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World Summit on Information Society November 2005
November 14, 2005
INTERNATIONAL PEN WRITERS IN PRISON COMMITTEE
From 16-18 November 2005 governments, inter-governmental and
non-governmental organisations, internet service providers and others will gather in Tunisia, host of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) to debate the digital revolution and ways to address the “digital divide”. The WSIS Declaration of Principles specifically refers to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights that guarantees the right to freedom of expression. The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is taking the opportunity of the Summit to raise its concerns about the repression of writers and journalists who have expressed their views on-line in Tunisia and world-wide.
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PEN’s concerns about the WSIS are:
1) That it is being held in Tunisia, a country with a very poor record
of protection of freedom of expression, including the imprisoning of its
dissidents, harassment of activists, and blocking of web-sites.
2) There will be representation from governments of countries where
repression of internet activists is commonplace. Today, PEN has on its
records 69 recorded arrests of internet writers in 17 countries.
3) That rather than promoting freedom of information, international
internet service providers (ISPs) are collaborating with repressive states
by enabling blocking and other means of curtailing access to information,
and even providing details of their users that can lead to their imprisonment.
PEN, Internet repression and the WSIS
Past actions: In December 2004, PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) launched a campaign highlighting the problems faced by cyber-dissidents. The first phase of the campaign focused on Asia (China, Vietnam and the Maldives). Subsequent actions included a written submission to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights held in March/April on attacks and reports of torture against in Iran, an oral statement to the Commission summarising global concerns on the issue, an 8th March 2005 Women’s Day Action featuring women internet writers from Tunisia, China and Iran, a 3rd May International Press Freedom Day action focussing on Tunisia, Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and resolution condemning control of the internet passed at the International PEN Congress in Bled in June 2005.
In addition, PEN has been an active member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) that has been monitoring and campaigning on the problems faced by Tunisian free expression advocates. A PEN researcher was among a TMG delegation to Tunisia in January 2005 that met with, among others, government officials, journalists, former prisoners and the families and supporters of those still detained. Since then PEN has campaigned jointly with the TMG to highlight concerns in Tunisia. For details see http://www.ifex.org and navigate to the TMG section of this website.
Actions around the WSIS: International PEN will be represented at the WSIS by the Chair of the WiPC, Karin Clark, and its Programme Director, Sara Whyatt. The delegates will take part in parallel events that will take place prior to the Summit, and observe the summit itself. PEN will also be working with the IFEX TMG to ensure that concerns in Tunisia are highlighted. Members of Norwegian PEN and possibly other Centres will also be present.
A formal statement on the WSIS from International PEN will follow.
Concerns on Tunisia
The IFEX TMG has monitored the situation in Tunisia since the start of
2005. Its most recent report can be accessed via
http://convert.neevia.com/prods/87d4a7ed-7f20-44ac-a82e-c7e3ad75b179.cvn/TMG_Sept_2005_Report.pdf
As the WSIS nears, more organisations are voicing their concerns about the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia. These are expressed at the highest level. Some examples are:
· During a WSIS Preparatory Committee meeting in Geneva on 19-30 September 2005, the Canadian government delegation issued a statement expressing concern about Tunisian government actions repressing independent reporting on the conference and urged that the government “demonstrate that it strongly upholds and promotes” the right to freedom of opinion and expression. It concluded that “This is the only way to make sure that this will be a Summit in Tunisia, not on Tunisia.”
· On 14 October, Ambeyi Ligabo, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Expression to the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights issued a press release calling for the unconditional release of persons arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression. In it Ambeyi Ligabo states “Throughout the implementation of my mandate, I have received reports of
violations concerning freedom of opinion and expression in Tunisia. Recent cases would include the banning of journalists’ union congress, the conviction of prison-terms of a lawyer for publishing controversial
articles and smear campaigns against human rights activists particularly in conjunction with their right to freedom of expression and of association. I have also been alarmed by the polarisation of opinions and the lack of dialogue with the press, two elements that could seriously jeopardise the progress of media freedom in the country”. For full text go to http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/4247E1D7DA2A9950C125709A0054AF1D?opendocument
· On 17 October, the Tunisian government rejected Ligabo’s statement as “unfounded allegations emanating from some parties known for their bias and lack of objectivity referring to human rights groups including PEN and other members of IFEX.
· On 27 October, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations wrote to the IFEX TMG with the view that “the holding of this Summit in Tunis offers a good opportunity for the Government of Tunisia to address various human rights concerns, including those related to freedom of opinion and expression.” He added that the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights is monitoring the situation in Tunisia closely, and referred to there having been 26 communications from the Commission to the Tunisian authorities, “the large majority of them addressing concerns relating to freedom of opinion and expression and the situation of human rights defenders.”
Case studies.: PEN’s traditional working methods is to use the experience of writers and journalists under attack to illustrate the larger picture. The cases of Sihem Bensedrine and Mohammed Abbou serve to illustrate the impact on individuals. See background papers attached.
Concerns on China
Of all countries, China holds the greatest number of cyber-dissidents in
prison, with 31 currently detained serving lengthy prison terms. The cases of Shi Tao and Huang Jinqiu serve to illustrate their plight. The case of Shi Tao case is particularly notable for the fact that information provided by the ISP, Yahoo! led to Shi Tao’s conviction. See attached
background paper on Shi Tao and Huang Jinqiu.
What can PEN members do?
PEN Centres and members are requested to
· Write appeals to the Tunisian and Chinese authorities protesting
the attacks against cyber dissidents in their countries. See recommended actions ccompanying the case backgrounds.
· Lobby their own governments urging that their representatives to
the WSIS insist on the importance of freedom of expression as essential to “information society” and to support all initiatives aimed at promoting this right.
· Call on all persons attending the Summit, be they government
representatives, members of non-governmental organisations, those
involved in the information sector and others to take the opportunity to
protest the suppression of internet activists and particularly when
meeting with representatives from Tunisia and China.
· Alert the media to PEN’s concerns about the summit by submitting
articles and writing letters to newspapers, and offering interviews
on the topic to the broadcast media.
Also for background see websites
· Official WSIS web-site http://www.itu.org/wsis
· International Freedom of Expression Exchange http://www.ifex.org - go to Tunisia Monitoring Group
· Reporters sans Frontières “Internet Under Surveillance” campaign
http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=433
For further information please contact Sara Whyatt at the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN, 9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, London EC1M 7AT, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0) 207 253 3226 Fax: +44 (0) 207 253 5711 email: swhyatt@wipcpen.org