Baidoa Declaration - NUSOJ General Assembly 2006

<font size="4">Baidoa Declaration
NUSOJ General Assembly 2006</font>


We, 68 journalists from various regions of Somalia, convened in Baidoa, Somalia, to partake the Constitutional General Assembly of the National Union of Somali Journalists on 20-21 July 2006 with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED);

Deliberated profoundly the freedom and responsibilities of the media in Somalia;

Recognised the difficulty situations facing journalists and media institutions;

Noted the twelve cases of violations of press freedom that happened in the country since January 2006;

Agreed to:

1. Call upon the transitional federal institutions of Somalia and other political systems in the country to respect and protect freedom of expression and of press.
2. Condemn all violations of freedom of expression and of press that happened in the country, and urge the relevant authorities to bring the individuals behind the unpunished crimes against journalists before the justice.
3. Launch nationwide crusade strengthening and promoting freedom of expression through the National Union of Somali Journalists in collaboration with other groups advocating freedom of expression.
4. Commence, as NUSOJ, cooperation between the media community and the interim government about the drafting of media law, national constitution and the labour code.
5. Respect the internationally accepted values of the profession such accuracy, impartiality and fairness of their daily work.

DONE IN BAIDOA

21 July 2006