Berufsverband Information Bibliothek (Deutschland)
Der deutsche Berufsverband Information Bibliothek verurteilt die Entscheidung des Governing Board der IFLA, den WLIC 2024 in Dubai durchzuführen aufs Schärfste. Der Verband wird dort nicht offiziell vertreten sein und wir unterstützen keine Reisen unserer Mitglieder.
Wir begrüßen außerordentlich, für den Weltkongress bewusst Regionen und Orte zu wählen, an welchen noch kein WLIC stattgefunden hat. Bei der Wahl der Orte ist jedoch genauso wichtig, dies auf Grundlage der grundlegenden Werte vorzunehmen, s. Core Value 4 der IFLA („the commitment to promote and value diversity and inclusion, notably as regards age, citizenship, disability, ethnicity, gender-identity, geographical location, language, political philosophy, race, religious beliefs, sex, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status, and actively pursue relevant policies and practices“).
Dubai ist kein demokratisches und freies Land, und insbesondere die Einhaltung grundlegender Menschenrechte, sei es in Bezug auf Frauen oder auf Mitglieder der LGBTQ+ Gemeinschaft, ist nicht gewährleistet – die Durchführung der WLIC 2024 steht in nicht vereinbarem Gegensatz zum Core Value 4 der IFLA.
Der BIB teilt die Bedenken und Befürchtungen der LGBTQ+ Users Special Interest Group (SIG).
Wir fordern das Governing Board auf, diese Entscheidung zu überdenken und rückgängig zu machen, und rufen alle Mitgliedsverbände der IFLA, und insbesondere die Verbände und Partner in Deutschland auf, unsere Position zu unterstützen.
Wir setzen uns ein für eine weltoffene und diverse Gesellschaft mit freiem Zugang zu Information und Literatur.
Berufsverband Information Bibliothek, 27.06.2023
Norsk Biblioteksforening (Norwegen)
The Norwegian Library Association (NLA) is disappointed that the Governing Board of IFLA has chosen Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, as the host of the World Library and Information Congress for 2024.
The United Arab Emirates have a bad record on upholding human rights, concerning free speech in general and especially the civil rights and equality for women, LGBT+, and different minority groups.
We see from the statements from IFLA that there is a concern that somebody feels the organization as Eurocentric. That is indeed a great concern for NLA as well, but we still think that the documented ongoing breaches of the human rights in the UAE should lead the Governing Board to select another WLIC host.
NLA certainly acknowledge and support that IFLA have members and activities in countries with a bad track record on human rights. However, a minimum demand for the WLIC should be that members and representatives may come and share their thoughts and opinions without being threatened by persecution from the government.
NLA will not encourage our members to participate in WLIC 2024 unless there are public statements from the government of the UAE that free speech and civil rights regarding women, LGBT+, and minority groups will be respected.
Vidar Lund
President of the Norwegian Library Association
Member of the IFLA Standing Committee for Management of Library Associations Section
CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, is deeply concerned about the decision to hold the IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) 2024 in Dubai and the impact of this decision on our professional community, particularly our LGBTQ+ colleagues.
Diversity, inclusion, and representation are the beating heart of our professional ethics, as is our professional duty to promote universal human rights. We stand in solidarity with the thousands of librarians around the world who are defending these principles in the face of oppression.
We recognise and celebrate the diversity of national communities that make up our global profession. We also recognise that professionals working within repressive regimes are often seeking to drive improvement for their citizens. However, we do not believe that the values of any individual regime or organisation should be allowed to undermine our collective professional ethics nor our commitment to upholding the rights of LGBTQ+ people, to celebrating their contribution to our community and to ensuring their safety.
While we fully appreciate the need to broaden the range of venues for WLIC and to reach communities outside the Global north, we feel this should be done in a way which reflects our professional ethics and values.
Any approach that accepts limitations on the representation of one community in order to improve opportunities for another does not reflect these collective values. We must lift up all groups, rather than suggesting that their interests are in competition.
We will raise these concerns in the strongest possible terms with the IFLA Governing Board. We ask them to explain their decision and what they are proposing to do to ensure that no member of our profession feels unsafe, unwelcome, or excluded from their international congress.
We believe that it is essential for IFLA to uphold its own values to ensure that WLIC is a safe and inclusive space for all members of our profession. We will continue to work with IFLA to ensure that this is the case.
Looking ahead, we would suggest that in future there should be open discussion about the way that venues are selected for WLIC and ideally a consultation on the criteria used.
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)
Associazione Ialiana Biblioteche (Italien)
The Italian Library Association – while appreciating IFLA’s decision to have its Annual Congress for the first time in an Arabic-speaking country, as well as its choice to include in the programme themes such as diversity, inclusion, equity – expresses strong perplexity about the choice of a Country whose laws and values do not respect human rights, especially the rights of women, refugees, and the LGBT+ community. AIB also expresses concern about the risks that some members will have to expose themselves to attend the Annual Congress. Finally AIB calls for reconsideration of the choice done.
Laura Ballestra,
AIB National President
