Document on satellite transmission in Arab region approved

Document affirms commitment to respect country's sovereignty, calls for respect of free transmission

Saudi information minister says document seeks to make freedom of expression public practice to preserves society's authenticity, tradition, values, independence, unity

The extraordinary meeting of the Arab information ministers approved the document of the principles of the organization of satellite transmission and reception in the Arab region.

Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Amin Madani led the Saudi delegation to the meeting.

The ministers also charged the Arab Media Standing Committee with the task of proposing a mechanism to implement these principles.

During their extraordinary meeting held at the headquarters of the Arab League, the Arab Information Ministers issued a document on the Principles for Organizing Satellite Radio and Television Transmission in the region.

The document included twelve articles as follows:

Article (1): The document aims to regulate satellite transmission in the Arab region; to ensure respect for the right to express opinion; to spread culture; and activate cultural dialogue through satellite transmission.

Article (2) included the definition of the document's terminologies, including Satellite Transmission, Satellite Transmission Commission, Transmission Service, Program, Satellite Retransmission, Satellite Retransmission Commission, License of Satellite Transmission or Satellite, Radio or Television Retransmission, Licensee, License, Authorized, Ground Station, Wave, Channel, Satellite Transmission Frequencies, Encryption and State of Origin.

Article (3): These principles shall apply to Transmission Commissions in the Member States of the Arab League as well as all those who conduct transmission activities or provide transmission-related services.

Article (4): The Transmission Commissions and satellite transmission service providers shall commit to the following:

1- The information shall be public and transparent and the public's right to access to correct information shall be ensured.

2- Protecting Free Competition in the field of transmission services.

3- Protecting the rights and interests of the recipients of transmission services.

4- Provide the public with universal service.

5- Social peace, national unity, public order and public morals should not negatively be affected.

6- Complying with controls and patterns of transmission service and satellite retransmission.

Article (5): The transmission commissions and transmission service providers shall respect freedom of expression; commit themselves to the ethics of media profession; respect the principle of national sovereignty of each State on its territory; commit themselves to the principle of the mandate of the State of origin; commit themselves to the principle of freedom of receiving transmission and re-transmission; ensure the right of Arab citizens to follow-up major national, regional and international events especially sports; commit themselves to intellectual property rights; and commit themselves to allocate no less than 20% of Arabic programs.

Article (6): The transmission commissions and transmission service providers shall respect human dignity in the entire contents of programs and services offered; respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from violating it in any way; refrain from incitement to hatred or discrimination; refrain from transmitting any form of provocation of violence and terrorism with distinction between this and the right to resist occupation; refrain from describing all forms of crimes in a way that lures people to commit similar crimes; take into account the means and ethics of dialogue; take into account the rights of people with special needs to have access to appropriate information services; protect children from whatever affects their physical, mental or moral development; commit themselves to religious and moral values; refrain from transmitting whatever harms divine religions, messengers, sects and religious symbols; refrain from transmitting materials containing pornographic scenes or dialogues; and refrain from transmitting materials that encourage smoking and alcohol drinking.

Article (7): The transmission commissions and transmission service providers shall commit themselves to maintain Arab identity from negative impacts of globalization; enrich Arab personality; refrain from transmitting whatever endangers or contradicts the trends of Arab solidarity or the enhancement of cooperation and integration among Arab countries; commit themselves to objectivity and honesty through respecting the dignity of states, peoples and national sovereignty; commit themselves to manifest Arab talented people; commit themselves to use all capabilities offered by the technological development when transmitting radio and television programs; and commit themselves to truth and accuracy of transmitted information, data and news.

Article (8): The transmission commissions and retransmission commissions shall commit themselves to explicitly refer to the advertisement at the beginning and end of the advertisement; commit themselves to have time intervals between every two advertisements; continuously and clearly displaying the word of "Advertisement" in the advertisement; and take into account international standards as regards the duration of the advertisement.

Article (9): The radio and television transmission commissions and satellite transmission service providers shall comply with schedules set out by a committee in charge of program content control; and commit themselves to make clear the category of the program and the viewers recommended age.

Article (10): Any ordinary person shall not conduct any transmission or retransmission activity or provide any service unless obtaining a license.

Article (11): Transmission commissions in Member States shall commit themselves to apply the principles contained in this document.

Article (12): The Member States shall develop necessary procedures in their domestic legislations to deal with cases of breach of the principles of this document.

