DEPARTMNT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON.
PRESS COVERAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN GHANA: THE CASE OF THE GHANAIAN TIMES, 2010-2012.
NAME: GEORGE ASEKERE
INDEX NO.10289946
SPECIAL TOPIC PRESENTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS (MA) DEGREE IN THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
AUGUST, 2013.
DECLARATION
Student’s Declaration.
I hereby declare that except for references to other people’s work which have been duly cited, this Special Topic is the result of my own work and that it has neither in whole nor in part been presented elsewhere.
Name: GEORGE ASEKERE
INDEX NO.10289946
Signature................................
Date........................................
Name: MR. KWAME ASAH- ASANTE
Signature...................................
Date..........................................
(SUPERVISOR)
INTRODUCTION:
After 20 years of democratic governance, there are a number of people who are still wondering whether the Ghanaian press truly has the freedom to ply their vocation of informing and educating people and also promoting and defending individual rights and freedoms. Until the repeal of the Criminal Libel and Sedition laws by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in 2011, fear and intimidation had made it practically difficult for journalists to exercise their right to operate freely. This condition affected the press’s role of informing and educating the people of their rights and freedoms.
According to Gyimah-Boadi (2001), the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government under J.J. Rawlings silenced all independent newspapers which were in existence. Journalists who were critical of the government suffered abuses of all kinds including, imprisonment, torture, verbal abuse and in some cases destruction of their equipment. Some media houses were also banned from practicing their vocation. Notable among these papers included: the Post, the Catholic Standard, the Palaver, the Punch, the Echo, Direction and the Workers Banner. He noted also that similar treatments were meted out to journalists especially during the military era as well as the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
The press plays a very important role in deepening democracy in Ghana. It does this through criticism of governments’ actions and inaction and also through exposing abuse of human rights. One may wonder how development can thrive in Africa without a vibrant press to curtail undemocratic behaviour of those who govern, especially in the area of human rights. This, notwithstanding, the media contribute their quota towards ensuring effective, transparent and accountable governance (Gadzekpo, 2001).
In explaining the importance of disseminating information and the opening up of wider information networks for all citizens, it is argued that the media is effective in improving and disseminating the necessary information including information on human rights to all parts of the country. The press in this regard provides a set of participatory communication techniques that support human rights by publishing accurate information to the people (Chapman et al, 2003). The extent to which the press has contributed to the improvement of human rights in Ghana is not well documented. This study will therefore examine the coverage given to human rights issues by the Ghanaian Times newspaper in a period of three years. To achieve this, the study will analyze whether the human right stories that appeared on the front pages of the paper between 2010 and 2012 were human rights stories that journalists took personal initiatives to investigate and report on or whether the journalists got those stories through speeches delivered by public officials during public events.
Statement of the problem
The 1992 Constitution devotes a full chapter to freedom and independence of the media. The Constitution makes it explicitly clear that there shall be no interference from external sources including government agencies. In fact, the constitution says that nobody shall determine the editorial opinion of editors. Also, editors and journalists shall not be harassed or intimidated for their editorial opinion. Apart from the Constitution, the government of Ghana recently in its effort to enhance the performance of the media through on- the- job training for practicing journalists instituted Media Development Fund in 2012 as a means of developing the human resource capacity of journalists. This Fund, according to the government, aims at not only equipping journalists in carrying out their responsibilities but also give journalists the impression that they are valued by the government.
Beside these, there are efforts by institutions and other groups to guard the freedom of the press. One of the nine Justices that sat on the 2012 presidential election petition at the Supreme Court recently said the Court supports freedom of the media and that it will be the last institution to gag journalists in their work. Similarly, the TUC at the 2012 Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards ceremony, said it will work with the Association to promote the economic welfare of journalists through unionization of the GJA to enable it negotiate for better salaries for its member. The TUC further stated its support for freedom and independence of the media in Ghana.
Given the importance of the press to the promotion and protection of human rights in Ghana, especially after more than a decade of the repeal of the Criminal Libel and Sedition Laws, it is very important to determine whether the press who are suppose to be the watchdogs of society and human rights give adequate coverage to human rights issues in terms of frequency, consistency, prominence and even content.
