Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

of o<strong>the</strong>r forms of free expression,
such as speech and <strong>the</strong> rights of
musicians and composers.
The 1990s were an era of <strong>the</strong>
revolution in new technologies of
information and communications.
Aided by <strong>the</strong> internet, <strong>the</strong> alert
service became an instant presence
and source of information on press
freedom violations to thousands
of people in <strong>the</strong> region, Africa and
elsewhere. It was fur<strong>the</strong>r expanded
globally by <strong>the</strong> MFWA’s membership
in <strong>the</strong> global network of freedom of
expression advocacy organisations,
<strong>the</strong> Toronto-based International
Freedom of Expression Exchange
(IFEX), whose information clearing
house reaches tens of thousands
around <strong>the</strong> world.
Prior to <strong>the</strong> MFWA’s initiative, <strong>the</strong>re
had been no such systematic, comprehensive
and regular monitoring
and publicity of rights abuses on
“The aim was to
monitor violations on
a daily basis. Thus <strong>the</strong>
press freedom ALERT
of <strong>the</strong> MFWA was
born, and continues to
today.”
a regional scale in West Africa, or
even in most parts of <strong>the</strong> continent.
A significant aspect of <strong>the</strong> monitoring
exercise is that <strong>the</strong> alerts are also
a call to action to <strong>the</strong> thousands of
individuals and institutions on <strong>the</strong>
organisation’s address list that receive
<strong>the</strong> alerts.
Thus, with <strong>the</strong> alerts, <strong>the</strong> MFWA
initiates protests, petitions and
appeals to governments and o<strong>the</strong>r
violators of media and journalists’
rights. The general effect is that, due
to <strong>the</strong> alerts, some victims have been
released from detention or o<strong>the</strong>r
dangerous situations earlier than
may have been <strong>the</strong> case. The alerts
have been a basis or <strong>the</strong> catalyst for
campaigns – big and small, local or
international – in support of victims
of repression of press freedom or
o<strong>the</strong>r forms of expression.
In 2008 Cameroonian musician
Pierre Roger Lambo Sandjo (aka
Lapiro de Mbanga) was arrested and
charged with incitement to violence.
This was because of a song he
composed and recorded, called “The
constitution is constipated”, which
protested Cameroon President Paul
Biya’s manipulation of <strong>the</strong> country’s
constitution to entrench himself
in power for life. The MFWA’s alert
on <strong>the</strong> arrest and detention was
picked up by <strong>the</strong> Copenhagen-based
Freemuse, which defends musicians’
and composers’ rights. It led to an
international campaign in Europe,
North America and elsewhere. The
musician was released <strong>after</strong> serving
three <strong>years</strong> of a 20-year sentence
imposed by a slavish judiciary.
Obviously <strong>the</strong> alerts and <strong>the</strong> campaigns
generated from <strong>the</strong>m have
nei<strong>the</strong>r freed all victims of repression
nor stopped violations of free
expression rights in <strong>the</strong> region.
But <strong>the</strong>y have contributed to some
measure of deterrent and to knowledge
among officials in repressive
governments that <strong>the</strong>ir rights
violations are being monitored and
exposed to <strong>the</strong> world. They have
additionally become a source of
encouragement to journalists that
<strong>the</strong>re is a place to expect support in
times of trouble. It has made MFWA
a household name loa<strong>the</strong>d by officials
of repressive governments,
respected by media and civil society
rights advocates and encouraged
by intergovernmental and o<strong>the</strong>r international
rights and development
promotion organisations.
The alerts form a daily gauge of
trends and scale of <strong>the</strong> health
and status of media rights in <strong>the</strong>
Section 3: Independence
countries and <strong>the</strong> region. They are
also a pointer to developments in
<strong>the</strong> legal and policy environments
of media and free expression.
Within a year or two of <strong>the</strong> new
organisation’s operation, it became
necessary to initiate programmes
of media law and policy reform
and of legal defence for journalists
and media prosecuted under laws
that make <strong>the</strong>ir work and output
criminal offences.
Promoting media law and policy
reform in an environment
choked with archaic and repressive
legislation to protect authoritarian
rule, has obviously been more
than an uphill task. Through direct
initiatives and in collaboration with
o<strong>the</strong>rs, <strong>the</strong> MFWA has contributed
to <strong>the</strong> passage of a few national
laws enhancing media freedoms:
in Sierra Leone, Benin and Ghana.
It has taken up projects to promote
decriminalisation of free expression
elsewhere. It has been among <strong>the</strong>
most active groups in continental
coalitions to press for <strong>the</strong> passage
of right to information legislation.
Currently pending on <strong>the</strong> agenda
for <strong>the</strong> consideration of <strong>the</strong> next
summit (2011 or 2012) of Ecowas
heads of state is a MFWA proposal
for a regional act (protocol) that will
bind all states to a common legal
instrument on media freedom. The
proposal has passed <strong>the</strong> scrutiny of
<strong>the</strong> Council of Ministers which almost
endorsed <strong>the</strong> entire document – but
expunged two provisions calling for
total decriminalisation – and has
now recommended it for passage by
<strong>the</strong> heads of state. When enacted,
<strong>the</strong> act will serve as a standard for
West African states to reform <strong>the</strong>ir
legislation to expand and protect
<strong>the</strong> space for media freedom.
Governments have been generally
reluctant to reform inimical legislation
at home. Yet, <strong>the</strong>y have been
compelled by civil society pressures
Media in Africa - 2011 | 143