Success stories

ARTICLE 19 has developed expert policy, campaigned, and led in applying a free expression approach to a range of issues. A few of our achievements include:

• Successfully challenging the governments of Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, Malaysia and Bangladesh to stop withholding information on the environment
• Promoting the right to know as key to women’s sexual and reproductive health in Peru and Mexico
• Publishing cutting edge research on the role of the media in the Rwandan genocide and the conflict in the former Yugoslavia
• Setting up the International Rushdie Defence Committee and running a 10 year campaign supporting the author

For the last 10 years, ARTICLE 19 has organised the ‘four tenors’ meetings, bringing together UN, OAS, AU, and OSCE special procedures, is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the UN Human Rights Council and other inter-governmental organisations to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.">Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression and freedom of the media to agree a joint statement on key topical and sensitive issues. Past statements have included:

• The Johannesburg Principles
  Sets the standards for restrictions that may be imposed upon freedom of expression in the interests of national security. These were officially endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and are widely cited in court cases
• The Camden Principles
  The response to the global challenge of balancing freedom of expression with the right to be free from discrimination. These tackle such difficult issues as incitement to hatred, the right of response and media responsibilities.

Some of ARTICLE 19’s campaigns have included:

• The campaign to protect journalists in Mexico
  Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist. ARTICLE 19 is pioneering a unique approach to protect and prevent violence. It combines monitoring and trends analysis of abuses, with a public campaign on radio and television, security training for journalists, and holding the government to account
• The campaign for the right to environmental information in Bangladesh
  Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries and also one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. ARTICLE 19 works with marginalised communities to promote the right to access information about environmental issues, and actively engages with the government to ensure that policy and resource decisions relating to environmental management are transparent and participatory.