Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Resonance of broken promises
By Steven Lang (Highway Africa News Agency)
MARRAKECH - Freedom of expression and the freedom of journalists to exercise their profession rocketed to the top of the agenda at a conference on the role of the media in the information society, taking place in Marrakech, Morocco.
But the question of the media boycotting a subsequent conference to be held in Tunisia – a country that violates free speech – seemed to have been defused.
Controversy at the Marrakech conference centred around whether Tunisia would respect principles agreed by global governments at last year’s United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
Tunisia was the country that originally proposed a global summit on new communications technology and is the host country of the second phase of WSIS. However, human rights issues, and particularly the way the country’s government treats members of the media, has been one of the most explosive issues at virtually all meetings related to the process.
Aidan White, Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), told the Marrakech conference that “although the words sound good”, WSIS also had “all the resonance of broken promises in the making.”
He warned that the WSIS principles on media freedom were in danger of being ignored, which would make the summit one of the most disappointing of all UN events. “It is relatively easy to get states to sign up to commitments, the problem is getting them to carry them out."
He added that the documents produced in Geneva were “regrettably thin” on labour standards for journalists who often live in poverty and work in dangerous situations.
More than 200 delegates at the Marrakech conference are debating “The Role and Place of the Media in the Information Society in Africa and the Arab States”. The high profile conference comes in the middle of the two-phase WSIS.
In the first phase of WSIS, which took place in Geneva last year, world leaders adopted a Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action that recognise the principles of media freedom and diversity. The second phase, set for Tunis in November 2005, is expected to assess progress achieved in implementing the Geneva documents.
White said failure to respect the outcomes of Geneva would be “bad news for the many journalists and media in Africa and the Arab world (who) live and work in conditions where the dead hand of government interference is still at work in the newsroom. Official pressure is routine and often devastating for press freedom”.
In an effort to balance his critical remarks, he went on to congratulate the Moroccan government for resisting attempts to silence dissent while organising the conference where freedom of expression issues can be freely debated. These comments produced the only spontaneous applause of the day from a largely Moroccan audience.
The IFJ official was joined in his criticism of Tunisia as host country for WSIS phase two by Johann Fritz, director of the International Press Institute. “Do we subject ourselves to the African tradition of not criticising the host?” he asked. He answered the question himself in the negative, saying that he would go to Tunis if allowed to do so.
White and Fritz both called for the Tunis government to guarantee conducive conditions for media to take part in the Summit. Responses by Tunisian representatives speaking from the conference floor were conciliatory, and they argued that a media boycott of the event would achieve little.
Threats of boycotts and the focus on human rights abuses in Tunisia have made it difficult to raise funds for the second phase of the Summit. However, White said that the disappointing results of Geneva should not deter governments from making a greater effort to do better in Tunis. He said the IFJ would go to the Tunisian capital to show solidarity with journalists in that country.
White said the issue of internet governance, to be discussed in Tunisia, was crucial and that rules were needed to protect people from market forces. He called for participants to “put meat on the skeleton of an idea that was developed in Geneva.”
Marc Furrer, director of the Swiss Federal Office for Communication, and one of the key organisers of the first phase of WSIS, defended the work of the Geneva meetings. He said that there were very few references to the role of the media and freedom of expression in the opening rounds of negotiations.
His government had fought doggedly for media and content issues to have a greater role in WSIS, and in the final documents there are significant references to these issues.
Furrer stressed that freedom of expression is at the core of journalism. He said, “Journalists need skills and training but first they need freedom.”
Speakers underlined the importance of governments abiding by commitments to principles which they had made voluntarily. If they did not wish to make these, they could opt out like Saudi Arabia. But those that did subscribe needed to meet their claimed standards.
The challenge made at Marrakech to the Tunisian authorities could be a critical turning point in the entire WSIS process. If these designated hosts of the second phase place impediments in the way of journalists and civil society, who are only too eager to push to the limit, the WSIS could be in jeopardy.
If this world summit collapses, it could very well be the last ever mega-UN summit. The signs from Marrakech are that there won’t be a media boycott, although it is also premature to expect an era of media freedom for Tunisian journalists.
