[Media Caucus] Fw: RIGHTS EXPERT SAYS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION LARGELY NEGLECTED AT WORLD INFORMATION SUMMIT

[R.Correia at ru.ac.za]

Surely, like the rest of us, this guy should have seen from the beginning that
this would be the case?????

Rui

Quoting John Barker <johnb at article19.org.za>:

> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Peter Noorlander 
> To: legal at article19.org ; John Barker 
> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 11:30 AM
> Subject: RIGHTS EXPERT SAYS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION LARGELY NEGLECTED AT WORLD
> INFORMATION SUMMIT
> 
> 
> 
>
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/9C932D06752A7991C1256DFF005B3526?opendocument
> 
> 
> 
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> 
>      UNITED NATIONS
> 
>       Press Release 
> 
> 
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>       xxxxxxxxxx RIGHTS EXPERT SAYS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION LARGELY NEGLECTED
> AT WORLD INFORMATION SUMMIT xxxxxxxxxx 
>       17 December 2003
> 
> 
>       The following statement was issued today by the Special Rapporteur on
> the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression of the United Nations
> Commission on Human Rights:
> 
>       The Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the right to
> Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, welcomed the adoption of
> the Draft Declaration of Principles and the Draft Plan of Action by the first
> phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Geneva from 10
> to 12 December 2003. 
> 
>       However, the Special Rapporteur wishes to note that, in spite of the
> efforts of many participants in the Summit, human rights issues, especially
> the right to freedom of opinion and expression, were largely neglected. The
> Special Rapporteur underlines that fundamental human rights such as the
> promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
> and other basic human rights, should be a constituent part of any declaration
> on the right to information.
> 
>       In the view of the Special Rapporteur, the mere reiteration of a few
> well-established principles and commitments on human rights is not
> sufficient; human rights concepts should be integrated meaningfully in the
> Draft Declaration. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur also observes that the
> Draft Plan of Action appears deprived of any human rights strategy. The
> absence of an in-depth analysis of a number of crucial matters like media
> concentration, safeguards to press freedom on the Internet and obstacles to
> accessing it, may gravely hamper the good work done so far by international
> institutions and non-governmental organizations on these key documents.
> 
>       The Special Rapporteur hopes that the second phase of the World Summit
> on the Information Society, to be held in Tunis in 2005, will take remedial
> action on this shortcoming and human rights organizations working on freedom
> of opinion and expression are fully implicated in the preparation of the
> second phase of the Summit. The Special Rapporteur remains at the disposal of
> the information community so as to provide a substantive contribution and
> further advice.  
> 
> 
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