ATJ calls for international support to protect press freedom
Each year since 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) has refused to accredit Taiwanese media representatives seeking to cover the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA), thereby denying Taiwan's people access to health information while violating their basic human rights and press freedom. With the 2008 WHA set to convene in Geneva May 19-24, the Geneva-based Association of Correspondents Accredited to the United Nations (ACANU) today took the lead in supporting Taiwan's journalists by passing a resolution demanding that the United Nations secretary-general abolish this discriminatory policy.
The Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) welcomed the ACANU's support just ahead of its launch of a worldwide petition drive requesting international press clubs to send letters urging the UN to restore Taiwanese journalists' right to cover WHA meetings, thereby enabling newsgathering activities to return to normal operations, free of political interference, and prevent further infringement of press freedom and equal rights.
The reason given by the UN Media Accreditation & Liaison Unit for its actions is that applicants for press credentials are required to present "a current passport from a State recognized by the United Nations General Assembly" and must "represent bona fide media organizations [formally registered as a media organization in a country recognized by the United Nations General Assembly]."
Today's ACANU meeting passed a resolution on unequal treatment of Taiwanese media representatives, demanding that the UN secretary-general amend the rule that has resulted in the UN and its affiliated organizations denying accreditation to journalists holding Taiwanese passports. The resolution urges that Taiwanese correspondents should enjoy the same right as other journalists to gather news in conformance with the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and related UN resolutions. The ACANU resolution also calls on the UN to consider only fundamental human rights and not be influenced by political or diplomatic factors concerning the particular opinions of any member state.
Earlier this year, European Parliament Vice President Edward McMillan-Scott asked the European Union to urge the UN to revoke its ban on Taiwan's journalists covering the WHA.
In each of the past four years, the ATJ has protested the UN's policy and demanded that the UN and WHO give due consideration to the universal values of human rights and press freedom that Taiwan should enjoy. We have also sought petitions of support from international press associations and Taiwanese media. Last year, 31 Taiwanese media organizations protested to the UN and WHO, while the International Federation of Journalists, which has more than 500,000 members in over 100 countries, passed a resolution during its annual assembly condemning the UN's discriminatory treatment of Taiwanese journalists.
Several other international press associations, including Reporters Without Borders, the Society for Threatened Peoples, and the National Press Club of the Philippines, also expressed their support by protesting the UN's unfair treatment of Taiwan. This year, we will also launch a petition drive and send out requests for support in a bid for wider international support. In the petition, we enunciate three main demands:
1. Whereas the right to know and freedom of the press are matters that transcend national borders, and press freedom should not be the preserve of WHO members, we demand that the UN and the WHO abide by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and accord Taiwanese journalists equal rights to gather news.
2. The goal of the WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health regardless of nationality or membership status. Therefore, the United Nations, to fulfill its goal of promoting equality and human rights for all, should observe Article 3 of the International Health Regulations, which states, "the implementation of these Regulations shall be guided by the goal of their universal application for the protection of all people of the world from the international spread of disease." This stipulation calls for due consideration to be given to the health rights of Taiwan's 23 million people and their right of free access to information.
3. In a world that is democratizing, members of the media should be considered as independent agents and not as representatives of a government or region. Hence, freedom to gather news should not be sacrificed on the altar of political disputes whether or not China suppresses or attempts to suppress Taiwan.
Therefore, we urge that the United Nations and the World Health Organization accord equal treatment and issue press credentials to Taiwanese journalists for the May 19 World Health Assembly, so as to ensure that newsgathering activities can operate normally, free from political interference that would trample on the precious spirit of freedom and autonomy of the press.
(For further information, please contact Association of Taiwan Journalists spokesperson Lee Chien-chung at 886-2- 2341-0044.) |
