as a member of the PEC, could your association distribute this appeal to all the other journalists' associations in Asia ? For example, in South Korea, Japan, Singapour, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Tha?and, Malaysia, and so on.
We are not sure to have the good e-mail addresses. Thank you to resend this appeal in your region. We have now 22 signatures for the Geneva Declaration and we have new full members. We hope to be able to organize a meeting in 2006 in Geneva with the representatives of concerned governments and associations to launch the work for a new international Convention. See the last news on our website: www.pressemblem.ch
Please confirm the reception of the e-mail.
Bests regards, for the PEC board, Blaise.
On the occasion of world press freedom day 2005
IT IS TIME TO ACT - PLEASE ANSWER OUR POLL (sorry for the inconvenience if you have already answered our five questions) -
A Global/Poll/ Referendum for the Protection of journalists in conflict zones Appeal to all journalists' associations and unions around the world
Dear colleagues,
We the undersigned represent a new independant organization, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), whose goal is humanitarian.
The PEC was established last June by a group of journalists most of whom are based in Geneva, some of them members of the Geneva Association of UN correspondents (ACANU), and others members of the Swiss Journalists Association, IMPRESSUM.
In September 2004, we organized our first prepcom with representatives from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), NGOs, UN, UNESCO, ICRC and others.
During the two-day September 2004 conference the Geneva declaration was adopted which calls for urgent measures to protect journalists in zones of conflict.
Please look at our website www.pressemblem.ch where you will find the Geneva declaration as well as a declaration on the situation in Iraq.
As well as all other related issued to our campaign.
We are launching a global media referendum in the form of an internet consultation.
Your opinion is important to us. Your support will determine whether we can convince governments to meet with journalists' associations in 2006 to work on the urgent measures to protect media in zones of conflict.
In this context, we are awaiting your answer to the five questions that follow and as soon as possible:
1) Are you willing to sign the Geneva Declaration as well as the declaration on Iraq which was signed by 22 organizations including the IFJ and the PEC? Please see the text on the site listed previously on the "Geneva meeting" page.
2) Are you in favor of launching a new international convention that would reinforce the protection of journalists in zones of conflict, in order to combat impunity, for the establishment of mechanisms for enquiry, such mechanisms would lead to bringing the perpetrators of such acts against journalists to justice and would also provide for compensation to the victims. See Legal Aspects on the PEC site.
3) Are you in favor of the creation of a press emblem, worn on a voluntary basis, which would help in identifying better and therefore protect the journalists in zones of conflict?
4) Which of the four designs for the proposed emblem would you choose, from the designs that you can see on the page "Legal aspects" ? Please indicate your preference (1, 2, 3, or 4)
5) If you would like to join the PEC Campaign, please go to our website www.pressemblem.ch and click on Contact. Please indicate to us your positive or negative answer if you want to become a full member of the PEC.
We hope that you can join the PEC campaign, as soon as possible.
The PEC board in Geneva is awaiting your response after consultation with your membership, please not later than May 30, 2005.
The Facts are:
The more participants in the referendum, the more the results would be representative of the world media community and its choices.
The military contenders do not distinguish between a journalist and a non-journalist.
The mission of the media has also changed and has become highly distinctive in its role, which does single out media as a targeted group.
It is now the time to act in face of the growing number of victims among the media community in conflict zones.
Join the global PEC Campaign which aims at one goal that of the bettering of the working condition of journalists in zones of conflict and a guarantee for access to information all over the globe.
The results of the Global Poll would be announced in Geneva in a public meeting at the Swiss Press Club on June 6, 2005 at 11:00 AM Central time.
We will inform all our partners with an embargoed copy of the results in due course.
Thank you for your time and attention for participating in the global referendum.
Our sincere regards,
Hedayat Abdel Nabi et Blaise Lempen, co-founders of the PEC T?.