Objective of the study
The objective of this study is to highlight the fact that although there are laws that protect journalists in carrying out their watchdog role in society, the media in Ghana has not had that freedom they need to fully operate well. As a result of this, the media has not highlighted a lot on human rights issues let alone defend the course of the citizenry. The press has also not made human rights issues a major priority. To understand the nuances of this issue the study analysed the front page stories from 2010 to 2012. In this connection, the study looked at the number of times that the Ghanaian Times reported on issues that dealt with human rights on its front pages.
Studies on the Press
According to Sanbrook (1996), it is difficult if not impossible for anyone to conceive of democratic consolidation without taking cognizance of a vibrant press and a strong party communication system. He argued that since the seventeenth century scholars have tried to justify the positive relationship between the press and democratic practices, arguing that there exist some positive relations between the press and democracy.
In a related study, Milton (2001) asserted that a free press promotes the cause of democracy by acting as watchdog over governments, and through this role the press prevents governments from abusing power. Sharing the view of Milton, Gurevtch and Blumler (2011), went ahead to view the press as also performing monitoring role. They stated that without the press, it will be difficult, if not impossible to sustain some of the freedoms of people.
Similarly, Meiklejohn (1960) argued that democracy the world over is based on the notion of what he calls ‘popular sovereignty’. He said for democracy to serve its purpose, it is important that the citizens are properly informed to enable them to participate in the political process so that they can contribute their quota to decision making. He noted that it takes a free and a vibrant press to enable citizens to have access to a variety of issues out of which they can make informed political decisions. Meiklejohn also argued that the press also provides the avenue for the public to air their views. This, according to Meiklejohn, increases the chances for truth to emerge and to shape politics of the society.
Sharing the same view with Sandbrook, Masmoundi (1992) notes that there is connection between democracy and a free press arguing that such connection provides an opportunity for citizens to influence the political process. To him, a free press enables political leaders to be aware of the mood of society so that they can respond appropriately to issues. He likened the press to the mirror, by arguing that they reflect the general orientation of the people.
Through the citizens access to the airwaves, the press, according to Bryon (2001) facilitates a number of capacity building activities. He observed that the exchange of information, networking of groups, the provision of skills and training for the people leads to development of the society. Again, he notes that the press as a necessary tool for nation building facilitates the promotion of awareness of community groups, and also provide the avenue for the empowerment of these groups. This, according to him, strengthens local culture of the people.
Zaffiro (1993) admits that the press has emerged as one of the most significant avenues for expressing democratic ideas as well as criticism of authoritarian rules. He contends that the press provides the opportunity for voices that would otherwise not have been known to the society to be heard. According to Zaffiro the activities of the press had led to practical reforms in many countries in Africa especially, in the late 1980s leading to the re-emergence of independent press, which has further accelerated the pace of democratic development on the continent. He therefore attributes the emergence of an atmosphere of democratic fervour in Cameroon in the early 1990s to the coverage given to incidents of authoritarian excesses by the press. Zaffiro further argued that the press has been very active in exposing such activities within the state which would otherwise remained hidden. He states that through the press the people are able to measure the pronouncements of politicians and measure them against their deeds and subsequently make informed judgement about the political future of those individuals. According to him, the likelihood of such activities being exposed by the press is also necessary in making government officials more circumspect in whatever they do. He believes this role of the press has led to what he terms a certain measure of imposed accountability on the part of these officials which they did not have to worry about in the past.
Additionally, Zaffiro stated that the press has taken the lead in setting the agenda for various investigative bodies to take up cases of alleged corruption, abuse of human rights and other excesses in the state. Quoting a Cameroonian journalist, Zaffiro viewed the press as a house-fly which has the habit of being around when things start stinking.
Whilst acknowledging the vital role of the press in democratization, Sandbrook (1996), said that the press has a lot of challenges that militate against their operations. He argued that ‘Africa’s harsh conditions, legacies and conjectural factors’ impede the work of the press. He maintained that despite the crucial role the press plays in nation building, a lot of governments on the continent continue to impose judicial and extra judicial barriers on journalists and media houses, in a manner that affect the professed goals of democratic governance. Sandbrook identifies some of the things that are inimical to the smooth operation of the press in Africa and these include sedition and libel laws, censorship, and physical harassment of journalists and attacks on their premises and their equipment, among others.