By Steven Lang (Highway Africa News Agency)
MARRAKECH - Freedom of expression and the freedom of journalists to exercise their profession rocketed to the top of the agenda at a conference on the role of the media in the information society, taking place in Marrakech, Morocco.
But the question of the media boycotting a subsequent conference to be held in Tunisia – a country that violates free speech – seemed to have been defused.
Controversy at the Marrakech conference centred around whether Tunisia would respect principles agreed by global governments at last year’s United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
Tunisia was the country that originally proposed a global summit on new communications technology and is the host country of the second phase of WSIS. However, human rights issues, and particularly the way the country’s government treats members of the media, has been one of the most explosive issues at virtually all meetings related to the process.
Aidan White, Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), told the Marrakech conference that “although the words sound good”, WSIS also had “all the resonance of broken promises in the making.”
He warned that the WSIS principles on media freedom were in danger of being ignored, which would make the summit one of the most disappointing of all UN events. “It is relatively easy to get states to sign up to commitments, the problem is getting them to carry them out."
He added that the documents produced in Geneva were “regrettably thin” on labour standards for journalists who often live in poverty and work in dangerous situations.
More than 200 delegates at the Marrakech conference are debating “The Role and Place of the Media in the Information Society in Africa and the Arab States”. The high profile conference comes in the middle of the two-phase WSIS.
In the first phase of WSIS, which took place in Geneva last year, world leaders adopted a Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action that recognise the principles of media freedom and diversity. The second phase, set for Tunis in November 2005, is expected to assess progress achieved in implementing the Geneva documents.
White said failure to respect the outcomes of Geneva would be “bad news for the many journalists and media in Africa and the Arab world (who) live and work in conditions where the dead hand of government interference is still at work in the newsroom. Official pressure is routine and often devastating for press freedom”.
In an effort to balance his critical remarks, he went on to congratulate the Moroccan government for resisting attempts to silence dissent while organising the conference where freedom of expression issues can be freely debated. These comments produced the only spontaneous applause of the day from a largely Moroccan audience.
The IFJ official was joined in his criticism of Tunisia as host country for WSIS phase two by Johann Fritz, director of the International Press Institute. “Do we subject ourselves to the African tradition of not criticising the host?” he asked. He answered the question himself in the negative, saying that he would go to Tunis if allowed to do so.
White and Fritz both called for the Tunis government to guarantee conducive conditions for media to take part in the Summit. Responses by Tunisian representatives speaking from the conference floor were conciliatory, and they argued that a media boycott of the event would achieve little.
Threats of boycotts and the focus on human rights abuses in Tunisia have made it difficult to raise funds for the second phase of the Summit. However, White said that the disappointing results of Geneva should not deter governments from making a greater effort to do better in Tunis. He said the IFJ would go to the Tunisian capital to show solidarity with journalists in that country.
White said the issue of internet governance, to be discussed in Tunisia, was crucial and that rules were needed to protect people from market forces. He called for participants to “put meat on the skeleton of an idea that was developed in Geneva.”
Marc Furrer, director of the Swiss Federal Office for Communication, and one of the key organisers of the first phase of WSIS, defended the work of the Geneva meetings. He said that there were very few references to the role of the media and freedom of expression in the opening rounds of negotiations.
His government had fought doggedly for media and content issues to have a greater role in WSIS, and in the final documents there are significant references to these issues.
Furrer stressed that freedom of expression is at the core of journalism. He said, “Journalists need skills and training but first they need freedom.”
Speakers underlined the importance of governments abiding by commitments to principles which they had made voluntarily. If they did not wish to make these, they could opt out like Saudi Arabia. But those that did subscribe needed to meet their claimed standards.
The challenge made at Marrakech to the Tunisian authorities could be a critical turning point in the entire WSIS process. If these designated hosts of the second phase place impediments in the way of journalists and civil society, who are only too eager to push to the limit, the WSIS could be in jeopardy.
If this world summit collapses, it could very well be the last ever mega-UN summit. The signs from Marrakech are that there won’t be a media boycott, although it is also premature to expect an era of media freedom for Tunisian journalists.
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