ARTICLE 19

When does speaking freely become incitement to hatred? When should a state act to restrict speech? The UK-based group ARTICLE 19 has unveiled policy guidelines aimed at supporting states to navigate these difficult issues.

Diverging opinions have emerged both among British politicians and within the IFEX community following the release of Lord Justice Leveson’s report into media ethics in the UK.

A Moscow court banned internet videos of Pussy Riot, including the ‘punk prayer’ for so-called ‘extremism,’ six weeks after Pussy Riot members were convicted to two years in a remote prison colony.

While welcoming moves to implement measures that guarantee media independence, IFEX-TMG calls on the Tunisian government to fully respect free expression in the new Constitution and put an end to attacks on journalists and artists.

Civil society delegates at a UN Inter-Agency meeting have agreed to support the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

Fernando Palacios Cházares, director of the Oaxaca, Mexico magazine Ruta 135, was assaulted and robbed of his work equipment by people thought to be officers from the local municipal police.

IFEX members have condemned a “fundamentally flawed” rights declaration unveiled at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, at the same time expressing concern about ongoing free expression concerns in Cambodia and in the region.

The Rabat Plan of Action, released by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, represents an important step in clarifying state obligations to prohibit incitement to hatred, while providing coherent protection to the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.