DOHA: The Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) has echoed calls for the new media law to ensure international standards of press freedom are upheld.
“We are happy that the proposed Media Law has not yet come into force and that there is still time to revise it. As far as we have seen the draft law we have reason to believe that there is a marked progress compared to the old media law of 1979, but that it is not 100 percent up to international standards,” DCMF Director Jan Keulen has said in a statement.
The draft media law which was approved by Qatar’s Advisory Council in June this year has been criticised by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“In general it can be said that the legal environment in which a media outlet operates is a crucial factor in its success. Rules and regulations can hinder or enable press freedom and the growth and flourishing of media. If the legal framework allows media to fulfil their function as watchdog without fear of legal sanction, this will contribute to the quality of (investigative) journalism.”
He said on first sight the proposed draft law contains a number of restrictions on the development of free and independent media, especially since the beginning of the Arab Spring, and aspirations in the field of development and becoming an information society.
It has to be remembered that the right to free expression is a fundamental human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 by the UN General Assembly. In Article 19 it says: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas trough any media and regardless of frontiers.
“There is a family of universal communication-related rights consisting of freedom of information, freedom of expression and media freedom which are elaborated and enacted through principles and standards based on international cooperation. A new media law like the one in Qatar should be judged against the backdrop of these international principles and standards.
“We are particularly concerned about the lack of explicit guarantees or mechanisms to promote pluralism and diversity of the Qatari media; two internationally recognised ingredients of free media. There are also questions about the proposed system of licensing private media outlets (including news websites) and registering journalists. Furthermore it is disputable if ethical journalistic issues should and can be regulated by law.
Qatar has been in the front line worldwide regarding the defence of safety of journalists and freedom of the media. Al Jazeera Channel and the Doha Centre for Media Freedom bear witness to this. The country has some excellent schools of journalism and training institutes, like Northwestern University in Qatar, Qatar University and Al Jazeera Training and Development Centre. We hope Qatar will eventually adopt a legal framework, which will enable the local media to take up its important role to fully inform the citizens and contribute to the public good,” the statement said.
The Peninsula
