• Mr Christian Fellner, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Kenya
• Rita Bissoonauth - Director, UNESCO Addis Liaison Office to AU and UNECA
• Marcel Clement Akpovo, OHCHR Director and Regional Representative
• Representatives of member states, representatives of media organisations
• Ladies and gentlemen

I am pleased to participate in this consultation on behalf of the AU Directorate of Information and Communication.

I wish to start by thanking our partners UNESCO for organizing this regional consultation meeting to discuss the status of journalists’ safety and the issue impunity in Africa, as part of the UN Plan of Action on the safety of journalists.

This UN mechanism also aims to ensure that journalists are safe enough to do their work and contribute to peace, democracy and development not only in their respective countries but also around the world. 

As we know, information is an enabler of development; journalists are the link that provides that information to citizens and gives them the platform to talk to their leaders.

Therefore the media plays a key role in ensuring full respect for freedom of expression, promoting the free flow of information and ideas, assisting people to make informed decisions and facilitating and strengthening democracy.

………….

Even with this important role, the statistics on violence on journalists are frightening. UNESCO notes that on average, every five days a journalist is killed somewhere in the world for bringing information to the public.

I also want to refer to a workshop that we had earlier this year, which delivered research results on the work of women journalists, and I want to read out a statement from one of the research respondents.

 “There was a time when I got a good environment to take pictures and there were some guys sitting on a truck…. immediately I took my camera they all began to shout at me… hey what are you doing…I had to put my camera back…you know when you are a woman, people can attack you anyhow and they can trash the camera you hold “

Clearly this lady was speaking from experience. The result was that she stopped doing her job because her safety was threatened.

With this in mind, I am pleased to inform you that, the African Union, through its mandated bodies, takes the issues of the rights and safety of journalists very seriously.

The AU Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, Commissioner Topsy Sono sent a message of solidarity to the Africa media convention and World Press Freedom Day, held earlier this year in in Arusha, and decried the specific threats to the safety of women journalists. She observed that while male journalists are also subject to abuse online, abuse directed against women journalists tends to be more severe.

Your Excellency and media stakeholders, the African Union through its mandated bodies and organs, has established continental frameworks and resolutions, adopted by member states that speak to the safety of journalists.

The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights has adopted a number of normative frameworks and soft laws that promote the safety of journalists, the right to access information, and freedom of expression.

The right to receive information, and to express and disseminate opinions in accordance with the law, is guaranteed in article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

The Commission has also amended the Declaration of Principles on Access to Information and Freedom of Speech in Africa to align it to the current realities.

Earlier this month, at its 72nd Ordinary Session held in August 2022, the African Commission for Human and People’s rights adopted a resolution by the African Commission on the Protection of Women Against Digital Violence in Africa.

With all the many efforts the AU is deploying to promote a safer working environment for the journalists in Africa, I would like to call on the media stakeholders in this forum, to refer to these and other AU Frameworks which contain many other principles that relate to the work of the media.

As you draw and make recommendations to the strengthening of the UN Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists, ensure that global frameworks are not stand alones, but create synergies and also contribute to the implementation of the regional and national frameworks in Africa, which have been developed in line with the context of Africa.

I would also like to call on UNESCO and the media stakeholders engaged in this process, to complement the initiatives the African Union has put in place, and support their implementation accordingly. 

These include for example, the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa, and the resolutions I have indicated in my speech today. In this way, we will pull in the same direction and join efforts in contributing to the achievement of Agenda 2063 and the SDGS on the African continent.

As I conclude, I wish to say that as the Directorate of Information and Communication, we appreciate the close working relationship with UNESCO in ensuring that journalists work in environments that allow them to do their work. In Arusha we were party to the finalization of the Arusha declaration that has safety of journalists at heart, and we are looking forward to joining efforts in its implementation.

At this point, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to wish you a very successful consultation

I thank you