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Alert

RSF and FIDH concerned by lack of response from Boutros Boutros Ghali

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF press release:

FRANCOPHONIE

RSF and FIDH concerned by lack of response from Boutros Boutros Ghali

In a letter to Boutros Boutros Ghali, secretary-general of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH) asked once again for implementation of the measures foreseen in the Bamako Declaration on the human rights situation in Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tunisia. The two organisations said they could not understand the lack of a response from the OIF and its secretary-general. "Why remain so silent in the face of such alarming situations? Why adopt measures if the political will to implement them is lacking?" wondered the two organisations.




Reporters sans frontières and the FIDH also called into questioned the timidity of the francophone institutions in the face of states "who violate the fundamental freedoms of their citizens every day". "This wait-and-see policy weighs heavily on the affected populations [in these countries], in the context of the OIF elections scheduled for next autumn...," added Robert Ménard and Sidiki Kaba, RSF's secretary-general and the FIDH's president, respectively.

The two organisations noted that they have referred the matter to the Francophonie authorities on several occasions. On 9 November 2000 and again on 31 January, they wrote to the OIF about human rights in Tunisia. Given the extremely worrying situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, RSF and the FIDH again contacted Boutros Boutros Ghali on 13 February 2001, urging the OIF to implement the measures foreseen in the Bamako Declaration towards ending the massive human rights violations and to put into practice the arrangements foreseen in case of a break with democracy. Finally, the two organisations informed the Francophonie about the human rights situation in Côte d'Ivoire on the occasion of a visit by the Ivorian authorities to the headquarters of the Francophonie's Intergovernmental Agency (Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie) in France on 16 February.

The OIF had invited RSF and the FIDH to participate in the international symposium on the assessment of democratic practices, rights and freedoms in francophone countries, which took place in Bamako from 1 to 3 November 2000. This meeting was held in the context of "renewed partnership" between the Francophonie's institutions and the international non-governmental organisations that work in the human rights field. The two organisations actively participated in writing the Bamako Declaration, which was adopted at the symposium's conclusion on 3 November.