|
<<
^
>>
Date: 2001-10-06
Terror & Freiheit der Information
-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
Dass die Terroristen das Internet möglicherweise zur
Kommunikation und Bibliotheken zur Information genützt haben,
kann kein Grund sein, die Freiheit der Information un
Kommunikation generell einzuschränken - verlangen die
unterzeichneten NGOs.
-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA) / Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of
Expression (FAIFE)
IFLA Statement on Terrorism, the Internet and Free Access to
Information
The recent terrorist attacks on New York and Washington shocked
and appalled librarians and information professionals around the
world. The loss of life and destruction of facilities, including 80
libraries, horrify us. IFLA joins with our library colleagues and the
people of the world in mourning the innocent victims and extend our
deepest sympathy and support to the families and friends of
victims, the survivors and others who have suffered.
Calls to restrict the core human rights to freedom of expression
and free access to information are reported in the wake of these
tragic events. It has been suggested that some of the suspected
hijackers may have communicated with each other by using
Internet services at public libraries. Terrorists are alleged to have
used the World Wide Web to help plan their outrages. Such
implications are being used to justify restrictions on free speech
and freedom of information and increased surveillance.
But we have not heard the other side of the story. Use of Internet
news sites doubled during the week after the attacks. Families and
friends used email to check on the safety of their loved ones -
across cities and across the world. Website operators responded
to the thirst for news by bolstering their servers and increasing the
frequency of updates. The result was that people throughout the
world used websites and streaming audio and video feeds to get up
to the minute information on the events and their aftermath.
This demonstrates the force of the ideal of free access to
information and freedom of expression. It may be misused but it
strengthens the peoples of the world.
The campaign against terrorism is to be won. A vital strategy is to
safeguard the best access to information. Barriers to the free flow
of information should be removed, especially those that promote
inequality, poverty and despair.
The Chair of the IFLA/FAIFE Committee, Mr. Alex Byrne, said:
"We should build respect and understanding between the diverse
cultures of the world. We should help construct communities where
people of different backgrounds can live together as neighbors.
Freedom is something for which we must fight, not by limiting it but
by strengthening it."
The commitment to intellectual freedom is a core responsibility for
the library and information profession worldwide. Libraries have a
responsibility to guarantee and facilitate access to expressions of
knowledge and intellectual activity. To this end, libraries provide
access without fear or favour. That openness is a safeguard of our
freedoms. It cannot be limited without endangering those freedoms.
IFLA proclaims that the libraries and information profession of the
world will respond to these tragic events by redoubling our efforts to
see free access to information and freedom of expression
worldwide.
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA) Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom
Statement prepared by IFLA/FAIFE and approved by The Executive
Board of IFLA 25 March 1999, The Hague, Netherlands.
Alarabia, Balgarski, Bangla, Bosanski, Cesky, Chaltibhasa,
Dansk, Deutsch, Español, Farsi, Français, Hangul, Hrvatski,
Íslenska, Italiano, Kartuli, Lietuviskai, Magyar, Nederlands,
Nihongo, Norsk, Polski, Português, Russkij, Shqip, Srpski,
Suomeksi, Svenska, Tagalog, Tamil, Türkçe, Viet, Zhongwen
(simplified), Zhongwen (traditional)
IFLA (The International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions) supports, defends and promotes intellectual freedom
as defined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. IFLA declares that human beings have a fundamental right
to access expressions of knowledge, creative thought and
intellectual activity, and to express their views publicly. IFLA
believes that the right to know and freedom of expression are two
aspects of the same principle. The right to know is a requirement
for freedom of thought and conscience; freedom of thought and
freedom of expression are necessary conditions for freedom of
access to information. IFLA asserts that a commitment to
intellectual freedom is a core responsibility for the library and
information profession. IFLA therefore calls upon libraries and
library staff to adhere to the principles of intellectual freedom,
uninhibited access to information and freedom of expression and to
recognize the privacy of library users. IFLA urges its members
actively to promote the acceptance and realization of these
principles. In doing so, IFLA affirms that: * Libraries provide access
to information, ideas and works of imagination. They serve as
gateways to knowledge, thought and culture. * Libraries provide
essential support for lifelong learning, independent decision-making
and cultural development for both individuals and groups. * Libraries
contribute to the development and maintenance of intellectual
freedom and help to safeguard basic democratic values and
universal civil rights. * Libraries have a responsibility both to
guarantee and to facilitate access to expressions of knowledge and
intellectual activity. To this end, libraries shall acquire, preserve
and make available the widest variety of materials, reflecting the
plurality and diversity of society. * Libraries shall ensure that the
selection and availability of library materials and services is
governed by professional considerations and not by political, moral
and religious views. * Libraries shall acquire, organize and
disseminate information freely and oppose any form of censorship.
* Libraries shall make materials, facilities and services equally
accessible to all users. There shall be no discrimination due to
race, creed, gender, age or for any other reason. * Library users
shall have the right to personal privacy and anonymity. Librarians
and other library staff shall not disclose the identity of users or the
materials they use to a third party. * Libraries funded from public
sources and to which the public have access shall uphold the
principles of intellectual freedom. * Librarians and other employees
in such libraries have a duty to uphold those principles. * Librarians
and other professional libraries staff shall fulfill their responsibilities
both to their employer and to their users. In cases of conflict
between those responsibilities, the duty towards the user shall
take precedence.
For further information, contact Alex Byrne, Chair, IFLA Committee
on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression,
Sydney, Australia, tel: +61 2 9514 3332, fax: + 61 2 9514 3331, e-
mail: [email protected] or Susanne Seidelin, Director,
IFLA/FAIFE Office, Birketinget 6, DK-2300 Copenhagen S.
Denmark, tel: +45 32 58 60 66, ext. 532, or +45 32 58 70 77/532,
fax: +45 32 84 02 01, e-mail: [email protected],
[email protected], or [email protected], Internet: http://www.faife.dk
-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
edited by Harkank
published on: 2001-10-06
comments to [email protected]
subscribe Newsletter
- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
<<
^
>>
|
|
|
|