Paris, February 17 {No.2000-13} - The Chairman of the World Press Freedom Committee, James Ottaway, Jr., and UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura signed the 10-point "Charter for a Free Press" which was adopted in 1987 at a WPFC-organised London conference with the world's leading free press advocacy groups.

The Charter, signed during Mr Ottaway and Mr Matsuura's first meeting at UNESCO Headquarters, proclaims the basic principles of an "unfettered flow of news and information both within and across national borders."

Mr Matsuura declared: "A free press is a prerequisite for both democracy and for economic and social development. By endorsing the Charter for a Free Press, UNESCO reaffirms its unflinching commitment to press freedom and to freedom of expression. We are determined to continue working for this cause, as we have done in recent years."

Mr Ottaway commended UNESCO for its effective programmes of assistance to independent media in post-conflict zones such as the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Burundi, and East Timor.

The World Press Freedom Committee also expressed the concern of free press advocacy groups over campaigns to introduce international regulation of ethics, practices and content on the Internet and direct satellite broadcasting. In his reply, Mr Matsuura assured Mr Ottaway that as an organisation promoting freedom of expression, UNESCO would be very attentive in addressing these questions, never forgetting its constitutional mandate to defend the free flow of information. Whenever crimes are committed through the Internet, "action should target the criminals and not the medium", Mr Matsuura said.

The text was previously endorsed by Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations and by the previous Director-General of UNESCO, Federico Mayor.