H.E. Mary Robinson
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
Geneva
Switzerland
Fax: (+ 4122) 917 02 45
Vienna, 16 August 2001
Dear High Commissioner,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, is deeply concerned about certain tendencies of media regulation which can be found in the draft papers for the UN World Conference Against Racism, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 7 September 2001.
The philosophy of both the Draft Declaration and the Draft Programme of Action seems to encourage State dictation of news media behaviour, which is in clear contradiction of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We would like to let you know that we fully agree with the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFR), a coordination group of international news media organisations, of which IPI is an affiliate member, that there are two concrete proposals in the Draft Action Programme that would certainly meet with strong resistance from the international press freedom community.
a) “The World Conference should encourage governments to set up a national consultation body which might act as a permanent monitoring centre, mediating body and partner in the preparation of codes of conduct.”
According to our interpretation, this could lead to States creating “press councils” and “dictating” the content of a code of conduct for the media. This is totally unacceptable! Even intergovernmental organisations such as UNESCO have acknowledged that the decision to create a press council or other self-regulatory body must be taken by the media itself, and that no outsider should ever propose guidelines for a code of ethics or otherwise put pressure on the media (see the well-known statement by former UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor at the World Newspaper Congress of the World Association of Newspapers, formerly FIEJ, in Berlin in 1993).
b) A recommendation that the UN Human Rights Commission draw up an “international code of ethics for the communications media, especially the Internet, that includes specific measures to combat the unlawful dissemination of information that is racist, discriminatory, xenophobic, or relating to intolerance.”
IPI and other press freedom organisations have time and again stressed that the idea of an international code of ethics for journalists is a dangerous one, since it would certainly be used in some countries to repress forms of expression that would be considered legitimate in others. It is certainly not the business of any UN agency to write, adopt or enforce such a code.
IPI therefore appeals to you, as Secretary-General of this conference, to avoid such interference and any State “impetus” with regard to the creation of ethical codes of conduct or self-regulatory institutions.
Knowing your personal style of politics, your positive attitude toward a free press, and your impeccable human rights record, we trust that you will find proper solutions during this conference to find a balance between the right to freedom of expression and the eradication of racism and hate speech.
With many thanks for your kind attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
