His Excellency, Thabo Mbeki

President of Republic of South Africa

And Chair of the African Union

Private Bag X1000, PRETORIA, 0001

Union Buildings, West wing, 2nd Floor,

Government Avenue, PRETORIA,

South Africa

22 May 2003

Dear Sir

African Union anniversary: suppression of media freedom, freedom of expression, and problems of famine and conflict in Africa

It is with a heavy heart that we write to you on the occasion of the second anniversary of the formal establishment of the African Union (May 26 2001) to voice our concern over the poor rights record of a significant number of AU member countries and its implications for their citizens. Many in Africa and the rest of the world also share these concerns. Ironically, the 25th of May is also Africa Liberation Day (as recognised by the UN General Assembly) and the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Organisation of African Unity. These combined anniversaries again highlight the challenge of Africa’s post-liberation epoch as emphasised by the anniversary theme of 'Peace, Prosperity and Development',

The constitutive Act of the African Union obliges the union and member states to “promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; protect human and peoples’ rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; and” guarantees “the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.” As current Chair of the Union, we urge you to uphold these key tenets of the Unions constitutive Act.

Our areas of concern are broad and cover human as well as civil, social, political and economic rights. However our focus on this occasion is on areas that we consider the most desperate and which we believe the African Union must act on urgently if it is to sustain the promise that heralded its inauguration.

The areas are press freedom and freedom of expression especially in relation to famine and the rights to association, assembly and political participation. Also in need of urgent resolution is the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which as we write threatens to dwarf the tragedies in Rwanda and Burundi.

In respect of press freedom and freedom of expression, the situation in Zimbabwe and Eritrea typify the tragedies to which we call your attention regarding how the denial of these rights may result in the death of millions of people.

As you are aware, the World Food Programme has for some months now been calling the attention of the world to existing and looming food shortages in several African countries. These countries include Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Overall, varying estimates of between thirty million to forty million people are at risk of starvation. By no coincidence, the governments of these countries have been identified by several international and African press freedom and freedom of expression organisations as suppressing press freedom and freedom of expression. In almost all cases, the rights to association, assembly and political participation have also been curtailed.

In Eritrea, virtually the entire independent or private media has been shut down, at least 18 editors and journalists have been illegally imprisoned and others have fled the country or remain in hiding. According to the 2003 report of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders Eritrea is “the worlds biggest prison for journalists”.

While the entire independent or private media in Zimbabwe have not yet been shut down, it is not for lack of trying by the government. Over the last year, at least thirty-two Zimbabwean journalists have been detained or harassed and numerous correspondents for non-Zimbabwean based media have been forced out of the country or deported. The new government requirements that criminalise journalists not accredited by the government and restrict non-Zimbabwean journalists to thirty day visa’s are just two of the mechanisms used to place pressure on the media to ‘shut up or shut down’.

But shutting down the media will not make the shortcomings of these governments disappear. We acknowledge that natural phenomena such as erratic weather, floods, lack of rain and bad harvests for long periods are largely responsible for the food shortages. However armed conflict, corruption, poor forward planning and lack of democracy have also played a considerable part in worsening the situation.

As we have already pointed out on World Press Freedom Day earlier this month, “the lack of media freedom and freedom of expression means that the media is not able to freely reflect and analyse the big picture in these countries thereby depriving society as a collective of any early warning system usually provided by free and efficient exchange of news and information, or media platforms for debate and alternate opinions. It is the political equivalent of blindfolding citizens of a town and tying their hands before a flood engulfs them.”

Earlier this month, the world heaved a sigh of relief that a delegation of African leaders including your honourable self had engaged President Mugabe in further dialogue aimed at resolving the political crisis in Zimbabwe, only to be shocked by the deportation of yet another non-Zimbabwean journalist within a fortnight. The deportation of Andrew Meldrum the Zimbabwe correspondent of the UK based Guardian newspaper is most disturbing as it was carried out against the orders of a Zimbabwean court. Another court had also acquitted Mr Meldrum last year of charges that he published false news about Zimbabwe. Mr Meldrum an American citizen has lived legally in Zimbabwe for twenty-three years. Zimbabwe is a sovereign country, but this sovereignty cannot be exercised outside the framework of international and Zimbabwean law.

To end rights abuses, the perpetual cycle of famine on the continent and prevent the possible death of millions, the AU must intervene decisively with a view to coming up with both short and long term solutions. An end to the suppression of press freedom, freedom of expression and the rights to assembly, association and political participation will be a first and crucial step in this direction.

