*REGION SEMINAR OPENS WITH CLARION CALL FOR MEDIA LAW REFOEFORMS IN EASTERN AFRICA

EASTERN AFRICA JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION (EAJA)

MEDIA STATEMENT

June 23, 2012

Nairobi, Kenya.

Regional Seminar Opens with Clarion Call for Media Law Reforms In Eastern Africa

Eastern Africa States should urgently embark on comprehensive reform and harmonization of media laws to create a freer environment for the media and journalists to work in  so as to promote social, economic and political transformation, was the unanimous message that emerged from key speakers and participants attending a three-day Regional seminar on Media Law Reform in Eastern Africa that began today in Nairobi, Kenya.

Speaking at the seminar, Kenya’s Vice President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka who gave the keynote address urged Eastern Africa States to cultivate “a healthy relationship” with the media as a basis for enhancing people based initiatives and social progress and harmony.

“Most of our media laws in the Eastern Africa Region have a legacy of legal provisions that restrict freedom of expression far beyond the levels permitted under international law. It is crucial that all these laws be comprehensively reviewed, repealed or replaced with laws that meet internationally accepted standards of freedom of expression,” said Musyoka.

He said it was important “to enact progressive laws and policies that enable independent and professional journalism rather than restrain it through structures imposed by legislative bodies or laws.”

“I am a supporter of regimes that encourage media professionals to develop their own codes of ethics and establish self-regulatory system," he added.

The Kenyan Vice President noted the need to prioritize the safety and security of journalists in the region noting that the region had some of the worst anti-media regimes. He said Kenya was willing to prosecute those suspected of crimes against journalists including the ongoing killings of journalists in Somalia.

“The regional legislative environment within which EAJA is working to attain media freedom is weak or outright anti-media. Our region is witnessing the tightening of repressive laws, particularly in countries where there is intensified stifling of media freedom and free expression,” said Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of EAJA.

Mr. Osman added that the Media Law Reform process in the region has been very slow during the past three years. “Our parliamentarians need to begin a process of media law reform, in particular repressive laws,” he added.

UNESCO Regional Advisor for Communication and Information, Dr. Jean-Pierre IIboudo, assured that his organisation will continue partnering with EAJA, civil society and governments in reforming the media laws in the region. He noted that some countries in Eastern Africa have the most repressive media laws that are used to suppress freedom of the press.

Dr. IIboudo added that gagging the media is unacceptable in a democratic country and called on governments in the region to be committed to reforming media laws.

Mr. Musyoka also appealed to Sudan and South Sudan to respect the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and avoid further hostilities adding that some of the points of contention between the two countries were “artificial” and could be overcome through consultation and dialogue.

Other key speakers at the seminar who called for media law reform in the region to encourage free and independent media included the Chairman of the Media Council of Kenya Professor Levy Obonyo and EAJA President Dr. Muheldin Ahmed Idris.

The seminar, Organized by the Eastern Africa Journalists Association in partnership with UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), has drawn participants from journalists unions, associations and press freedom organizations from nine countries in the Eastern Africa Region, namely Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia. It ends on Monday June 25, 2012.

The regional meeting, which is first of its kind dedicated to discussing exclusively media law reform, is expected to develop a comprehensive blueprint for a Media Law Reform Campaign in Eastern Africa.