Peter Noorlander

Peter Noorlander, 6 July 2007; photo: Kristoffer Larsson

From the Article 19 biography:

Peter Noorlander joined the ARTICLE 19 Law Programme in May 2001. He has written and contributed to numerous ARTICLE 19 publications and is an experienced trainer and speaker. Peter has represented ARTICLE 19 at international forums including UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and has advised governments as well as NGOs on a wide range of freedom of expression-related topics. He specialises on issues of freedom of expression, privacy, freedom of information, broadcasting and new technologies.
Before joining ARTICLE 19, Peter worked with JUSTICE, the United Kingdom section of the International Commission of Jurists, where he was part of the privacy and criminal policy team, litigating at the European Court of Human Rights, advising UK parliamentary committees on human rights issues and conducting research on the implementation of human rights obligations in mainstream UK law.

Positions

Venezuela and RCTV

On 6 July 2007, Noorlander appeared on a panel discussing the suspension of the broadcasting license for RCTV in Venezuela. Noorlander had a simple position on this: it is censorship and it wasn't justified for the government to take such action. He acknowledged RCTV's part in the propaganda in the lead up to the coup, but stated that if this was objectionable the Venezuelan government should have followed a legal route to the closure and it should also appoint an "independent" panel to oversee the regulation of the media. Noorlander also decried the fact that Venezuela had refused to participate in the OAS International Human Rights commission -- a body stacked by pro-US appointees.

Affiliations

• Article 19
• International Media Lawyers Association (IMLA)

Publications

• Peter Noorlander, Observations on freedom of information, New Statesman, 23 April 2007.