We therefore urge you to utilise the occasion of the second anniversary of the AU and 40th anniversary Africa Liberation Day/formation of the OAU of to call on fellow African leaders to release all incarcerated journalists, repeal all anti media and anti free-expression laws and legislation in their countries and end the persecution of journalists, civil society and peaceful democratic opposition.

Specifically we urge you to in the case of Eritrea, use your good office to also ensure the un-banning of the private media. In the case of Zimbabwe, we acknowledge it is naïve to pretend that the political situation is not complicated by its colonial history and the occupation of a disproportionate percentage of land by minority ‘white’ settlers. However the Zimbabwean government is absolutely wrong to rationalise the crack down on press freedom and freedom of expression as “a fight against neo-colonialism. We call on you to end the softly softly approach to the crisis in Zimbabwe and to demand an end to the suppression of the media and free-expression.

But before the AU can successfully wield its moral authority, leading African countries must put their houses in order. In this regard, we call your attention to the situation of Nigeria where despite recent elections, security operatives continue to detain citizens arbitrarily. The latest instance of this is the abduction in broad daylight of Kayode Ogundamisi, ‘Foreign Affairs Secretary’ of the Coalition for Odua Self –Determination Groups (COSEG). On the 11th of May, four unidentified and un-uniformed armed men abducted Mr Ogundamisi at the Lagos international airport on his way to the United Kingdom. His place of detention is unknown and no one has been allowed to see him. The world only knows of this because Mr ‘Wale Adedayo an assistant editor with the Nigerian national daily The Punch witnessed the abduction and was also held for five hours by the State Security Services for trying to report it.

Our point here is that it is impossible for leaders like President Obasanjo of Nigeria to be taken seriously by leaders of other African countries with worse rights records if his own security services continue to perpetuate rights abuses.

Finally we implore you and all African leaders to intervene urgently in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo where conservative estimates of two million people have already died. In the past week alone, there have been wide spread reports of mass murder of hundreds of people including by decapitation. The conflict has intensified to the extent that child ‘soldiers’ have become a regular feature on all sides due to the death of tens of thousands of adult men. While we recognise the work that has already been done here especially by South Africa and the regional mediators, it goes without saying that more needs to be done. Already an entire generation of children in the DRC are at risk of being completely destroyed by their immersion in war, rape and murder. Genocidal conflict is not peculiar to Africa, as recent events in Europe and Asia shown. However it is fast degenerating to the level of routine on the continent irrespective of the progress in Cote d’ Ivoire, Burundi, Sudan, Angola and other theatres of conflict. We also need to ask ourselves why there are so many conflicts in Africa, and find a permanent solution.

We urge you to act speedily and decisively on these issues and to ensure they are firmly on the agenda of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union planned for Maputo, Mozambique in July. In this regard, it will be a further step in the right direction, for the AU to ensure that a strong human rights mandate and adequate resources are provided for AU’s 10 incoming Commissioners.

We believe strongly that your experience from being at the fore of the anti-apartheid struggle places you in a unique position to appreciate these issues and to make the appropriate historical decisions. We respectfully urge you in the name of millions of African citizens that look up to you and the African Union to make those decisions before you hand over the baton of the AU Chair to your successor.

Yours sincerely

Rotimi Sankore

Coordinator

CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights

CC: H.E. Amara Essy
Chairman ad Interim
Commission of the African Union
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ENDS

For further information, contact our International Office:

Centre for Research Education & Development Of
- [CREDO]- Freedom of Expression & Associated Rights.

73-75 Newington Causeway
London SE1 6BD, UK

Tel: + 44 20 77875501
Fax:+ 44 20 77875502

E-mail: Media – [email protected] [2] , General – [email protected] [3]

CREDO is an International human rights organisation based in Senegal and London and focusing on work in Africa. CREDO believes that freedom of expression and other strongly associated rights, are major platforms on which all civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights stand. CREDO further believes that “without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” everyone is entitled to these rights as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights, The African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights and other similar documents.

While freedom of expression remains an inalienable right, it is often overlooked that it is in reality, not a stand alone right but is also a ‘gateway’ right to these other strongly associated rights, which are no less important and demand equal attention. These rights include the rights to opinion, assembly, association and so forth. An attack on any of these rights, is more often than not an indicator that other associated rights are not fully assured.

Collectively these rights are infinitely more important than they are individually. Their intertwined nature means that they are best defended and promoted collectively and not in isolation from each other.

While maintaining an international perspective, CREDO’s work focuses on themes in Africa related to: freedom of expression, media freedom, rights/access to information and information resources; freedom of opinion, association, assembly and related rights; and anti-discrimination issues e.g. discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, political persuasion etc.