In a related study, McFarland (2007) admitted that in a democracy, the convention is that accountability, whether horizontal or vertical are designed to ensure that public services address the needs of citizens in an equitable way by empowering them to demand accountability from government. According to him, citizens can only demand accountability if they are aware of their rights which are partly the responsibility of the press.
McFarland and Melissa Mathews (2006) argued that the democratic development of a specific society implies the pluralism of ideas and conceptions about the world and life.
In a similar study, Valeria (2006) argued that states cannot develop without the existence of freedom of expression. She contends that the media is supposed to set the agenda on issues that are paramount and capable of transforming the lives of the citizenry and such issues, according to her, could cover every facet of national live. According to her, if the press is not free, it cannot defend the rights of others.
In another study Ansah (2009), noted that after independence most African countries were faced with a crisis of identity. According to him, the crisis stem from the fact that the people living within the geographical boundaries of the continent saw themselves as belonging to ethnic or regional groups rather than belonging to a nation. He argued that the press has over the years fought very hard to reverse this perception. Continuing, Ansah noted that under no circumstance should the press be taken for granted because they play a very important role in nation building. According to him, national integration will easily be achieved if the media play its role of educating and informing the people of what they are suppose to know very well.
Studies on human rights
According to Sen (2005), there are many human rights issues that can be viewed as rights to particular capabilities of the people involved, but such rights cannot be sufficiently analysed within the capability framework. It will therefore be wrong to conclude on what constitute human rights abuse without first drawing a distinction between the capabilities of the people involved and the cultural context in which the people behave the way they do in a country. To him, both human rights and human capabilities are dependent on public reasoning. He contended that the moral appeal of human rights has been used for different purposes. He states that there is no country in the world in which debates about human rights have been raised in one context or another in contemporary political debates. Sen argues that despite the enormous appeals of the idea of human rights, the rights of people continue to be abused.
Hodge (2013), on his part noted that the state ought to take the lead in protecting the interest and rights of people who come to invest in their countries, and also foster national and international respect for both employers and employees. This, he argued can be obtained by stakeholders who act by properly informing the public as well as responding to society’s interest and needs. In his view, failure by the state to enforce existing laws that are directly or indirectly related to business will amount to disrespect for the human rights of workers which could have negative impact on productivity. Hodge advocated for non-discriminatory labour laws that will take into consideration environment, property, privacy which will enable all people particularly, workers to have absolute freedom to operate.
On his part, Wallstrom (2013) argued that, it is mandatory for states to respect human rights as enshrined in their various constitutions. According to him, states must also respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of individuals within their territories. These rights, according to Wallstrom, include the duty to protect human rights abuses by way of third parties including business entrepreneurs. He argued that states should generally have discretion in deciding what steps they should consider in their effort to promote human rights through legislations, regulations and adjudication.
According to the Institute for Human Rights and Business, responsible businesses are increasingly seeking guidance from states about how to avoid contributing to human right violations within the business environment. The Institute suggests practical and innovative approaches by which businesses can operate in a manner that will not lead to abuse of human rights including the rights of consumers and minors.
Touching on election management, the Human Rights Watch Institute considers it as very important to the success of every election. In the view of the Institute, election management is suppose to play a crucial role in promoting human right issues including the right to vote and be voted for, as well as, the right to participate in the democratic process of countries of individuals. It argued that countries where attempts are made to restrict the right of other people when their speech is seen to transgress certain bounds such as by criticising government leaders, undermining ethnic and religious groups through offending sentiments. The Institute nonetheless, admits that some restrictions on freedom of speech are justified. In this regard, the Institute believes that speeches that incite violence should be suppressed through the justice system. The Institute also supports the suppression of hate speeches and advocates that such speeches be challenged through rebuttal and education. Concluding, the Institute asserts that under no circumstance should politician engage in hate speeches as such speeches do not foster national unity and development.
