iraq-comment-on-draft-journalists-protection-law

COMMENT on Draft Journalists Protection Law of Iraq August 2009 London ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 7324 2500 / Web: www.article19.org / Email: info@article19.org I. Introduction 1. In this Comment, ARTICLE 19 sets out its concerns about the draft “Journalists Protection Law” [sic] (hereinafter the “Draft Law”) that has recently been submitted to the 1Iraqi Parliament for its approval. ARTICLE 19’s analysis of the Draft Law is informed by international human rights law, in particular those international legal standards and principles on the right to freedom of expression, as protected by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter “ICCPR”), which Iraq 2ratified on 25 January 1971. It is recalled that Article 19 ICCPR states: 1 The translation of the Draft Law, which was obtained by IraqSlogger in the original Arabic, is reproduced in full in Part IV. of this Comment. In recent years ARTICLE 19 has produced numerous reports on the state of media freedom in Iraq. See, most notably, Free Speech in Iraq: Recent Developments (London, August 2007). 2 See UN Treaty Collection http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV- - 1 - ARTICLE 19 GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR FREE EXPRESSION 1. ...