SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION COMPLETES MISSION TO ITALY

28 October 2004


The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the promotion and the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, has completed a mission to Italy undertaken at the invitation of the Government.

The Special Rapporteur will prepare a report on the mission, which will be issued as a Commission on Human Rights document, and will present orally his findings to the sixty-first session of the Commission, which will be held in Geneva in March-April 2005.

Following is a statement issued by the Special Rapporteur on 28 October 2004 in Rome:


STATEMENT BY AMBEYI LIGABO, UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION AT THE END OF HIS VISIT TO ITALY

October 28, 2004, Rome –Italy


Members of the press,

Ladies and Gentlemen,


At the very outset, I would like to express my appreciation to the Government of Italy for inviting me to visit this country in my capacity as the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission of Human Rights on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Since my arrival on 20 October, the authorities have provided me with full support to carry out my mission.

During the course of this in situ visit, I met with a large number of Government authorities, national institutions, members of human rights groups, members of the media, trade unions and individuals. I would like to thank them all for the fruitful discussions and exchange of information which has enhanced my understanding of the human rights situation in Italy. I would also like to thank UNDP project office in Rome for their logistical support in organizing this mission.

Italy is a strong democracy and as such should have and should portray the highest objectives in protecting the full enjoyment of human rights for both its citizens and all people living on its territory. In the area of my mandate, the country shows a strong tradition of freedom of opinion and expression. Written press, in particular, is said to be very liberal and promotes pluralism although its development seems to be hindered by the quasi hegemonic power of the television. However, based on the interactions I had with several people and institutions, many are worried that recent events, namely concentration of the media and conflict of interest especially in the last few years, are a threat to the right of opinion and expression.

Furthermore, several international organisations among them the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe have also, in their reports and resolutions, expressed their concerns regarding this matter. I therefore strongly urge the Italian authorities to pay special attention to these issues of concern and remove obstacles that could create barriers to the full exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.


A number of laws and regulations pertaining to legislative measures for protection of the right to freedom of expression and opinion seems to entrench the dominancy of one section of the media. The latest to date, law no 112 or the Gasparri law on the broadcasting system has created greater imbalance and hence turmoil in the Italian society. The law which is intended to pave the way for terrestrial digital television and a general modernization of the TV broadcasting system has raised serious concerns. This new law establishes a new antitrust criteria whereby an economic operator may not hold licenses to broadcast more than 20 per cent of all televisions programmes (art. 15). However, in a digital environment, such a criterion does not provide real limitation as the number of licenses to be allocated is almost unlimited.

Moreover, the law establishes the concept of “Integrated communications system” which encompasses daily newspapers and periodical, publishing, radio, television, cinema, external advertising, etc. According to the authorities, this disposition is intended to encourage newspaper editors to enter the broadcasting market. But I am concerned that, in a country where the economic power of broadcasters is far above that of newspaper editors, the effect of such regulation will reinforce the dominant position of the already stronger actors who will now be able to participate and control the publishing and print media sector.

Another major concern relates to the concentration of media especially in the television sector. In any country, concentration of media creates an environment which is not conducive to promotion of pluralism and democracy. As reportedly stated by the President of Italy, Carlo Ciampi: “There is no democracy without pluralism and impartiality in information”. Having taken note of the concerns of various interlocutors, I gathered that there are three main television channels in Italy: three public ones, the RAI TV channels and three private ones – Canale 5, Italia 1, Rete Quattro – which belong to the financial group Mediaset.

Bearing in mind that television is the most important mean of communication in the Italian society, for purposes of pluralism and democracy, it is necessary for the competent authorities to ensure that all actors have access to that means of communication and market. It is therefore my view that the Government of Italy should take legislative and regulatory measures to address this quasi monopoly on the TV broadcasting market. Such a new legislative measure would contribute immensely to amelioration of strong opinions and tensions that I noted during most of my meetings which relate pertinently to the fact that the President of the Council owns the largest private television broadcasting group, Mediaset. Consequently, he is perceived to be controlling both the public as well as the major private TV channels. This is not a healthy situation in a democratic state. However, I was happy to note that Italian authorities are aware of the need to act on this sensitive matter in order to rectify the anomaly. In consideration of the above, the issue of conflict of interest, therefore, still stands and needs to be addressed by the Government.

Control, monitoring and implementation of the different regulations is also a key element in ensuring full respect of the rights of the different actors as well as those of the Italian citizen. In this respect, among others, I had very interesting meetings with the members of the Communications Authority (Agecom), the Antitrust authority and the Parliamentary Commission for the control of radio and television. I noted the many number of control authorities and concerned by, what I perceive to be area for possible overlaps. For example, the Agecom is entrusted with a large number of functions ranging to the control of distribution of frequencies to protection of minors and antitrust functions. But this latter is also a function of the Antitrust authority. There is therefore a clear need to clarify the competencies of each body i.e. the Agecom, the antitrust authority, the Ministry of communication, etc.

During my visit, I was also informed that a number of journalists and media personalities were sacked or dismissed or put aside from their public television post for their criticism of the government. It appears that the right to freedom of opinion and expression of the above media personalities have been infringed upon. This situation seems to be leading to a form of self-censorship where people, in particular journalists, restrain themselves from making certain statements that maybe critical to the powerful and influential people who hold state positions. It is necessary to build an environment of professionalism and independence within the media sector against influential personalities in top echelons of state power.

Regarding the decriminalisation of defamation suits, although journalists have rarely been incarcerated, I have been informed that a draft bill was being discussed in Parliament to end the penalisation for defamation. I would like to encourage the authorities to pursue this process.

As you may know, I will present a detailed report on the situation of freedom of expression and opinion in Italy to the next session of the Commission on human rights in March-April next year. In my report, I intend to highlight the obstacles I noted in the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression as well as the efforts that are being made to address the issues. I will also provide, in my report, a number of recommendations and suggestions to the Government for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Italy.


Finally, I wish to state that I stand ready to continue the dialogue and to provide a follow up and further advise to the Government of Italy, and civil society all acting in good faith for the promotion and protection of all human rights particularly the right to freedom of opinion and expression.