IFEX, formerly International Freedom of Expression Exchange, is a global network of 124 independent

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

s that work at a local, national, regional, or international level to defend and promote

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

as a

human right Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

History

IFEX was first proposed in 1992 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Canada, by a group of 12 non-governmental organisations who met to discuss how they could collaborate on responding to free expression violations around the world. The meeting was organised by the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists (now

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and co ...

). Over the next four years, IFEX consolidated its structure, built outreach programs, and established a web presence. By 2007 IFEX had established strategic free expression campaigns and programmes, and as of 2021 IFEX has over 123 network members located in 62 countries worldwide.

Operations

The day-to-day operations of the organisation are run by the IFEX Secretariat based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. IFEX's mandate is to raise awareness by sharing information online and mobilising action on issues such as

press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...

Internet censorship Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains (such as Wikipedia.org) but exceptionally may extend to all Inte ...

freedom of information legislation Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfa ...

, criminal

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

and

insult An insult is an expression or statement (or sometimes behavior) which is disrespectful or scornful. Insults may be intentional or accidental. An insult may be factual, but at the same time pejorative, such as the word "inbred". Jocular exc ...

laws,

media concentration Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...

and attacks on the free expression rights of all people, including journalists, writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, academics, scientists,

human rights defender A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

s and Internet users.

Campaigns and advocacy

IFEX works with its members by creating and participating in advocacy coalitions and working groups and releasing joint statements and petitions. In 2011, IFEX launched the International Day to End Impunity campaign. In 2013, the United Nations designated 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. The

Tunisia Monitoring Group The Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) is a coalition of 21 free-expression organisations that belong to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the rig ...

(IFEX-TMG), launched in 2004 by 21 IFEX members to raise awareness of censorship and other human rights violations in

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, is IFEX's largest campaign to date. IFEX-TMG was dissolved in January 2013 in response to improved conditions for local NGOs, media independence and free expression rights. In 2015, Francisco Medina, brother of two journalists murdered in Paraguay in 1997, went before the United Nations (UN) to speak out against the "deterioration of freedom of expression in his country". The deputy executive director of IFEX, Rachael Kay, also attended in support of Medina. To mark the 2020 International Day to End Impunity on 2 November 2020, IFEX launched its Faces of Free Expression illustration series, profiling over 80 free-expression advocates working in countries across the globe. The

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, US-based nonprofit International Free Expression Project created a physical exhibit of the series in Pittsburgh to celebrate the 2021

World Press Freedom Day The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the righ ...

on 3 May 2021. The exhibit ran until 4 July 2021.

Online information

IFEX brings attention to free expression stories and events through its website, e-newsletters and special reports. The content is available in multiple languages (English, French, Spanish and Arabic), and addresses pressing free expression stories. The website hosts a searchable online archive of free expression violations going back to 1995.

References

External links