolled back, not only by governments, but
> > by fundamental changes in the market".
> >
> > The three Rapporteurs agreed furthermore that, courts and judicial
> > processes function best when subject to maximum openness and disclosure of
> > information, and that no restrictions should be imposed on the reporting
> > of proceedings unless it would seriously prejudice proceedings. They also
> > again called for the abolition of all criminal defamation laws.
> >
> > The full joint statement is appended.
> >
> > Ends
> >
> > For further information contact Andrew Puddephatt on +44 20 7278 9292.
> > Email: andrew@article19.org.
> >
> > Note for editors
> > 1. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the
> > OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OAS Special Rapporteur
> > on Freedom of Expression met with representatives of NGOs, UNESCO, and
> > human rights experts in London on 9-10 December 2002, under the auspices
> > of ARTICLE 19.
> >
> > <<Special
> > Rapporteurs declar.2002.doc>>
>
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