IFJ to Boycott World Press Freedom Day in Qatar

(includes text of letter to UNESCO)

27 Apr 2009

International Federation of Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists today calls on journalists’ groups around the world to boycott plans by the United Nations cultural organisation UNESCO to organise its World Press Freedom Day celebrations on May 3rd in co-operation with Qatar, a country where journalists are denied freedom of association.

Our decision has not been taken lightly, but the reality of how journalists are treated in Qatar takes the shine off this showpiece day of celebration for press freedom and it also damages UNESCO’s reputation. While Qatar appears to talk up notions of human rights and freedom, it fails to practice what it preaches. The IFJ Executive Committee believes that journalists’ groups should not this endorse this hypocrisy.

Oil-rich Qatar has invested heavily in showing the world that it cares for quality journalism by bankrolling the successful global television network Aljazeera and putting public money into a media centre in the capital Doha which monitors press freedom elsewhere.

However, local journalists, most of them from abroad, are denied the right to organise their own union or association. Those from abroad are forced to hand over their passports to their Editors and they must obtain written official permits in order to leave the country.

UNESCO organises a May 3 event each year and often in countries where journalists are under fire. Previous celebrations have been held in Colombia, Sri Lanka and Serbia, where media have been the victims of violence, but it has never before organised celebrations in co-operation with a country that refuses to allow freedom of association.

The IFJ has visited Qatar and held discussions with journalists at Aljazeera and from the local media. Most of the journalists working in Qatar are foreign-born.

Journalists and editors are in favour of creating an independent association or union, but the law does not allow it and although plans for such a law have been in the pipeline for years there has still been no progress in obtaining official support for journalists’ rights to organise freely.

The IFJ fully supports colleagues in Qatar, and we will work with them to get the government to change its approach, but we cannot go along with a UNESCO event that simply ignores the fact that journalists in Qatar are not free.

We have written to UNESCO condemning its failure to respond to the concerns of journalists about their right to organise. A copy of this letter is enclosed.

Aidan White
General Secretary

Text of letter to UNESCO:

Abdul Waheed Khan
Assistant director-General for Communication and Information
UNESCO
1, Rue Miollis
75732 Paris cedex 15
                                    April 28th 2009

Dear Mr Khan,

Firstly, thank you for your letter of 27 March in response to my letter to the Director General of UNESCO Koïchiro Matsuura of 24 November 2008.

I note your statement that the Qatar authorities have taken “serious steps” towards fully respecting press freedom, although I remain in the dark as to what those steps are.

Certainly, promises of continued discussions on the possibility of a new press law have been with us for many years and although a new text on a draft media law is promised it is, as of today, still unavailable.

The concerns that exist about the treatment of journalists in Qatar – denied the right to form their own association or union, subject to official controls over their freedom of movement – remain in place.

As a result, the IFJ is today informing all of its affiliates that it will not formally participate in the meeting organised by UNESCO in co-operation with the government of Qatar to celebrate World Press Freedom Day 2009.

In the past UNESCO has organised its World Press Freedom Day events in Colombia, Sri Lanka and Serbia, where media have been the victims of violence, and it has also held activities in countries in the process of development such as Mozambique and Yemen, but this is the first time it has organised celebrations in co-operation with a state that prohibits freedom of association.

The IFJ has visited Qatar recently and held discussions with journalists at Aljazeera and from the local media. Most journalists in Qatar are foreign-born. They have to hand over their passports to editors and require an official exit permit to leave the country.

The IFJ fully supports colleagues in Qatar, and we will work with them to get the government to change its approach, but we cannot go along with a UNESCO event that simply ignores the fact that journalists in Qatar are not free.

I regret that UNESCO has not been forthright in its response to the problems facing journalists and their denial of a right to organise. The IFJ is pleased that the Doha Media Centre has also protested about this lack of freedom for journalists, but the fact that UNESCO remains silent is intolerable.

In these circumstances I’m sure you will understand why we will not be joining you in Doha.
       
With Kind Regards,
 
AIDAN WHITE
General Secretary