Afghan journalists, media and civil society
organizations and other concerned stakeholders met today to raise their voices
in concern about the fast shrinking space for the free expression of ideas and
opinions and increasingly limited access to information for the media and
citizens of Afghanistan. We, moreover, are united in our concern that
Afghanistan is increasingly unsafe for journalists, civil society and ordinary
Afghans to gather and relay information and views and to make informed
decisions about their lives and their country. Our concerns are made more
urgent by the upcoming elections.
We, the concerned stakeholders, affirm that:
1.
Freedom of expression, including the right to
receive and impart information is an inalienable right of the Afghan people
guaranteed by Constitution and international law, to be respected and protected
in all Afghan laws and actions by government and others;
2.
All parties, including state, international
military forces, opposition groups, insurgents and other armed groups have a
responsibility to protect and respect this right and to refrain from
threatening, attacking, killing, abducting and incarcerating journalists and
others in pursuit of their mission to seek and impart information or purely on
the basis of expressing an opinion;
3. We
strongly endorse the findings and recommendations made in the report
‘’Situation of Freedom of Expression in Afghanistan: Summary of Consultations’’1; and
4. We
remain committed in our obligations to ensuring that respect for human rights
and the rule of law prevails and that the transition to a peaceful and
democratic Afghanistan succeeds.
We, the concerned stakeholders, conclude
that:
5.
Freedom of expression and information are
integral to free and fair elections, to sustainable social and economic
development and to legitimate and accountable democratic institutions as well
as the building of an open and just society based on the rule of law;
6. The safety
and security of Afghan civilians, especially journalists - in particular women
– as well as human rights and civil society actors are of paramount concern,
therefore, we call upon Afghan and international authorities to take immediate
steps toward improving security in the country;
7.
Afghan media and civil society is compromised
by ethnic, linguistic and ideological divisions which further fuel problems
within society, therefore, we welcome calls for unity, collective action,
transparency and accountability with regards to external financing and a common
stand against hate propaganda;
8. The
production and dissemination of information and ownership of media
infrastructure by Afghan media entities is essential for ensuring debate on key
issues pertaining to democracy and development and for facilitating nationwide,
regional and international dialogue to inform the public;
9. Policy
and legal frameworks need to be improved to ensure that they respect and
protect the free flow of information and plurality of opinions and ideas.
We, the concerned stakeholders, commit to:
10. Continue
our collective efforts to address issues of concern, including those related to
the Mass Media Law and to follow-up on progress and engage in dialogue with the
government and the international community to improve the situation of freedom
of expression in particular and human rights more broadly;
11. Adopt
a Code of Conduct for journalists and media to self-regulate the production and
dissemination of information and to create a mechanism to ensure adherence to
the code, and in doing so limit the need for government regulations to police
the media;
1 The report is available at http://unama.unmissions.org
12. Expand
and enrich partnerships, which are locally owned and empowering to help enhance
professional capacity and improve coverage of key issues and outreach to the
public;
13. Enhance
unity and collaboration among media organizations and journalist unions in
order to collectively counter the growing trends of media partisanship, biased
reporting and divisions within the media which are exploited by some
politicians, political groups, government, foreign powers and the insurgents;
14. Work
with the government and the international community to improve the conditions
for transparent and accountable conduct by media organisations and journalists,
including measures for coordinated funding of media and civil society
organisations and reasonable taxing of revenues earned by the media;
15. Improve lobbying
capacity and partnerships with national and international organisations,
including the United Nations and international human rights and journalist
defence groups to afford greater voice to issues of concern and better
protection of journalists, civil society and human rights actors.
And we, the concerned stakeholders:
16.
Demand that the Afghan government investigate
cases of abuse, abduction, incarceration and killing of Afghan journalists,
human rights and civil society actors in order to grant justice to victims and
their families, to combat the growing culture of impunity and to restore faith
in the country’s security, legal and judicial institutions;
17. Call
upon the international community and the Afghan government to make freedom of
expression and protection of journalists and media institutions a policy
priority, and take immediate steps to improve the rule of law and freedom of
expression throughout the country, especially in the provinces;
18. Call
upon the Afghan Government and national parliament to reach consensus on the
Mass Media Law and pave the way for the immediate and swift implementation of
the law, and request the international community to support us in this process;
19. Call
upon the Afghan government and the international community to take immediate
steps to support Radio Television Afghanistan to fulfil its mandate as a Public
Service Broadcaster;
20. Demand
immediate action by the Afghan government and more robust support by the
international community to significantly improve access to information,
centrally and in the provinces in order to improve coverage of vital issues,
including national elections and security and development efforts;
21.
Call for greater and coordinated funding and
political support by the international community to Afghan media, journalists,
human rights and civil society actors and organisations that are promoting and
protecting freedom of expression, access to information, safety and protection
of journalists and other vulnerable groups;
22. Call
on Afghan media groups, journalist unions, donors and the Afghan government to
create a joint mechanism to facilitate information sharing and to review and
monitor funding of non-state media organisations in order to improve
transparency and accountability and address the ‘politicisation’ of media;
23. Encourage
Afghan journalists, media and civil society to improve unity, common agenda
setting, and collective action to preserve freedom of expression and enhance
protection of journalists and media workers and institutions.
Multi-stakeholder Consultation on “Freedom of Expression
in Afghanistan” Kabul, Afghanistan.
30 March 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment