Article 19

Last updated

ARTICLE 19
Founded5 February 1987 (1987-02-05)
Founder
Type International nongovernmental organisation
Registration no.Charity number 327421
FocusFreedom of expression and freedom of information
Location
  • London, UK
Coordinates 51°31′25″N0°6′29″W / 51.52361°N 0.10806°W / 51.52361; -0.10806
Key people
Quinn McKew
(Executive Director)
Revenue
£7,014,478 (2016)
Employees
100+
Website www.article19.org

Article 19 (stylised ARTICLE 19) is a British international human rights organisation that works to defend and promote freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide. It was founded in 1987. [1] The organisation takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:

Contents

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.

In early 2024, Russian authorities designated Article 19 as an "undesirable organization." [2]

Activities

ARTICLE 19 monitors threats to free expression around the globe; lobbies governments to adopt laws that conform to international standards of freedom of expression; and drafts legal standards that strengthen media, public broadcasting, free expression, and access to government-held information. The Law Programme also produces legal analysis and critiques of national laws, including media laws. In addition, ARTICLE 19 intervenes in cases of individuals or groups whose rights have been violated; and provides capacity-building support to non-governmental organisations, judges and lawyers, journalists, media owners, media lawyers, public officials and parliamentarians.

ARTICLE 19's work is organised into five regional programmes — Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East — a law programme, and a digital programme. It has over 100 staff and regional offices in Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Senegal, and Tunisia. It works in partnership with nearly 100 organisations in more than 60 countries around the world. [3]

Coalitions

ARTICLE 19 is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a clearinghouse for a global network of non-governmental organisations that monitor free expression violations worldwide. It is also a member of the Tunisia Monitoring Group, a coalition of 21 free expression organisations that lobbied the Tunisian government to improve its human rights record. [4] And it is the coordinator of the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA), a coalition of international organisations working to promote and protect freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.

ARTICLE 19 is a founding member of the Freedom of Information Advocates (FOIA) Network, a global forum that aims to support campaigning, advocacy and fundraising on access to information through the exchange of information, ideas and strategies. The FOIA Network also aims to facilitate the formation of regional or international coalitions to address access to information issues.

Description

Article 19 1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. 3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals

Finances

ARTICLE 19 lists its regular financial contributors on its website:

Leaders

Shortly before his death in 1984, J. Roderick MacArthur established a vision for ARTICLE 19 as a global human rights organisation that would focus on censorship issues. [5] His son Greg MacArthur, director of the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, set the wheels in motion for the creation of the organisation inspired by an article from the Universal Declaration of Human rights. [6] Through Aryeh Neier—a lawyer and human rights leader who was formerly the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (1970–1978) before founding Human Rights Watch in 1978 [7] -- Martin Ennals was appointed to realise the idea. [8] Ennals brought his experience from UNESCO, the National Council for Civil Liberties, and the Nobel Prize-winning Amnesty International, and started the ARTICLE 19 organisation in 1986 with a budget around $1,500,000 and a staff of eight with its first executive director Kevin Boyle. [9] [10] [11] [12]

ARTICLE 19 Executive Directors
Kevin Boyle 1987–1989 [9] [10]
Frances D'Souza 1989–1999 [5]
Andrew Puddephatt1999–2004 [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Agnès Callamard 2004–2013 [18]
Thomas Hughes2013–2020 [19]
Quinn McKew2020- [20]

As executive director, Kevin Boyle oversaw the first report that would summarise the current state of censorship on a global scale in a report released in 1988. The ARTICLE 19 report "Information, Freedom and Censorship" established a benchmark from which to move forward. In the report, ARTICLE 19 was critical of the United Kingdom where the government could interfere in the British Broadcasting Company's editorial decisions. Other directors would also criticise the United Kingdom frequently even though the organisation is based in London. [21]

Under the leadership of Boyle, ARTICLE 19 also took up as its first campaign, the defence of one of its own. Among ARTICLE 19's first directors on its board of directors was South African journalist Zwelakhe Sisulu.

