SEMINAR FOR CHAIRPERSONS AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENTARY HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PARLIAMENT AND THE PROMOTION OF TOLERANT SOCIETIES Organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Article 19 Geneva, IPU Headquarters, 25-27 May 2005

	The seminar, which was organized together with Article 19, an expert organisation in the field of freedom of expression, brought together some 100 members of parliamentary human rights bodies, along with regional and international experts. It focused on improving understanding of the legal framework for what is after all parliamentarians' most important tool. It addressed both the question of the adequate protection of the freedom of speech of members of parliament and the restrictions placed thereupon, such as respect for the rights and reputations of others. The final programme of the seminar is reproduced below. Other documents (summary and recommendations and the list of participants) can be downloaded from this page in PDF format.

SESSION DOCUMENTS
	Summary and recommendations [PDF]
	List of participants [PDF]
	Convocation [PDF]
	Registration form [PDF]
	Hotel reservation form [PDF]
	Annotated programme [PDF]
RELATED SITES AND DOCUMENTS
	Article 19 Website
	Article 19: Defining Defamation [PDF]
	Article 19: The Public's Right to Know [PDF]
Note: Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader

PROGRAMME
	Chairperson: Ms. Marie-José Laloy, (Belgium) Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the Belgian Parliament
	Rapporteur: Mr. Emile Guirieoulou, (Côte d'Ivoire) President of the Committee on General and Institutional Affairs, Member of the National Assembly
WEDNESDAY, 25 May
8 - 9.30 a.m.	Registration of participants and distribution of documents
9.30 - 10 a.m.	Inaugural session: - Welcome address and opening statement by Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union - Opening statement by Mr. Toby Mendel, Law Programme Director, Article 19
10 - 10.15 a.m.	Election of the President and Rapporteur of the seminar and adoption of the rules of procedure
10.15 - 10.30 a.m.	Coffee break
Part I: DEFINING AND PROTECTING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
10.30 a.m. - 1 p.m.	Scope and limits of freedom of expression: Legal overview and parliamentary perspective - Mr. Toby Mendel, Law Programme Director, Article 19 - Mr. Miklos Haraszti, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Representative on Freedom of the Media, former member of the Hungarian parliament
2.30 - 4 p.m.	Defamation: Law and practice - Ms. Vesna Alaburiç (Croatia), Attorney at Law - Mr. Miklos Haraszti, (OSCE), Representative on Freedom of the Media - Mr. Serhij Holovaty, Chairperson, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
4 - 4.15 p.m.	Coffee break
4.15 - 6 p.m.	Access to information - Mr. Andrew Ranganayi Chigovera, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights - Mr. Javier Corral (Mexico), Senator
6 p.m.	Reception
TURSDAY, 26 May
9.30 - 11.15 a.m.	Freedom of expression and the administration of justice: Law and practice - Mr. Dato Param Cumaraswamy, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers - Mr. Andrew Ranganayi Chigovera, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
11.15 - 11.30 a.m.	Coffee break
11.30 a.m. - 1 p.m.	Parliamentary immunities as a means of protecting freedom of expression - Mr. Noel Kinsella, (Canada), Senate Opposition Leader, Ex-Officio Member of the Senate Human Rights Committee
2.30 - 4 p.m.	Continuation and conclusions of Part I
4 - 4.15 p.m.	Coffee break
Part II: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: A HUMAN RIGHT ESSENTIAL TO THE PROMOTION OF TOLERANCE
4.15 - 6 p.m.	Defining hate speech: Relevant international norms and state obligations - Professor Kevin Boyle, University of Essex, United Kingdom - Ms. Agnes Callamard, Executive Director, Article 19
FRIDAY, 27 May
9.30 - 11 a.m.	Parliamentary practices and strategies to curb racist appeals and to promote a tolerant society - Ms. Boël Sambuc, Vice-President of the Swiss Federal Commission Against Racism - Ms. Marie-José Laloy, (Belgium), Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the Belgian Parliament
11 - 11.15 a.m.	Coffee break
11.15 a.m. - 1 p.m.	Parliaments and the media: Working together to combat racism - Mr. Orlando Fantazzini, (Brazil), member of the Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives - Mr. Gorgui Wade Ndoye Elhadj, BBC Africa Service
2.30 - 3.45 p.m.	Evaluation by participants
3.45 - 4 p.m.	Coffee break
4 - 6 p.m.	Conclusions