On his part Roth (2013), argues that building human rights can be a painstaking work. To him, there will be the need for police units and trained public officials as well as an educated populace to truly uphold human rights and the rule of law. According to him, international human right laws prohibit the subordination of people on the basis of not only race, ethnicity, religion and political views but also gender. Roth argues that it will take education to change the belief of society to consider women as secondary in society.
Theoretical framework
This study uses the Social Responsibility Theory to understand the problem under consideration. This theory is associated with the Commission of the Freedom of Press in United States as far back as in 1949. Some scholars have argued that pure libertarianism is old-fashioned and it was no longer suitable for modern conditions. This, according to the Social Responsibility theorist necessitated a replacement of Libertarian theory with the Social Responsibility Theory ( Allen, 2001).
The Social responsibility theory allows freedom of the press without any censorship .At the same time, the theory contends that issues relating to the press should be discussed in public and that the press should accept any obligation from public interference, or professional self regulations or both. The theory lies between both authoritarian theory and libertarian theory because it gives total media freedom on one hand but the external controls in other hands. Social Responsibility Theory moves beyond merely objective reportage or reporting on facts to investigative reporting. Even though total news is complete facts and truth, the Commission of the Freedom Press argued that giving facts truthfully is good but there is the need for analysis and interpretation of such facts with clear explanations. (Siebert, 1963)
The Theory helps in promoting professionalism in media by setting up a high level of standards-accuracy, truth, and information. The Commission also included some tasks based on social responsibility of media, which include the formulation of the code of conduct for the press, improvement in the standards of journalism, safeguarding the interests of journalism and journalist and criticizing as well as making some penalty for violating the code of conduct.
The Social Responsibility Theory allows the public to express their opinion about the media. It also accommodates community opinion, consumer action and professional ethics and private ownership in media. Besides, the theory enjoins the media to take care of social responsibility and if they do not, government or other organization will do (Siebert, 1963).
The applicability of this theory to press coverage of human rights issues in Ghana is noted in the role of the press in giving voice to the voiceless in society. The theory also brings to light the constitutional responsibility in Article 41 which states that the exercise and enjoyment of rights and freedoms is inseparable from the performance of duties and obligations and accordingly it shall be the duty of everyone to (d) to respect the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of others, and generally to refrain from doing acts detrimental to the welfare of other persons and (g) contribute to the well-being of the community where that citizen lives (Asah-Asante, 2004).
Methodology
This work relies on secondary data by examining the Ghanaian Times publications on Human Rights between 2010 and 2012.The Ghanaian Times is one of the state owned newspapers in Ghana with a very high circulation figures. As a state owned press, the paper’s motive is not for profit but as contained it its mission statement, it is to inform and educate the public in a manner that is worthy of responsible journalism whiles ensuring that government policies are communicated to all people to facilitate national development. Also Act 363 of 1971 mandates the New Times Corporation to among other things deal in all kinds of articles that are required for national development. It is against this background that the Ghanaian Times is selected for the purposes of improving human right coverage since human rights are part of its mandate as contained in the Act that established the New Times Corporation. Act 363(1971)
The period 2010-2012 was chosen because 2012 was an election year where a lot of human right issues were raised by politicians, civil society groups and other stakeholders. The two other years were chosen because they were the years that the ruling party was expected to practically take steps to enhance the rights of the citizens. This is because it has been the practice by politicians in Ghana to make a lot of promises when campaigning for election. Also important is the role of opposition parties to show their commitment to human rights issues by pointing them out for the citizens to know that those parties have the interest of addressing human rights issues if they are given the opportunity. The state owned Ghanaian Times was chosen mainly because it is a state paper and not motivated by profit.
SUMMARY
The work looked at human rights stories that appeared on the front pages of the Ghanaian Times newspaper between 2010 to 2012. For the purpose of this analysis, human rights stories refer to stories that talked about human rights in the areas of abuse, murder, torture, forced marriages, rape, incest, abuses by security personal as well as reports on what officialdom said they were doing about human rights and personal initiatives by journalists to educate people on their rights. I undertake this exercise by counting the number of human right stories done by the paper monthly over the three year period on its front pages daily.