The Sisulu name was well known worldwide as both of his parents were activists against South Africa's Apartheid system. Sisulu himself had established his own reputation as the leader of a press strike by black journalists in 1980. For this activity, he was arrested and banned from journalism for 3 years. After his disappearance in 1986 and after his arrest was made official, ARTICLE 19 took up the case of its own human rights defender. [21] Sisulu was released two years later. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]

Frances D'Souza, [30] a founder and former director of Relief and Development Institute focusing on famine monitoring and relief operations, became the organisation's second executive director 4 July 1989. She brought with her years of experience as a human rights defender from the field. Among her signature campaigns was the defence of Salman Rushdie after Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwā , or religious ruling, 14 February 1989 based on the charge that the book The Satanic Verses (1988) was a work of blasphemy. The religious ruling was a death sentence. D'Souza became the chairwoman of the Salman Rushdie Defence Committee while also executive director of Article 19 and became the writer's main spokesperson. [31] [32]

D'Souza also participated in the drafting of the Johannesburg Principles in 1995. [33]

Location

In June 2009, ARTICLE 19 moved to Farringdon Road in London to become part of the Free Word Centre promoting literature, literacy and free expression.

See also

Related Research Articles

Artistic freedom can be defined as "the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors." Generally, artistic freedom describes the extent of independence artists obtain to create art freely. Moreover, artistic freedom concerns "the rights of citizens to access artistic expressions and take part in cultural life—and thus [represents] one of the key issues for democracy." The extent of freedom indispensable to create art freely differs regarding the existence or nonexistence of national instruments established to protect, to promote, to control or to censor artists and their creative expressions. This is why universal, regional and national legal provisions have been installed to guarantee the right to freedom of expression in general and of artistic expression in particular. In 2013, Ms Farida Shaheed, United Nations special rapporteur to the Human Rights Council, presented her "Report in the field of cultural rights: The right to freedom of expression and creativity" providing a comprehensive study of the status quo of, and specifically the limitations and challenges to, artistic freedom worldwide. In this study, artistic freedom "was put forward as a basic human right that went beyond the 'right to create' or the 'right to participate in cultural life'." It stresses the range of fundamental freedoms indispensable for artistic expression and creativity, e.g. the freedoms of movement and association. "The State of Artistic Freedom" is an integral report published by arts censorship monitor Freemuse on an annual basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reporters Without Borders</span> International organisation for freedom of the press

Reporters Without Borders is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation focused on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as founded on the belief that everyone requires access to the news and information, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that recognises the right to receive and share information regardless of frontiers, along with other international rights charters. RSF has consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IFEX (organization)</span> Organization

IFEX, formerly International Freedom of Expression Exchange, is a global network of more than 120 independent non-governmental organisations that work at a local, national, regional, or international level to defend and promote freedom of expression as a human right.

Internet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government removed filters on social networking sites such as YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PEN International</span> Worldwide association of writers

PEN International is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous International PEN centres in more than 100 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index on Censorship</span> Campaigning publishing organisation

Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association with the UK-registered charity Index on Censorship, which are both chaired by the British television broadcaster, writer and former politician Trevor Phillips. Index is based at 1 Rivington Place in central London.

Rohan Jayasekera is an English freelance journalist and advocate specialising in freedom of expression rights issues in conflict zones and repressive states. He was born in Holloway, North London, of mixed Sri Lankan-Scots-Irish parentage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akbar Ganji</span> Iranian journalist

Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist, writer and a former member of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He has been described as "Iran's preeminent political dissident", and a "wildly popular pro-democracy journalist" who has crossed press censorship "red lines" regularly. A supporter of the Islamic revolution as a youth, he became disenchanted in the mid-1990s and served time in Tehran's Evin Prison from 2001 to 2006, after publishing a series of stories on the murder of dissident authors known as the Chain Murders of Iran. While in prison, he issued a manifesto which established him as the first "prominent dissident, believing Muslim and former revolutionary" to call for a replacement of Iran's theocratic system with "a democracy". He has been described as "Iran's best-known political prisoner".

The Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) is a coalition of 21 free-expression organisations that belong to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is a non-governmental organisation with members in 11 of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. Officially launched in September 1992, MISA focuses primarily on the need to promote free, independent and pluralistic media, as envisaged in the 1991 Declaration of Windhoek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sihem Bensedrine</span> Tunisian journalist and human rights activist

Sihem Bensedrine is a Tunisian journalist and human rights activist. In 2005, she was honored with the Oxfam Novib/PEN Award.

Censorship in Tunisia has been an issue since the country gained independence in 1956. Though considered relatively mild under President Habib Bourguiba (1957–1987), censorship and other forms of repression became common under his successor, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali was listed as one of the "10 Worst Enemies of the Press" by the Committee to Protect Journalists starting in 1998. Reporters Without Borders named Ben Ali as a leading "Predator of Press Freedom". However, the Tunisia Monitoring Group reports that the situation with respect to censorship has improved dramatically since the overthrow of Ben Ali in early 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Moldova</span>

The condition of human rights in Moldova has come under scrutiny since 2002, and human rights organizations within Moldova and around the world have spoken out against what they feel to be unfair suppression of the independent media, as well as other abuses.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) was a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting freedom of expression across the Middle East and North Africa. It was founded in the year 2004. Based in Cairo, Egypt, the organization was founded by prominent Egyptian attorney and human rights activist Gamal Eid, who also served as the ANHRI's executive director. The ANHRI collected publications, campaigns, reports, and statements from almost 140 Arab human rights organizations across the region and republished them in a daily digest on its website. The group focused on supporting free expression, especially via the internet and mass media, and worked on behalf of persons regarded as having been detained on political grounds. It also advocated against censorship by Arab governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of speech by country</span>

Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. "Speech" is not limited to public speaking and is generally taken to include other forms of expression. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless, the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced. Censorship has also been claimed to occur in other forms and there are different approaches to issues such as hate speech, obscenity, and defamation laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindiwe Sisulu</span> South African politician (born 1954)

Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu is a South African politician. She was member of parliament from 1994 until 2023, and is a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress as of 2023. She previously served as Minister of Housing, as Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Minister of Public Service and Administration, Minister of Human Settlements from, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation and Minister of Tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of speech</span> Right to communicate ones opinions and ideas

Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law by the United Nations. Many countries have constitutional law that protects free speech. Terms like free speech, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression are used interchangeably in political discourse. However, in a legal sense, the freedom of expression includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazen Darwish</span> Syrian lawyer and free speech advocate

Mazen Darwish is a Syrian lawyer and free speech advocate. He is the president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression. News organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have described him as one of Syria's most prominent activists. He was imprisoned in Syria from 2012 until his release in August 2015.

Zwelakhe Sisulu was a South African black journalist, editor, and newspaper founder. He was president of the Writers' Association of South Africa, which later became the Black Media Workers Association of South Africa, and he led a year-long strike in 1980 for fair wages for black journalists. Under apartheid, he was imprisoned at least three times for his journalism. After apartheid ended, he became the chief executive officer of the South African Broadcast Corporation.

Freedom of the press in Myanmar refers to the freedom of speech, expression, right to information, and mass media in particular. The media of Myanmar is regulated by the law of Myanmar, the News Media Law which prevent spreading or circulating media bias. It also determines freedom of expression for media houses, journalists, and other individuals or organisations working within the country. Its print, broadcast and Internet media is regulated under the News Media Law, nominally compiled by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and international standards on freedom of expression.

