The
Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African regional group of the
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) declared today that African
Governments have the duty to guarantee the safety of journalists.
Attending
the 19th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African
Union (AU), the delegation of FAJ has intensified the campaign for the adoption
of a binding resolution on the safety and protection of journalists in Africa.
The
FAJ delegation is made up of the President, Omar Faruk Osman, the Vice
President Foster Dongozi, and the Africa Director for the International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Gabriel Baglo. They represent journalists’
unions and associations on the Africa to engage the Heads of State and
Government.
“We
have been actively lobbying African Union member states, the African Union
Commission and other strategic partners for the adoption of a resolution on the
safety and protection of African journalists at the ongoing 19th African Union Summit,” said FAJ President, Omar Faruk Osman who is currently in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“The safety of journalists is a more pertinent subject
today than ever before; the number of journalists killed, assaulted and
intimidated has been increasing year after year in the continent,” he added.
“Many
African journalists are assaulted or killed in the course of their work.
African leaders must adopt binding resolution on the safety and protection of
African journalists”, said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa Office Director who is
also currently in Addis Ababa.
Osman
stated that FAJ would use its networking and advocacy programme to make gains
in coming up with a binding resolution on the safety and protection of African
journalists.
"The
objective of our participation at the AU summit is also to work with the member
states, AU Commission, Peace and Security Council and Permanent Representatives
on the issue of the safety and security of African journalists, particularly
the adoption of a legally binding resolution on the need to protect African
journalists when conducting their work," he explained.
In
addition, the delegation engaged members of the African Commission on Human and
People's Rights (ACHPR), whose mandate is to promote and protect human and
people's rights on the African continent as enshrined in the African Charter.
In May 2011, the ACHPR adopted a resolution on the safety and protection of
journalists, which has already been endorsed by the AU.
In
2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted the Resolution 1738, which
condemns attacks against journalists in conflict situations while UNESCO has a Resolution
condemning violence against journalists.
In
September 2010, FAJ launched in collaboration with the African Union Commission
in Addis Ababa a campaign for African leaders to lend their support to the
campaign on the safety and protection of African journalists. .
The
lobbying and advocacy work is being done ahead of a planned Pan-African
Conference on the safety of journalists and the campaign against impunity to be
held in September 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Over
the last three years, Somalia has been the deadliest country for journalists to
work in with 34 journalists having been assassinated. Since the beginning of
this year, six Somali journalists have already been killed while one journalist
was killed in Nigeria.
For more information contact
the IFJ: 221 33 867 95 86/87
The IFJ represents more than
600.000 journalists in 134 countries