IIC Conference in Al Sharq

11 Feb, 2010  Gov

I spoke at the IIC conference yesterday at Al Sharq Village and Spa. It felt good to be a part of a panel that had different topics to talk about. The beauty of it all though, we all flowed! Each presentation melded into the next. It’s quite luck to have that happen with 5 different presentations in a row.

I met up with some great people and we all shared our insights. Hope to meet them all again soon!

Freedom of Expression

    Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which the Qatari Government is a signatory of states: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any medias and regardless of any frontiers.

    The Emiri Decision Number 86 of the year 2007 on the establishment of the Doha Free Information Centre marked yet another step towards establishing a State of rights and freedom of speech. The decision stipulated that the Centre be a non-profit organization, headquartered in Doha City, and have the authority to establish other affiliated centres inside and outside Qatar. It is worth mentioning that His Highness the Emir issued a decision in 1998 annulling the ministry of information, giving birth to a new era of freedom of speech where censorship was removed from local media.