References

  1. ↑ "Congratulations to ARTICLE 19 for Two Decades of Speaking Out for Free Expression". IFEX.org. 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "Russia bans freedom of expression group Article 19 as 'undesirable'". Committee to Protect Journalists . 16 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "ARTICLE 19". [BETA] Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD). Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Cairo) (19 February 2012). "Tunisia: IFEX-TMG Concerned By Series of Setbacks". Africa News.
  5. 1 2 Fein, Esther B. (16 August 1992). "Conversations/Frances D'Souza; Working to Nourish Democracy Where Minds Are Being Starved". New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Saxon, Wolfgang (6 December 2001). "Greg MacArthur, Philanthropist And Green Party Supporter, 53". New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Fitzgerald, Mary (4 June 2012). "Standing up for the universality of human rights" (interview). Irish Times. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "History & Achievements". Article 19. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  9. 1 2 Moorehead, Caroline (31 October 1986). "New body set up to attack censorship / Launch of ARTICLE 19 organization". The Times (London).
  10. 1 2 Allemang, John (9 November 1988) [2013-01-26]. "Group fights worldwide censorship". The Globe and Mail (Canada).
  11. ↑ Pepinster, Catherine (6 October 1991) [2013-01-26]. "At the forefront of freedom". The Observer.[ clarification needed ]
  12. ↑ "Who was Martin Ennals?". martinennalsaward.org. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  13. ↑ Centre for the Study of Human Rights. "Andrew Puddephatt". London School of Economics. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  14. ↑ Barker, Dennis (4 October 1989) [2013-01-31]. "Wednesday People: Champion in the cause of liberty". The Guardian (UK).
  15. ↑ Wolmar, Christian (30 October 1989) [2013-01-31]. "Defender of Liberty in a state of decay". The Independent.
  16. ↑ Puddephatt, Andrew (24 May 2003) [2013-01-26]. "Letter: Mind your language". The Daily Telegraph.
  17. ↑ Puddephatt, Andrew (25 August 2004) [2013-01-26]. "ALERT: Article 19 expresses concern about NGO bill". IFEX.
  18. ↑ "Agnes Callamard". The Huffington Post . Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Executive director - Thomas Hughes". Article 19. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Article 19 announces Quinn McKew as new executive director". Article 19. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  21. 1 2 "Human Rights: First World Report on Censorship Blasts Britain". Inter Press Service. 23 May 1988 [2013-01-29].
  22. ↑ "Black editor abducted / Zwelakhe Sisulu in South Africa". The Guardian (UK). 28 June 1986 [2013-01-29].
  23. ↑ "U.S. Editors' Society Urges Pretoria to Free a Journalist". New York Times. Associated Press. 29 June 1986 [2013-01-29].
  24. ↑ "Minister frees detained editor / New Nation newspaper editor Sisulu released by South African authorities". The Guardian (UK). 19 July 1986.
  25. ↑ Hultman, Tami (5 October 2012). "South Africa: Zwelakhe Sisulu - a Remembrance". AllAfrica. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  26. ↑ Findley, Timothy (21 March 1987). "Writing: the pain and the pleasure The power to persuade is mitigated wherever you turn". Toronto Star.
  27. ↑ Brittain, Victoria (7 December 1989). "Editor says black South African paper is threatened with closure". The Guardian (UK).
  28. ↑ "Tributes paid to 'revolutionary journalist' | Media". BDlive. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  29. ↑ Sisulu, Zwelakhe (11 December 2008). "Statement by Zwelakhe Sisulu on the Occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Founding of Article 19" (PDF). Article 19. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  30. ↑ Sometimes misspelled as De Souza.
  31. ↑ Usborne, David; Jury, Louise; Cornwell, Rupert (25 September 1998). "Secret talks that ended a 10-year ordeal". The Independent (London).
  32. ↑ "Review: Publish and be damned: Writers, broadcasters, friends and publishing insiders recall what it was like to be caught up in the most controversial story in recent literary history, The Satanic Verses and the ensuing fatwa against its author, as Salman Rushdie prepares to bring out his eagerly awaited memoir". The Guardian (London). 15 September 2012.
  33. ↑ Shamdasani, Ravina (5 December 2002). "Human rights specialist hits out at anti-subversion laws". South China Morning Post (Hong Kong). Retrieved 26 January 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.