Who we are

The Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee promote the right of all languages to be written, read and heard, whether they are spoken by millions of people or just by a few. Through projects, events, publishing and campaigning, the Committee encourages readers and writers to explore writing from cultures other than their own.

Founded in Stockholm in 1978, the Committee played a leading role in creating the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, 1996. It adopted the Girona Manifesto for Linguistic Rights, a ten-point document designed to defend linguistic diversity around the world, which expresses the goals of the Universal Declaration as well as the aims of the Committee.

The current Chair of the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee is Urtzi Urrutikoetxea, who is also Chair of Basque PEN / Euskal PENeko burua. Urtzi Urrutikoetxea can be contacted at urtzi@euskalpen.eus

The Writers for Peace Committee aims to foster dialogue between writers and communities from countries facing international conflicts or being affected by them. It was created in 1984 to build collaboration between writers across the Cold War East–West divide.

The Committee meets once a year, usually in May, in Bled, Slovenia, for its annual conference. PEN writers from around the world come together to propose new ideas and discuss issues around conflict, peace, and freedom of expression. The latest Committee meeting was held from May 16th to 18th, 2023.

The current Chair of the Writers for Peace Committee is Germán Rojas, who can be contacted at germanrojask@gmail.com. The Chair is assisted by an Advisory Board composed of representatives from the following PEN Centres: Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, Germany, Independent Chinese, Kenya, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Quechua, San Miguel de Allende, Slovenia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Wales.

Established in 1960, the Writers in Prison Committee stands against worldwide attempts to silence voices of dissent. The Committee defends writers and journalists who are imprisoned or under attack for their work or their political activities, provided that they did not use or advocate violence or racial hatred. The Committee also meets to discuss structural barriers to freedom of expression and campaigns on issues such as blasphemy or, religious defamation, impunity and criminal defamation, surveillance and digital rights.

The current Chair of the Writers in Prison is Ma Thida. Ma Thida can be contacted at drmathida1966@gmail.com.

The Women Writers’ Committee works to improve the situation of women across the world, especially women writers.

Set up in 1991, the Committee reaches out to both aspiring and established women writers through PEN Centres and other organisations and networks. It works with the Writers in Prison Committee to help incarcerated or endangered women writers.

The Committee attends meetings of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and runs projects and activities, including literary prizes, book fairs and international conferences, centring the challenges faced by women writers around the world.

The current Chair of the Women Writers’ Committee is Judyth Hill and can be contacted at: judythhill@gmail.com