The conference includes between 150 to 200 working members representing the journalists in 20 Arab countries, and observers from 15 international organizations interested in the press and freedom of opinion and expression, including the Arab League, UN organizations, and the International Federation of Journalists. It also includes the writers unions, lawyers, doctors, Arab engineers, the Arab Organization for Human Rights and the International Organization defending freedom of press.
In a preliminary meeting held this morning, the Permanent Bureau and the General Secretariat presented a brief about the formation of the committees, the transition of the presidency to the host country, in addition to the sudden resignation of the Secretary-General of the Federation, Makram Mohamed, as well as the mechanism of the delicate elections taking place on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the conference will discuss the basic draft statute of the Union for ratification, the political, professional, and legal issues which are of concern to the Arab journalists, particularly the issues related to the governmental restrain on the freedoms of press, opinion and expression. It will also discuss the conditions of Arab press under the Israeli occupation in Palestine, problems of woman journalists, and the projects of training and rehabilitation of young journalists on information and communication modern technology.
At the end of its works, the conference will issue a political statement about the nature of the dangerous challenges facing the Arab Nation, and its role in the comprehensive democratic reform in the framework of the National Action.