Findings
The study found out that between January 2010 and December 2012, human rights stories were not given enough publicity in the front pages of the Ghanaians Times newspaper. It noticed that most of the human rights stories that appeared on the front pages were from people whose comments or speeches are noted to always attract headlines by the state media houses. Such people included the President, the vice-President, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of Parliament and the chairman of the Electoral Commission. Also, excessive abuses by security personnel particularly, personnel of the Ghana Police Service, were found. The study also found that self initiated investigative stories on human rights were done but then they were very scanty.
In 2010, the study found that only thirty five human interest stories appeared on the front pages of the Ghanaian Times newspaper. The figure increased to seventy one in 2011 and further increased to seventy seven in 2012. Apart from the mere increase in numbers, the study also found that stories on exposure of abuses by state security personnel particularly the police kept increasing within the period. This confirmed the study by Zaffiro(19993), to the effect that the press has been very active in exposing human rights abuses within the state that would otherwise had remained hidden. It was also found that the state investigated the abuses meted by the security personnel, and in some instance, some police personnel were prosecuted. This action by the state in response to the work of the press validates the assertion by Wallstrom (2013) that it is mandatory for states to respect human rights as enshrined in their various constitutions and adding that states must also respect, protect and defend human rights of individuals within their territories. These rights, according to Wallstrom, include the duty to protect human right abuses by way of third parties.
On monthly basis the study found an increase in human rights issues in May 2010, 2011 and 2012. In May 2010, for instance, only two stories were done. This increased to four in May 2011 and further increased in May 2012. A similar thing occurred in April, June, October and November over the three years. This consistency in improvement of human rights coverage justifies the assertion by Ziffaro that the effort by states to protect the freedom of the press is beneficial. It eventually promotes democratic governance and thereby contributing to general development of the society.
However, it was noted in the study that the Ghanaian Times was not consistent in its coverage of human rights stories. In February 2010, for instance, the paper did only two stories on human rights on its front pages. In 2011, the paper did only four stories which was an improvement compared to the previous year’s pattern of coverage. In February 2012, only two human right stories appeared on the paper’s front pages. This phenomenon of inconsistency makes one to argue that the paper has no focus when it comes to human rights issues. The press in Ghana has moved from being overly oppressed (culture of silence) to freedom and yet they have not done a lot on human rights. This defeats the arguments by Milton (2001), that a free press promotes the cause of democracy by acting as watchdog over governments, and through this role the press prevents governments from abusing power. It defeats this argument because during the period that the press gave little coverage to human rights stories, including abuses, child labour, forced marriages and female genital mutilation, among other things, many of such things were going on in the country. In a similar way, the Ghanaian Times did only one front page story on human right in July 2012. This was after the paper had done nine stories on human rights during the same period the previous year. This is certainly a retrogression in the pattern of coverage. Considering the argument by Gurevtch and Blumler (2011), that a free press increasingly improves its monitoring role and thereby exposing all manner of abuses in society, one will say the Ghanaian Times did the opposite. This decline in the coverage of human rights stories was also observed in November 2012 where nine stories on human rights appeared on the front pages of the paper compared to ten the same period in the previous years. Similarly, from four human rights stories in October 2010, the paper reduced its coverage on the number of human rights stories on its front pages to three in October 2011. Also in March 2011, there was an increase from the previous year’s figure of four to eight and yet the number reduced to two in March 2012.
Interestingly, some of the human right stories appeared on the front pages because they came from the mouth or speeches of ‘new makers’ including the President, Vice-President and Chief Justice who journalists in Ghana consider in their front page headline news. This was evident during the analysis of the publications for the three year period.
It was also observed also that there could be three weeks in a month without the paper doing any story on human rights. For instance, in February, May, July, August and September 2010, only two stories on human rights appeared on the front pages of the paper for each of those five months. This clearly shows that the paper did the two stories in one week only and the remaining four weeks, there was nothing done on the this subject matter. One may therefore argue that this situation is simply because there is less priority on the part of the paper for human rights stories compared other stories such as politics.
The study also found that most of the human interest stories came from cases of forced marriages, physical abuses meted out onto people by security personnel, mainly the police, murder and rape. Also, court judgements and government official’s comments on human rights as well as what is being done by the state to enhance human rights in the county were observed to be some of the sources of human rights stories that the Ghanaian Times reported on.
