After more than five years of activities conducted mainly in Europe, but with far-reaching implications in all corners of the world – in China, Hong-Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Venezuela, the Middle East, plus the difficult situation of Poland and Hungary – the Radical Party, the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella”, The Syracuse International Institute and the Luigi Einaudi Foundation will hold a press conference at the Italian Senate of the Republic to put fresh energy in the promotion and defense of the rule of law, in particular through the recognition of the right to know, defined by many observers as “the last battle of Marco Pannella”.
The right to know must be restored above all in parliamentary assemblies, which have fallen victims of abuses that are mortally threatening the democratic constitutional guarantees of too many countries. Parliaments are indeed among the main targets chosen by those who fear freedom of thought and by those who, in the name of “greater effectiveness”, want to reduce or get rid of this fundamental tool of representation and control. Significantly, our proposal has been lodged in the Assembly which brings together parliamentarians from 47 member states.
So, in order to face the continuous on-line and off-line attacks on democratic institutions favouring authoritarian forms of government, we believe it is essential to launch and inform about the work that the “Culture, Science, Education and Media Commission” of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will kick off next month thanks to Sen. Roberto Rampi as General Rapporteur on the report: “Freedom of the media, public trust and the right to know“.
PROGRAM OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE
Wednesday 16 September 2020
Sala Caduti di Nassirya, Senate of the Republic, Rome
10:15 – Arrival of participants
10:30 – Introduction and greetings
Giulio TERZI DI SANT’AGATA, President of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella”, former Foreign Minister
Ezechia Paolo REALE, Secretary General of the Syracuse International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights
Giuseppe BENEDETTO, President of the Luigi Einaudi Foundation
Maurizio TURCO, Secretary of the Nonviolent Radical Party Transnational Transparty
Matteo ANGIOLI, Secretary General of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella”
Paolo BORROMETI, Deputy Director of AGI, member of the Scientific Committee of the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights
Laura HARTH, UN Representative of the Radical Party, coordinator of the Scientific Committee of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella”
11:15 – Conclusions
Roberto RAMPI, Senator of the Italian Republic; General Rapporteur on the Right to Know at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
11:30 Presentation of the various initiatives of Water Academy SRD on the right to access to water and the Palermo Conference on Water Resources by Alessandro LETO, Director of Water Academy Sustainable and Responsible Development
11:45 – End of the conference
Translation: Asia Jane Leigh