(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: London and Johannesburg: 4 November 1999 COMMONWEALTH MUST SHIFT TO PROACTIVE AGENDA ON HUMAN RIGHTS Pakistan under review, Nigeria back in, Cameroon still getting away with it.. the Commonwealth urgently needs a mechanism to deal with members’ chronic human rights problems before they get […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:
London and Johannesburg: 4 November 1999
COMMONWEALTH MUST SHIFT TO PROACTIVE AGENDA ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Pakistan under review, Nigeria back in, Cameroon still getting away with
it.. the Commonwealth urgently needs a mechanism to deal with members’
chronic human rights problems before they get out of hand. It is time for
the Commonwealth to lead the international community in tackling human
rights problems among its members, says ARTICLE 19, the International Centre
Against Censorship.
In addition to eight countries whose serious problems with upholding freedom
of expression are being highlighted for CHOGM ’99 (1), others causing
concern include Sri Lanka, where there are fears of increase in
politically-motivated violence in the run-up to December’s presidential
elections and the government is increasingly intolerant of criticism;
Swaziland, where the government is threatening to introduce new laws to curb
free expression in the media; and Zambia, where the government is pursuing
12 journalists on espionage charges.
Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19 said:
“As with Pakistan, the Commonwealth has sprung into action when democracy
has been suspended by military force. However, there are other serious human
rights problems which need to be addressed. Often, such problems build up
over time and could be prevented. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group
(CMAG) should take on a proactive ‘early warning’ role.”
ARTICLE 19 is recommending to the Commonwealth Heads of Government that in
the future, the role of CMAG should be strengthened, and the group’s
functions include:
– Assessing Commonwealth applicant states to ensure that they conform to the
Harare Principles (2) and recommending reforms;
– Involving NGOs in the reporting process;
– Developing an ‘at-risk’ register of countries which would benefit from
early Commonwealth intervention;
– Elaborating measures to entrench the principles of the Harare Declaration,
including by encouraging governments to promote freedom of information.
1. Cameroon, The Gambia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone,
Zimbabwe. View the text on www.article19.org.
2. ARTICLE 19 will be facilitating an interactive discussion on the British
Council’s new Commonwealth Voices website: www.commonwealthvoices.org.
