World Association of News Publishers


Press Freedom Resolution: Call for African leaders and US President Barack Obama to Address Press Freedom Issues

Press Freedom Resolution: Call for African leaders and US President Barack Obama to Address Press Freedom Issues

Article ID:

17929

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), meeting in Torino, Italy, on the 8th June 2014 during the 66th World Newspaper Congress, 21st World Editors Forum and 24th World Advertising Forum, calls on African heads of state and US President Barak Obama, to put freedom of expression on the agenda at the inaugural U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit due to be held in Washington, D.C. on August 5th and 6th, 2014.

The Board believes the Summit is an opportunity for African leaders to acknowledge the link between a free press and the reduction of poverty, and to commit to firm actions that lead to good governance and economic and social progress.

The Board asks the President of the United States to encourage all African heads of state attending the U.S.-Africa Summit to:

  • Heed the call by the Pan-African Parliament to adopt the Declaration of Table Mountain by repealing criminal defamation and insult laws and to set a free press higher on the agenda;
  • Enact the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ Resolution 169 calling for the repeal of criminal defamation;
  • Release all journalists held in prison because of their work, including Golden Pen of Freedom laureates Eskinder Nega (Ethiopia) and Dawit Isaak (Eritrea).

Author

Alison Meston's picture

Alison Meston

Date

2014-06-16 15:11

Author information

WAN-IFRA’s Declaration of Table Mountain is an earnest appeal to all Africans, particularly those in power, to recognise that political and economic progress flourishes in a climate where the press is free and independent of governmental, political or economic control. Read more ...