UN shame

Absolutely revolting...

Mr Annan, is this your way of spreading freedom around the world?
How much is China's repressive regime paying you to silence press freedom?

UNjust, and UNdignified.

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IFJ Condemns United Nations Censorship That Denies Journalists Access to Global Health Debate
17/05/2005

he International Federation of Journalists today accused the United Nations of censorship and “political insanity” over the barring of Taiwanese from a crucial world health summit meeting in Geneva.

The World Health Assembly which is being held this week brings together a global community of experts and states to deal with critical health questions, but a group of journalists from Taiwan have been banned for the second year running based on a “perverse interpretation” of a 34-year old UN resolution.

Last week IFJ President Christopher Warren appealed to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to lift the ban on the journalists, but by yesterday, the opening day of the Assembly, they were still refused entry to the Assembly at the UN in Switzerland.

“It is political insanity for the United Nations to ban a group of journalists trying to cover a debate about global health policy,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “The clear impression is of the UN structure being bullied by Taiwan’s opponents, even though these journalists are independent, professional and not engaged in any political activity.”

The IFJ says that this censorship by the UN has only been applied in the past two years. Previously Taiwanese journalists were able to report freely the activities of the World Health Assembly which is the annual meeting of the World Health Organisation. In his letter to Kofi Annan, IFJ President Warren said that the UN as a global defender of human rights should not be seen to systematically undermine the basic rights of journalists to report on major news events.

All of the journalists affected by the ban are members of the IFJ’s affiliate in Taiwan, the Association of Taiwan Journalists, and all work for recognized media outlets such as the China Times, the Taipei Times, Chinese Satellite TV and the Central News Agency of Taiwan.

“It is not too late, even now, for the UN to give our colleagues free access to the World Health Assembly,” said White. “They should do so and remove immediately the shocking image of the UN engaged in the dirty business of political intimidation and discrimination against professional journalists.”

The IFJ says that the UN policy of banning passport holders from Taiwan to attend UN events is untenable and has no basis in law, given that the UN General Assembly resolution expelling Taiwan from membership in October 1971 only dealt with expulsion of representatives of the Taiwanese state. “This is a perverse interpretation that serves only the political interests of China and is an insult to press freedom,” said White.


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United Nations - No press freedom for Taiwanese journalists
ISHR criticises the denial of press passes for journalists
Taipei/Geneva/Frankfurt/M. - 18 May 2005.

The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) protests against the decision of a United Nations body not to issue press passes to Taiwanese journalists. Because Taiwan is not a state which is recognised by the UN General Assembly, Taiwanese journalists are not allowed to report to the 58th World Health Convention which is currently held in Geneva. This is already the second time in a row that journalists from Taiwan were denied access to this convention. In doing so, they are denied the possibility to report directly and independently on important topics of global importance.

This is an obvious restriction of the freedom of the press vis-à-vis Taiwan and, as such, it is intolerable. It leaves the question whether the United Nations do not act upon double standards considering that in the past the UN has granted observer status for example to the PLO and SWAPO. In view of this, it makes little sense to deny journalists from Taiwan press accreditation; after all, Taiwan has a democratically elected government and pluralist structures. An accreditation should even be possible without diverting from the "One-China Policy".

Beijing continues to pursue its One-China-Policy. By passing the anti-secession law in March of this year China has confirmed that it is prepared to use even military force against Taiwan, if Taiwan changes its constitution in any way not acceptable to China. ISHR believes that the Taiwanese population must be allowed to decide over the status of their country themselves.

The UN administration in Geneva should reconsider its decision and act in the sense of the principles of human rights, in particular press freedom, by accrediting journalists and allowing them to access events which are hosted by the United National. This is important especially with respect to the fact that the presence of Taiwanese journalist does not in principle question the acknowledgement of the People's Republic nor the One-China-Policy. The United Nation must not founder under the pressure of the People's Republic of China, but must remain loyal to its own principles.

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Taiwanese journalists refused accreditation for WHO annual conference
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13739
Reporters Without Borders, May 10, 2005

Reporters Without Borders has challenged the UN's decision to refuse accreditation to Taiwanese journalists to cover the World Health Organisation (WHO) conference being held in Geneva from 16-25 May.

The UN has justified its decision by pointing out that Taiwan is not a member state recognised by the UN General Assembly.
The worldwide press freedom organisation said that this step, taken chiefly for political reasons, constituted an obstacle to the right to information and press freedom. It called on the UN to change its mind.

It is the second successive year that journalists from Taiwan have been refused accreditation for the conference.

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SPJ protests UN barring journalists
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2005/05/22/2003256107

WHA MEETING: The US group said the UN's new accreditation regulations violate the world body's own rights declaration
CNA , NEW YORK ,
Taipei Times, Sunday, May 22, 2005,Page 1

Advertising The US journalists' group the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) on Friday protested the UN Geneva Office's recent decision to deny Taiwanese reporters access to cover the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) being held in Geneva this week.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the group's president, Irwin Gratz, said the UN's new requirement that reporters must be passport holders of UN member states in order to be issued passes to cover UN activities violates Article 19 of the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees the right of everyone to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.

The SPJ urged the UN to restore its original policy of issuing press passes to any organization or reporter regardless of their country of origin.
The SPJ, founded in 1909 in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the US' most broad-based organization of journalists and is dedicated to promoting freedom of the press.

The letter was the latest protests by an international press group in support of Taiwanese journalists' right to cover the WHA meeting. The International Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the International Society for Human Rights have voiced similar protests.
Taiwanese reporters flocked to Geneva to cover the country's bid to join the WHA as an observer but were turned away by the UN Geneva Office on the grounds that Taiwan is not a UN member.