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IFEX
members spearhead launch of African Free Expression Network
International
Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX)
November 14, 2005
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/70298/
IFEX members
in Africa are at the forefront of a new initiative aimed at improving
the environment for freedom of expression and press freedom, and
strengthening collaboration among free expression organisations
on the continent.
The Network
of African Freedom of Expression Organisations (NAFEO) unites 33
African and international organisations under one umbrella to campaign
against criminal defamation laws, promote access to information
and media pluralism, and monitor attacks on journalists and media
outlets.
Launched at
a conference in Accra, Ghana, which took place from 28 to 30 October
2005, the new network will put in place a rapid response mechanism
to deal with crises that seriously affect free expression in Africa.
It will also
work to build and strengthen the capacity of regional and sub-regional
organisations, especially in the Horn of Africa, East Africa and
North Africa.
Supported by
UNESCO, the conference was organised by the Media Foundation for
West Africa (MFWA), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Journaliste en danger
(JED) and the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA).
It was attended
by representatives of 33 advocacy groups, including IFEX members
Africa Free Media Foundation, Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association,
Freedom of Expression Institute and West Africa Journalist Association
(WAJA).
International
participants included International Media Support, ARTICLE 19, Index
on Censorship and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
The Special
Rapporteur on Free Expression for the African Commission on Human
and Peoples' Rights, Andrew Chigovera, also attended.
Conference participants
identified a multitude of threats to free expression and press freedom
in Africa, including the lack of access to information; arrests
and detentions of journalists; inadequate legal expertise and weak
judicial systems; and crackdowns on media organisations.
Participants
also examined the state of free expression in Ethiopia, Somalia,
Sudan and Zimbabwe, and developed strategies for lobbying the African
Union, ECOWAS, Southern African Development Community (SADC) and
other intergovernmental bodies on the need to reform laws obstructing
free speech.
To address these
challenges, a coordinating committee has been formed, comprising
representatives of JED, MFWA, MISA, MRA, IFJ Africa, WAJA, Organisation
des Medias d'Afrique Centrale (OMAC/OCAM), the All Africa Editors
Forum, and groups from North Africa, East Africa and the Horn of
Africa. MFWA has been selected as the host organisation for the
network.
Over the next
decade, NAFEO will serve as a mechanism for initiating issue-based
coalitions to address specific issues, including lobbying the African
Union for a continental treaty on freedom of expression, lobbying
U.N. agencies on media freedom violations, and campaigning to support
jailed journalists in Eritrea.
It will also
establish an alert service to monitor free expression violations
in Africa.
For more information,
contact MFWA: events@mfwaonline.org
Visit:
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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