[cr-india] IACHR Will Develop Standards on Community Broadcasting

[ceo]

ARTICLE 19 Press Release 

PRESS RELEASE 




IACHR Will Develop Standards on Community Broadcasting



ARTICLE 19 welcomes the commitment by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ (IACHR) to develop standards on the regulation of community broadcasting.


During a public hearing on 28 October 2008, the IACHR and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression made a commitment to develop standards on different aspects of broadcast regulation, including community broadcasting. At the hearing, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) presented its “Principles on Democratic Legislation of Community Broadcasting”, which has been endorsed by several civil society organisations, including ARTICLE 19.

“The Principles are based on detailed comparative research and consultations with representatives of civil society organizations and experts on freedom of expression from a number of countries around the world, including ARTICLE 19. We are happy to endorse the Principles and we hope that they are able to provide an important reference for domestic rules on community broadcasting”, said Dr. Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director. 

ARTICLE 19 notes the importance of community broadcasting as a way of promoting a plurality of ideas and information in society. Restrictive legislation can undermine community broadcasting. In Brazil, for example, despite specific rules on community broadcasting, licensing procedures are lengthy and involve excessive bureaucracy. This has lead to delays in the granting of licences to a number of stations, in some municipalities for more than ten years. The development by the IACHR of regional standards in this area will provide important guidance to decision-makers on how legislation can promote rather than discourage community broadcasting.


NOTES TO EDITORS

*For more information, please contact Jamila Venturini, jamila at article19.org, +55 11 3057 0071.
*The AMARC Principles are available at: http://legislaciones.item.org.uy/files/Principles%20on%20Democratic%20Regulation%20of%20Community%20Broadcasting%20(eng).pdf







Bazlu
_______________________
AHM. Bazlur Rahman-S21BR
Chief Executive Officer
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC)
&
Member, Strategy Council
UN-Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID)
 
House: 13/1, Road:2, Shaymoli, Dhaka-1207 
Post Box: 5095, Dhaka 1205 Bangladesh
 
Phone: 88-02-9130750, 88-02-9138501
01711881647 Fax: 88-02-9138501-105
 
E-mail: ceo at bnnrc.net, bnnrc at bd.drik.net
www.bnnrc.net

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