24 August 2005
IFEX MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS
This week in Iraq, lawmakers are aiming to finalise the text of a draft constitution for the country, which will hopefully guarantee the right to freedom of expression according to international standards. If it does, it will be thanks to the work of ARTICLE 19, which has been offering its legal expertise to the constitutional drafting process.
The IFEX member has prepared a set of draft provisions that adapt internationally-recognised standards on freedom of expression to the Iraqi context and provide lawmakers with a blueprint for protecting the right to free speech.
The provisions have been prepared in consultation with the Media Development Advisory Team, a body which advises the Iraqi government on media issues and is headed by the Coalition Provisional Authority's media development chief, Simon Haselock.
In July, ARTICLE 19's draft proposals were discussed by Iraqi lawmakers, journalists and civil society organisations at a workshop in Amman, Jordan, organised by UNESCO.
Read the draft provisions here:
http://tinyurl.com/7t5u3
Other members of IFEX have also urged Iraqi lawmakers to ensure that freedom of expression and freedom of the press are given strong protection in the Constitution.
In a letter sent in late July to Iraqi officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Inter American Press Association, the International Press Institute, the World Association of Newspapers and the World Press Freedom Committee called for "a constitutional provision on press freedom that is in keeping with the principles enumerated in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights." (see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/68459/)
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has also been active in supporting and promoting the right to free expression in Iraq. At a conference in Amman on 15-17 August, it brought together 40 leaders of journalists' groups across Iraq to produce a Charter for Social and Professional Rights, which sets out minimum standards for the exercise of independent journalism and recommendations for developing a democratic media culture in the country.
The journalists drew up a list of proposals for strengthening press freedom in Iraq, including the creation of a national media council to act as a monitoring and self-regulatory body for Iraqi journalists; the establishment of a national women's committee to support gender equality in journalism; a nation-wide training programme on journalists' safety; and the opening of an Iraqi journalists' safety centre in Baghdad.
Read IFJ's report on the conference:
http://tinyurl.com/75fzt
Visit these links:
- Text of Iraq's Draft Constitution: http://tinyurl.com/8y9ow
- AP Analysis of Constitutional Talks: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9055813/
- IFJ: http://tinyurl.com/b4phh
- Index on Censorship Report "Options for Media Development in Iraq": http://tinyurl.com/concd
- Simon Haselock on Media, the Law and Peacebuilding:
http://www.crisisstates.com/download/berkley/Berkley3.pdf
- International News Safety Institute: http://www.newssafety.com
- Institute for War and Peace Reporting:
http://www.iwpr.net/iraq_index1.html
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