Table 1.0
This table contains a summary of findings on the number of times that human rights stories were covered on the front pages of the Ghanaian Times from 2010 to 2012.
| | | Year | | |
| Month | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Total |
| January | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| February | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| March | 4 | 8 | 2 | 14 |
| April | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 |
| May | 2 | 4 | 14 | 20 |
| June | 4 | 7 | 9 | 20 |
| July | 2 | 9 | 1 | 12 |
| August | 2 | 11 | 3 | 16 |
| September | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| October | 4 | 3 | 6 | 13 |
| November | 4 | 10 | 9 | 23 |
| December | 3 | 5 | 11 | 19 |
| Total | 35 | 71 | 77 | 183 |
Conclusions:
The press has actually served as one of the communication channels in Ghana that has promoted and encouraged target communities and institutions to participate in programmes and activities as well as share ideas that are necessary in the society. The press should be encouraged to continue to play its role well by encouraging its readers across the nation contribute their quota to the building of the nation. It is noted that the press in Ghana has since 1992 had social, economical, political and cultural impact in the lives of the people in Ghana regardless of geographical location. Also the press has undoubtedly been used as a tool for integrated national development. The press has largely operated within its mandate as a communication tool with a social responsibility of providing information on culture, human rights, current affairs, education, sporting, and health programmes.
In fact, there has been a remarkable improvement in the work of the press in Africa and Ghana in particular. Governments on the continent have enacted a lot of laws aimed at ensuring the freedom and independence of the press. Journalists are also aware of the freedom they enjoy and this has led to the increase in the number of independent press outlets. Civil society has also come to realise the need to safeguard the freedom and independence of the press. Again, governments have come to accept criticisms of the press as a way of deepening democracy.
Despite all these, the press has not used the atmosphere of freedom to promote human rights stories. This was realised when this study analysed front page stories in the Ghanaian Times newspaper from 2010 to 2012.
This study observed, after analysing front page stories on human rights by the Ghanaian Times that, there was no increasing trend in its coverage of human rights stories on the paper’s front page between 2010 - 2012. It was also noticed that the paper could operate for three continuous weeks without publishing a single story on human rights on its front pages. Again, most of the human rights stories that appeared on the paper’s front pages came from speeches delivered by people that journalists in Ghana consider them to be newsmakers whose comments usually attract front page headlines. Such people include the President, the Vice-President and the Chief Justice. Besides, this study observed that most of the front pages stories on human rights involved journalists themselves. One may therefore argue that it is usually when human rights issues involve a press man or woman that the media highlight a lot on it and do not do the same for ordinary people. Based on these, one can conclude that, the Ghanaian Times did not give priority to coverage of human rights issues between 2010 and 2012.
Recommendations
Regular feedback from the public is necessary in order to identify what readers really want or their preferences. The taste of the different categories of readers such as the youth, women, men, aged, disabled among other should be taken into account in deciding the kinds of stories to publish in front pages of the press. The press which serves as the voice of society should therefore try to put a spotlight on the vulnerable in society by educating them on their rights. To achieve this, there should be a conscious effort to include human rights issues in the important pages of newspapers such as the front pages, the centre spread, the back pages and editorial columns. Readers need education on human rights protection. For readers to be able to play their role in nation building effectively, it is important and significant for the press to avoid politically biased or ideologically inclined publications with respect to human rights.
It is also recommended that suspects whose rights have been abused through news paper publications should be given the same platform and prominence if the law courts establish that they are innocent of the alleged crimes. Besides, the press should desist from trying suspects in the media and allow the law courts to do that.
There has been a remarkable improvement in the freedoms and independence of the press, they should therefore take advantage of this to give voice to the voiceless in society by constantly educating people on their rights and also exposing those whose actions or inactions tend to affect the rights of other people especially the vulnerable such as orphans, widows and children, among others.
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Hhttp:www.ghanabusiness.com/2012/12/13/media-foundation-condemns-npp-attacks-on journalists/#sthash.GaDAcZaQ.dpuf by Media Foundation for West Africa.
http://www.allghananews.com/general-news/3939-gja-condmns-police-attacks-on-journalist##ixzz2YXWVWP3F7 (retrieved July 2013) by Ghana Journalists Association
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