The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and some 37 journalists' unions and association
are pressing government leaders attending the 15th African Union
Summit in Kampala, Uganda, to make safety of African
journalists a priority for the African Union. In a letter to AU leaders the
unions, led by the IFJ African regional body the Federation of African
Journalists, welcomed the declaration by African leaders to designate 2010 as
the "Year of Peace and Security in Africa".
"This timely declaration must be taken
forward with practical, pragmatic and prompt actions," they said. "It is a sad and incontrovertible fact
that, many decades after the achievement of political independence, so many
Africans continue to lose their lives as a result of armed and non-armed conflicts, much of it driven by unscrupulous
politics, intolerance and rivalries whether based upon ethnic, religious or
cultural divisions. The wanton violence suffered by African communities
continues to be an obstacle to social progress and economic development."
Addressing the safety and protection of
African journalists, the journalists and media groups said "Among the many
victims are African journalists who are routinely targeted, often injured,
killed, displaced or mentally scarred. Their only crime is their defence of
African peoples' right to know, their determination to expose all forms of
corruption and their conviction that everyone should enjoy the right to free
expression."
Last year 13 African journalists were
murdered in Africa, nine of them in Somalia. This year six journalists
have already been murdered - three in Nigeria,
one in Somalia, one in Rwanda and one in Angola. It will almost be inevitable
that other journalists will continue to be the victims of grave human rights
violations and fall to assassins' bullets as they strive to carry out their
legitimate job to inform their fellow citizens, whether on unravelling
corruption or lawlessness, reporting civil insurgencies, or exposing drug
trafficking.
In many cases, journalists find
themselves in the firing line, facing death but also arrest and torture which
make journalism today one of the most perilous professions. There are also
those killed in crossfire in the many armed conflicts in Africa.
Most of these killings go unpunished and many of the perpetrators enjoy
complete impunity.
Last March, the continental congress of the
Federation of African Journalists held in Harare,
Zimbabwe, adopted a strong
resolution on safety of journalists and called for an end of the culture of
impunity against media workers in Africa. A
few months later, delegates from over 100 countries assembled at the IFJ World
Congress in Spain
pledged solidarity with African colleagues and called on African governments to
bring this safety crisis to an end.
"The loss of media lives should remind all African
citizens of the sacrifices that journalists and media staff make in the cause
of the right to know. Whatever the future brings, journalists will continue to strive to be the pillar
of democracy, providing invaluable journalism as a public good often under
difficult and dangerous conditions" the joint letter said.
Journalists and media organizations
concluded that "If the Year of Peace and Security is to have a lasting meaning,
African leaders should do more to make journalism safer and bring to an end the
injustice of impunity."
For more information
contact the IFJ at +32 235 2207 or + 256 788038426 (Kampala, Uganda)
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists
in 125 countries worldwide
The FAJ represents over
50,000 journalists in 38 countries in Africa
