Regional Conference on National mechanism for Safety of Journalists kicks off in Nairobi.

  Emmanuel Mugisha, Executive Director Rwanda Media Commission sharing insights from his country during the official opening of Eastern Africa regional conference on National Mechanisms for Safety of Journalists at Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi-Photo By Media Council of Kenya.

By Dickson Odhiambo.

     

     November 13, 2017.

Regional Conference on National mechanism for Safety of Journalists kicks off in Nairobi.

A TWO-Day regional conference on National mechanisms for Safety of Journalists kicks off this morning in Nairobi.

The Conference which is organized by the Article 19 Eastern African and UNESCO with the support of the Kenyan Media Sector Working Group, the Government of Sweden, Media Council of Kenya and the Kenya Union of Journalists is also meant to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

The aim of the conference is to share good practices on National, Regional and International mechanisms for safety of Journalists and how to localize such mechanisms in Eastern African region, based on the country’s context.

It also aims at building the capacity of safety of Journalists’ focal persons from the relevant Government’s institutions and Ministries, in accordance to the United Nations Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists approved by the UN Assembly in the year 2012.

The expected outcome during the two-day regional conference is for the Eastern African Countries to agree on regional parameters on establishing national mechanisms for safety of Journalists based on the country’s specific context.

This will also provide an opportunity to engage with regional actors on safety of journalists and mobilize the Eastern Africa Media Development Partners, to provide necessary support for implementation of the recommendations from the conference.

The recommendations from this regional conference will be implemented at the national level and will be complimented by ongoing media development initiatives on promoting the freedom of Expression in Eastern African region.

The conference has brought together 100 participants with around 40 participants drawn from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

It therefore brings together participants from the Ministries of Information, Justice and Security, Associations of Journalists and Media Workers, Civil/human rights defenders, Journalism Training Institutions, Media Regulatory Bodies and Media development partners from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

In spite of the many efforts by the UNESCO Member states to address safety of journalists concerns and even with the many resolutions that have been passed globally, media violations have increased at an alarming rate especially in post conflict and countries in conflict.

Yet, according to the UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and issue of Impunity crimes against Journalists are multifaceted and cannot be addressed by a single organization.It requires a multi-stakeholder approach, involving all the actors both at the Global and County level to comprehensively address the three P,s that is Prevent violence against Journalists, Protect the Journalists in danger and Prosecute the perpetrators.

On the other hand, Sustainable Development Goal{SDG} number 16 also requires all countries to demonstrate progress in ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms, which includes the Right to Freedom of Expression and safety of Journalists.

In the Eastern African region, an overall trend of a shrinking space for media freedom has been observed specifically violations against media practitioners have been ongoing without a dedicated focal person or a proper mechanism within the government institutions to report and address these concerns.

This therefore results to the issue of safety of Journalists not being given the attention it deserves since there is also a communication breakdown between the affected journalists and the government body that should be providing the required media safety.

This therefore calls for an urgent need to develop a comprehensive formal national mechanism to promote the safety of Journalists in Eastern African region.

This should bring together all the media actors to strengthen joint responses hence this therefore informs the need for the development of a comprehensive document highlighting these cases of grievous and impunity against Journalists and Human Rights defenders.

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