[WSIS CS-Plenary] statement by Media Caucus

[Tracey Naughton]

Statement of the Civil Society Media Caucus

14 October 2005

Civil Society’s Media Caucus at WSIS expresses its indignation over a  
series of incidents in which Tunisian authorities have hampered the  
freedom of expression of journalist and their freedom of association  
as well as that of others attending the Tunis phase of the World  
Summit on the Information Society.

In addition to problems involving denial of entry to Tunisia; the  
following incidents have occurred in the days preceding the summit:

·   Christophe Boltanski, a correspondent for the Paris daily  
newspaper ‘Libération’, was beaten and stabbed and had his personal  
effects stolen near his hotel in the embassy district. When he cried  
for help, guards standing outside a nearby embassy did not intervene.  
The attack took place a day after Libération published Boltanski's  
report about clashes between police and activists protesting in  
support of seven hunger strikers campaigning for the release of  
political prisoners in Tunisia


·   Representatives of Tunisian and foreign media and human rights  
organisations were prevented by a large number of Tunisian  
plainclothes police from entering the Goethe Institute, the cultural  
centre of the German Embassy in Tunis, for a meeting to plan events  
parallel to the Summit.


·   A Belgian television cameraman approaching the Institute had his  
camera seized by plainclothes police who forced themselves into the  
TV crew’s vehicle. The camera was only returned after the film  
cassette had been confiscated. The police stated that no pictures may  
be taken in Tunisia without prior official authorisation and  
prevented another reporter from taking photographs of the incident. A  
Tunisian journalist approaching the site was beaten by police.


·   Various websites which have contained criticism of Tunisia are  
available to the delegates at the official WSIS venue, but remain  
blocked and censored in the rest of Tunisia.


Such incidents call into question the seriousness of the Tunisian  
government to allow full freedom of expression and association at the  
WSIS.

The incidents show that prior concerns about the observance of human  
rights in Tunisia have been justified, underlining the widespread  
nature of official abuses in the country.

They also illustrate that concerns about holding a United Nations  
Summit dealing with communication and freedom of expression in such a  
country were justified.

To correct the situation the Tunisian government and the  
International Communication Union as the relevant UN authority  
organising the summit, must:

·   Guarantee equal right to access information via the internet both  
within and outside of the summit site.

·   Guarantee that all journalists have the right to freely report in  
Tunisia, without fear or intimidation.

·   Guarantee that the international media and summit delegates have  
the right to free movement and to meet with colleagues in the  
Tunisian media and civil society, outside of the official summit  
site, without threats or intimidation from the police or government  
authorities.

·   Ensure that Tunisian journalists and civil society members  
meeting with the international community are not subject to  
retribution and that free speech, press freedom and other human  
rights are respected in Tunisia after Summit delegates have gone home.



Given the above incidents and the overall poor human rights record of
Tunisia it seems to us that the UN system has contracted a moral  
obligation to follow up. It should name a special rapporteur to  
monitor freedom of expression and other human rights in Tunisia.
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