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Tunis,
18 November 2005
“Never again” say freedom of
expression groups
Media and freedom of
expression groups today, at the conclusion of the second phase of the
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), called for a full
investigation by the United Nations into attacks on human rights and
freedom of expression that took place in Tunisia on the eve of and
during the Summit.
Steve Buckley, President of the World Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters and Chair of the Tunisian Monitoring Group (TMG) of
freedom of expression organisations said:
“Never again should a United Nations World Summit be held in a country
that does not respect its international commitments to human rights and
freedom of expression.
“This week in Tunis, both inside and outside the official Summit, we
have witnessed serious attacks on the right to freedom of expression
including harassment of delegates, attacks on Tunisian and
international journalists and human rights defenders, denial of entry
to the country, the blocking of websites, the censorship of documents
and speeches, and the prevention and disruption of meetings.”
In the face of these attacks, it is with relief that we acknowledge the
reaffirmation of human rights principles and the right to freedom of
expression that is contained in the Tunis Commitment of the WSIS.
On 30 September 2005, 37 governments called on Tunisia to make the WSIS
a “Summit in Tunisia, not a Summit on Tunisia”. This week’s events have
put the spotlight not only on Tunisia but also on the central
importance of human rights and freedom of expression in the information
society throughout the world.
We call on all stakeholders to ensure that human rights and freedom of
expression is mainstreamed into all follow-up mechanisms including the
Internet Governance Forum and we commit ourselves to working towards
that objective.
This week has also reminded us of the importance of being constantly
vigilant, and of the courage of those who speak out in the face of
repression and censorship. In this respect we welcome the decision of
the Tunisian human rights defenders who agreed today to end their
hunger strike. We commit ourselves to working with them and other brave
defenders of human rights to continue to monitor freedom of expression
in Tunisia.
***
The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) is a coalition of 14 organisations
set up in 2004 to monitor freedom of expression in Tunisia in the run
up to and following the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
The 14 organisations are all members of the International Freedom of
Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of 64 national, regional
and international organizations committed to defending the right to
freedom of expression.
Members of the TMG
are:
ARTICLE 19, UK
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), Canada
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), Egypt
Index on Censorship, UK
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Belgium
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA),
The Netherlands
International Publishers' Association (IPA), Switzerland
Journaliste en danger (JED), Democratic Republic of Congo
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Namibia
Norwegian PEN, Norway
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), Canada
World Association of Newspapers (WAN), France
World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), USA
Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC), UK
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