Adopted on October 16, 1998, at the international conference "Freedom of Expression, Censorship, Libraries" in Riga, 14.10.1998-17.10.1998

In order to discuss, analyse and attempt to predict trends in information and communication processes in today’s society, more than 200 information and communication specialists, librarians, historians, politicians, journalists, writers, literary and art scholars and others from 16 different countries (Belgium, Belarus, Croatia, Great Britain, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, United States) assembled for the international conference "Freedom of Expression, Censorship, Libraries" which was organised by the National Library of Latvia and the Library Association of Latvia, supported by the Council of Europe, UNESCO, IFLA, Soros Foundation, Latvian Ministry of Culture and Culture Capital Foundation, and held in Riga on October 14-17, 1998.

Participants of the conference came to the following conclusions:

1. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 1948), which states that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers," and Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights (November 1950), which states that "everyone has the right [..] to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers," is a fundamental guarantee of intellectual freedom, supported by the European Court of Human Rights;
   
2. in today’s diverse and complex information environment it is increasingly important not only for information itself to be freely accessible, but also for people to be well-informed about where and how to seek and receive information, and what information is available; this amounts to a human right to be informed (information restrictions are admissible only in the cases provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights);
   
3. censorship has become multifaceted and more difficult to be identified; it may be not only the prohibition of free expression, but also the hindrance to free inquiry, prevention or delay of access to the information which is essential for each individual’s full participation in the democratic process;
   
4. new information and communication technologies represent new opportunities for the free flow of information, contributing to the dissemination and sharing of ideas, cultural and linguistic plurality, economic and social progress, democracy and peace.
   
5. preservation and access to the languages, literatures and cultures of small nations should be recognized as a vital and indivisible part of the world’s cultural heritage;
   
6. all the information centres and resources are part of the global information environment; it is necessary to create an international assistance system for restoration of the information centres having suffered from the forces of nature, in wars, or under totalitarian regimes;
   
7. libraries, museums, archives and other information centres and institutions should be safeguards of the equal rights and opportunities to all members of society in seeking, receiving and using information;
   
8. librarians and other information professionals require appropriate skills and knowledge to assist all individuals in exercising their rights to access and use of information;
   
9. librarians and other information professionals, who make a fundamental contribution to the democratic process, in accordance with codes of ethics, should provide information to all members of society regardless of their age, sex, race, religion, political or other opinion, and should keep the information on their demands in the professional secret.

The Riga Conference participants present to colleagues, researchers and scholars in all areas of information and communication the Riga Memorandum on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, the aim of which is to draw the attention of professionals in particular and society in general to the potentials and problems of information and communication today.

We call on all those, for whom freedom of information and communication is an acknowledged value, to promote public awareness of the processes of information and communication in today's society, to persuade the governments and parliaments, under the influence of public opinion, to draft and adopt laws on:

1. provision of libraries and other repositories and information centres of public access with adequate information resources and technologies to guarantee equal rights and opportunities for all members of society in seeking and using information;
   
2. development of a functioning control system as to delivery (according to law) of deposit copies of printed, audiovisual, electronic and multimedia works to libraries;
   
3. national policy in creating, maintaining and developing of a unified information infrastructure to ensure individuals full access to all publicly-available information resources including those from other countries;
   
4. protection of national information centres and resources in cases of nature catastrophies and wars;
   
5. rights and possibilities of individuals to get information on the past in the countries having experienced the totalitarian regimes;
   
6. increase of the role of education and scientific research

1. to give people sufficient knowledge and skills to seek and use information;
2. to realize the Internet pedagogical ideas;
3. to fix and prevent the possible censorial attempts in information and communication processes;

7. overcoming of financial barriers which may restrict the equal rights and possibilities of individuals to access information resources, including the Internet;
8. prevention of information monopoly formation which may restrict the use of new information and communication technologies and access to information.