[WSIS CS-Plenary] Women's Statement on Tunisian HR Situation

[Jean-Louis FULLSACK]

Sorry for the delay of my message
CSDPTT, french NGO active mainly in connecting remote villages and communities in Western Africa, supports the Women's statement on tunesian HR situation and signs the document.
Jean-Louis Fullsack
President CSDPTT




> Message du 15/11/05 20:22
> De : "Jac" 
> A : mavic at iwtc.org, chat at apcwomen.org, vickisemler at aol.com, annewalker at iwtc.org, graciela_isabel_sanchez at yahoo.com, feanywhere at yahoo.co.uk, lettiel at gmail.com, kazajudy at yahoo.com, maseger at t-online.de, kutomaj at yahoo.com, wsis-gc at genderwsis.org, plenary at wsis-cs.org, jensen at BOELL.DE, dr.heike.jensen at web.de, mujeralc at yahoo.com, maria at radiofeminista.net, poolb10 at dgroups.org, haifa at unifem.org.jo, jbrodman at edc.org, jac at apcwomen.org, daphne at apcwomen.org
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> Objet : [WSIS CS-Plenary] Women's Statement on Tunisian HR Situation
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> _______________________________________
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> We have prepared this statement which we hope to circulate by tomorrow morning.
> This is the women's statement on the Tunisian HR situation. Please write to:
> jac at apcwomen.org AND mavic at iwtc.org if you want to endorse the statement
> (whether as an individual or organisation or network). 
> 
> Please feel free to pass it on to your network. 
> 
> If you have changes, please email it by tonight, midnight. 
> 
> Thank you!
> Mavic (IWTC & AMARC) + Jac (APC WNSP & KRYSS)
> 
> ----
> We, women’s organisations, individuals and networks gathered in Tunis for Phase
> II of the World Summit on the Information Society, denounce blatant violations
> of human rights, freedom of expression, access to information and freedom of
> assembly by the Tunisian government. 
> 
> On November 12th 2005, correspondent Christophe Boltanski of the French daily
> Libération who previously reported the on-going hunger strike of Tunisian
> political prisoners, was beaten and stabbed by four unidentified assailants
> near his hotel in Tunis, in the presence of police officers who did not take
> any action to stop the attack. 
> 
> Preparations for a Citizen’s Summit on the Information Society have been
> continuously disrupted and prevented from happening. On November 14th 2005,
> Tunisian authorities blocked access to the preparatory meeting site, Goethe
> Institute, and physically forced people away from the building. During this
> process, several people were insulted and beaten. On the same day, a journalist
> from Belgium who was covering the event had his camera confiscated. When the
> camera was returned later, the film was missing. 
> 
> These incidents form part of the serious deterioration of freedom of expression
> and assembly in Tunisia. 
> 
> The Tunisia Monitoring Group, a coalition of 14 organisations monitoring freedom
> of expression in Tunisia, reported that since January 2005, harassments of
> journalists and dissidents, imprisonment of those who articulate criticisms
> against the Tunisian government have persisted, and in some cases, escalated.
> The independence of judiciary has also been compromised. Essai Belhassen,
> Coordinator of the Association of Tunisian Democratic Women (Association
> Tunisienne des Femmes Democrates, ATFD), has been consistently obstructed from
> participating in WSIS-related meetings and events. Further, information sites
> covering WSIS from civil society perspectives, especially those maintained by
> Tunisians, have been censored and blocked. 
> 
> Freedoms of expression, access to information and freedom of assembly are
> integral to the principles of gender equality and women’s human rights. Human
> rights and freedoms, of which women's human rights and freedoms are a central
> part, must be located at the core of the information society.
> 
> As articulated in Paragraph 4 of the WSIS Declaration, to which the Tunisian
> government is a signatory, and as outlined in Article 19 of the Universal
> Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
> expression; that this right includes freedom to hold opinions without
> interference. We call on the Tunisian government and the international
> community to protect and uphold these rights. 
> 
> We urge a real commitment to the Geneva Declaration of Principles in building an
> Information Society that is people-centred, inclusive, participatory, democratic
> and development-oriented. 
> 
> We are outraged and gravely concerned by the impunity demonstrated by the
> Tunisian authorities in curtailing the freedoms of expression, access to
> information and freedom of assembly. 
> 
> We demand the Tunisian government to put an end to the human rights violations.
> It is intolerable that we are experiencing serious violations of basic human
> rights even as we gather here to shape a just and equitable Information
> Society. 
> 
> 15 November 2005
> Signed:
> World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) – Women’s
> International Network
> Association of Progressive Communications, Women’s Networking Support Programme
> (APC WNSP)
> International Women’s Tribune Centre
> European Federation of Older Persons (EURAG) – Europe
> Knowledge & Rights with Young People through Safer Spaces (KRYSS)
> 
> 
> 
> 
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