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Request for action on Somalia ahead of review at United Nations
International PEN | 7 April 2011
Dear colleagues,
We are writing to ask your PEN Centre to help support our fellow writers and journalists in Somalia.
Somalia's ongoing conflict has made it the most dangerous country for journalists in Africa, and one of the most dangerous in the world. Reporters work with the constant threat of intimidation by all parties to the conflict, including arbitrary detention, kidnapping, death threats, torture and targeted killings. Violence has soared in the last two years, with members of the militant Islamist groups Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam waging a terror campaign against the local press. Nine journalists were killed in 2009 and three in 2010, while countless others were otherwise threatened or attacked, with no means of bringing perpetrators to justice. Many private media houses have closed down or been taken over.The violence shows no sign of abating and many journalists have had to flee the country or go into hiding: as many as 90 journalists are thought to have gone into exile in the last two years.
From 2-13 May 2011, Somalia's human rights record will come under review for the first time under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the United Nations (UN). This is a unique opportunity for PEN to raise its concerns about attacks on journalists in Somalia, and it is essential that as many PEN members as possible take action to ensure that our voice is heard within the UN.
In preparation for the coming review, in October 2010 the Somali-Speaking Centre of PEN International filed a report to the UN expressing its concerns relating to freedom of expression in Somalia, including the semi-autonomous states of Puntland and Somaliland. The report is attached to this message.
Our request is for you to write to your country?s representative in Geneva to ask that their delegation puts forward PEN?s recommendations during the UN's review of Somalia, using the sample letter attached to this e-mail. You may also wish to forward the Somali-Speaking PEN Centre?s report to the delegations in Geneva to support your request.
To find the contact details of the representative of your country to the United Nations in Geneva, click here http://www.unog.ch
Please take action as soon as you can, so that as many delegations as possible hear from their PEN Centres before Thursday 21 April 2011.
In addition, please let us know if you take action and if you receive any response from your government representatives.
For more on the UPR system itself, see PEN's Guideline paper attached.
- The_Universal_Periodic_Review_Guide.pdf
- Sample_letter_Somalia_11th_UPR-Session.doc
- Submission_on_Somalia_to_11thSession_of_UPR.pdf
If you have any questions, please contact Tamsin Mitchell:
tamsin.mitchell@pen-international.org or -
Sara Whyatt sara.whyatt@pen-international.org
Many thanks in advance for your support.
Tamsin Mitchell
Researcher and Campaigner - Africa and Americas
Writers in Prison Committee
PEN International
Brownlow House
50/51 High Holborn
LondonWC1V 6ER
United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7405 0338
Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7405 0339
Email: tamsin.mitchell@pen-international.org
Skype: internationalpentamsinmitchell
http://www.pen-international.org
PEN International PEN International celebrates literature and promotes freedom of expression. Founded in 1921, our global community of writers now spans more than 100 countries. Our campaigns, events, publications and programmes aim to connect writers and readers wherever they are in the world. PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) works on behalf of persecuted writers worldwide and monitors the cases of writers who have been imprisoned, tortured, threatened, attacked and killed for the peaceful practice of their professions. WiPC campaigns to end these attacks and oppose suppression of freedom of expression wherever it occurs.
International PEN is trading as PEN International. International PEN is a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 05683997. International PEN is a registered charity in England and Wales with registration number 1117088. International PEN's registered office is Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, UK.
