CARTOONISTS RIGHTS are pleased to announce a new report – Cartoonists on the Line – covering the situation of cartoonists and threats to their freedom of expression, written jointly with colleagues Cartooning for Peace, and supported by our partners FREEDOM CARTOONISTS. This report on threatened cartoonists worldwide will reflect on the “post pandemic” period, 2020 through 2022, and feature testimonies from multiple victims of censorship, displacement and other forms of human rights violation.
Cartooning for Peace states that its mission includes defense of fundamental freedoms and democracy via cartoons, and particularly the freedom of expression of cartoonists. Cartoonists Rights Network International (Cartoonists Rights for short) states that it campaigns to protect the human rights of cartoonists and defend those threatened as a result of their work.
It therefore makes perfect sense that the two – one an association based in France, the other a non-profit in the USA – would co-author a report on threatened cartoonists worldwide.
Cartoonists on the Line will be launched on November 7th during a special session at the World Forum for Democracy 2023, held at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg. Speakers will include: cartoonist Rachita Taneja (aka Sanitary Panels); Patrick Lamassoure (pen-name Kak), cartoonist and President of Cartooning for Peace; Terry Anderson, Executive Director of Cartoonists Rights; Jean-Paul Marthoz, Coordinator for Publishing of the Annual Report of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); and Amb. Tanja Gonggrijp, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe the Netherlands.
The report’s text (available in English and French) describes multiple phenomena identified in cases of cartoonists variously abused, criminalised, displaced, and threatened – all drawn from reports gathered by Cartoonists Rights and Cartooning for Peace – with an emphasis on the “post-pandemic” period, 2020 through 2022. Ongoing cases of particular concern are highlighted, and cartoonists are quoted throughout, describing their experiences of harassment, hate mail, exile, and, above all, censorship.
Also, thanks to the international membership of Cartooning for Peace, the document is lavishly illustrated. And it features contributions from leading experts at like-minded organisations.
Support for the new report’s creation also comes from the Isocrates Foundation and UNESCO – Global Media Defence Fund.
“It’s very important that we take stock of the challenges faced so bravely by the cartoonists for whose rights we campaign, and present the trends that worry us most to a wider audience. This report on threatened cartoonists should be a useful resource for anyone who takes an interest in their work – as a profession, an art form, or as free expression of dissent, and as such an indicator of the health of democracy. I am very grateful to our partners for helping us achieve this: Cartooning for Peace, with whom we continue to work closely on such cases; and the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation, who support all our advocacy work on behalf of threatened cartoonists.”
Terry Anderson, Executive Director, CARTOONISTS RIGHTS
The report on threatened cartoonists worldwide will be published online shortly after its official launch; to be among the first to receive a copy via email please register below.
