Chairman of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee
The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) of the State of Qatar and the International Federation for the Protection of Journalists (IFPJ) will on July 24 and 25, 2017 host an international conference on “Confronting threats to freedom of opinion and expression and access to information” in Doha, Qatar.
The conference aims at getting participants to discuss ways of enforcing the guarantees of freedom of opinion and expression and access to information under international human rights law; addressing the problems related to the modern communication technologies in the international human rights law; and introducing ways of protecting journalists and supporting and promoting pluralistic, independent and free media.
With the theme: “Freedom of Opinion: Facing Up to the Threat”, the conference will bring together over 200 participants, representing international and regional non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights, media institutions and research centers, as well as researchers, policy experts, treaty body experts and a number of UN special rapporteurs, representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).
The Conference will also seek to find ways to protect journalists in dispute and conflict areas; combat incitement to hate speech in the media; and code of conduct for those working in the media field.
It is meant to serve as a forum for exchanging ideas and proposals, as well as good practices and initiatives in the field of promoting freedom of expression and access to information.
Several working papers will be presented at all sessions in English and Arabic with interpretations provided.
