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26 March 2001



NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS




“A Matter of Rights”, a new video series promoting the right to development, will be launched on Wednesday, 28 March 2001, at 2:30 p.m. in the UN cinema room of the Palais de Nations.

The series of 52 five-minute videos was produced for the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) by Young Asia Television (YA*TV), with the support of the Government of Norway.

Participating in the launch will be Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; David Lazarus, Chief of the United Nations Information Services in Bangkok; and Arne Fjørtoft, Secretary-General of the Worldview International Foundation and President of YA*TV.

“A Matter of Rights” explores different facets of the right to development through the prism of social and economic issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Its basic message is that the access of ordinary citizens to the basics of life, like nutrition, employment, safe drinking water, and adequate income, is as much a part of human rights as the right to liberty or freedom of opinion.

The series will be released in May to public broadcasters and selected non-governmental organizations throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It will also be broadcast over YA*TV's extensive television network in Asia.



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