AU Monitor

AU Urged to Uphold Press Freedom

(PANA) - The New York-based media rights group, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has called on the African Union (AU) Commission to ‘’actively defend and uphold press freedom across the continent’’, as African leaders converge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the first of their twice-a-year summit starting Thursday.

The call was contained in a letter to the Chairperson of the commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, from CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.

‘’CPJ calls on your office to strengthen AU institutions dedicated to supporting press freedom, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Peer Review Mechanism, and remind states of their obligation to uphold press freedom as part of their membership in the union.

‘’We respectfully remind you that AU member states are signatories of Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Also, most of these countries have constitutions that guarantee press freedom. But clearly these guarantees are not effective on their own.

‘’In light of the AU’s mandate to promote good governance and democracy, we urge you to give press freedom the importance it deserves. AU member states must uphold their commitments and allow the media in their countries to operate freely, with out fear of reprisal.

‘’By guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of the press, the AU can help ensure democracy and stability across the continent,’’ CPJ wrote.

The committee said its ongoing research documenting worldwide press freedom conditions revealed ‘’a worrying pattern of deteriorating press freedom in sub-Saharan Africa, including in AU member states heralded for holding recent democratic elections.

‘’In addition, 10 journalists were killed in relation to their work this year on the continent, the highest number since 1999,’’ it said.

CPJ said its study in 2007 revealed that three nations in sub-Saharan Africa were among the places worldwide where press freedom has deteriorated the most over the last five years; namely Ethiopia, the Gambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It said all three countries were signatories to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, have constitutional guarantees for press freedom, and have democratically elected leaders with Western support.

‘’Two of them, the Gambia and Ethiopia, even host offices of the AU in their capitals. Yet in each country, elections have been followed by a crackdown on the media.

‘’Government repression of the independent press in Ethiopia and the Gambia forced dozens of journalists into exile. In the DRC, four journalist murders and a pattern of government abuses were carried out with total impunity following the 2006 elections,’’ CPJ said.

It also expressed concern at the press freedom records of Eritrea, Somalia, and Zimbabwe.

Posted by on 01/31 at 02:40 PM

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