For his part, Egyptian Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqi said the document regulating satellite TV and radio transmission in the Arab region has been unanimously endorsed.

Addressing a press conference at the end of proceedings of an extraordinary meeting of the Arab information ministers in Cairo, the minister said Qatar had reservations over the document because of its desire to refer it to the Qatari legislative institutions.

Asked if the document addressed state-owned channels, Fiqi said official media channels represent 20 per cent while the private channels represent 80 per cent.

He said the aim of the document is to regulate both state-owned and private satellite transmission.

Asked about recent statements by Margaret Scobey, the US nominee ambassador to Cairo, regarding human rights in Egypt, El-Fiqi said Scobey was not successful in her comments.

Scobey did not read about the history of Egyptian-American relations over the past two decades, he said.

Scobey should have known the Egyptian judicial system was enjoying credibility, he added.

Commenting on a judicial ruling, before presenting her credentials, was not a promising start, El-Fiqi concluded.

Egypt denied that the Arab satellite broadcasting charter that was adopted at the Arab foreign ministers' meetings in Cairo was meant to undermine media industry.

"On the contrary, the charter aims at boosting the Arab media industry and increasing the number of satellite channels," Egyptian Information Minister Anas el-Fiqi said.

Except for Qatar, the home of Aljazeera channel, all the Arab countries voted yes for the charter that was sponsored by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Charter bars satellite channels from offending the leaders or national and religious symbols of Arab countries and presenting any obscene material.

"Today we have more than 400 satellite channels after they were only 13 in 1993 and with this great jump some principles are needed to regulate them and promote their media message," Fiqi said.

The Egyptian minister unveiled suggestions to set up an Arab council to monitor the implementation of the charter.

The council will include a board of trustees that will settle any conflicts that may result between Arab countries over broadcast materials, Fiqi said.

The council, if established, will enable the Arab countries to ask the European Union to bar the broadcast of materials that harm Arab interests, he said.

As for Qatar, the Egyptian information minister said Qatar made some reservations on the charter for legal reasons "but I am sure that if legal authorities in Qatar said the charter does not contradict with any legislations there Qatar will approve it."

Fiqi said the charter has been already sent to the Nilesat company and the Media Production Company to start applying it when renewing contracts with satellite channels.

Egypt's media industry investments reached 1.7 billion Egyptian pounds by the end of 2007 and are expected to reach six billion Egyptian pounds in five years, Fiqi said. "But to reach this goal we have to organize this industry," he said.

"We have to re-assess these channels and put them on right track," Fiqi said.

Arab Ministers of Information held a closed-door consultative meeting prior to the official opening of the extraordinary session which focused on drafting a document containing the standards and principals of the satellite transmission in the Arab region.

The Saudi delegation to the meeting is led by Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Amin Madani.

The consultative meeting focused on the major principles on which the document should be based as well as on organizing the satellite transmission process taking into account the importance of preserving the Arab identity and ensuring the freedom of expression and respect of the Arab particularity.

For his part, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa underlined the importance of reaching a consensus on a unified and modernized Arab media code of ethics and on principles governing satellite transmission in the Arab region.

In his speech at an Arab information ministers' extraordinary meeting, Moussa highlighted the importance of collective Arab action to create common grounds that enable the Arab mass media organs to undertake the proper role in protecting Arab traditions and values and serving Arab causes.

In his speech, that was read out on his behalf by AL Assistant Secretary General for Media and Information Affairs Mohammed Al-Khumailshi, Moussa underlined the important role played by the Arab media in light of the current critical state of affairs in the region and around the world.

Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Amin Madani, head of the Saudi delegation to the extraordinary meeting of the Arab ministers of information delivered a speech at the meeting in which he highlighted the merits of a draft document containing the standards and principles of the satellite transmission in the Arab region.

The minister underlined the document's assertion that bias on ethnic or sectarian grounds is not allowed in the satellite transmission adding that this will protect all.

The minister stated that Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries that introduced this issue at the meeting of the Arab information ministers two years ago due to lack of regulations and standards that govern the television and radio media in the Arab world.

The minister added that the draft document seeks to make freedom of expression a public practice that preserves the society's authenticity, tradition, values, independence and unity.

The minister called for setting the basis of an organizational structure which safeguards all the advanced concepts contained in the draft document of principles.

In a press statement following the meeting, the minister said the approval of the document is a first step that will be followed by consideration of how to implement it.