Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

itself was considering <strong>the</strong> development
of a <strong>Declaration</strong> of Principles
on Freedom of Expression (DPFEA).
According to MISA, <strong>the</strong> DPFEA,
eventually adopted on 23 October
2002 “was largely inspired by <strong>the</strong>
groundbreaking <strong>Windhoek</strong> <strong>Declaration</strong>
on Promoting an Independent
and Pluralistic African Press (1991)
and <strong>the</strong> African Charter on Broadcasting
(2001)”. Although <strong>the</strong> DP-
FEA does not make direct reference
to <strong>the</strong> ACB, <strong>the</strong> core elements on
broadcasting are very similar and in
<strong>the</strong> sections on regulation of broadcasting
and <strong>the</strong> role of <strong>the</strong> public
service broadcaster, significant parts
of <strong>the</strong> text are identical.
The World Summit on <strong>the</strong> Information
Society (WSIS) provided
a fur<strong>the</strong>r important forum in
which to lobby for <strong>the</strong> recognition
of <strong>the</strong> ACB. African civil society
organisations sought to assert it
as an African position in <strong>the</strong> WSIS
context. The WSIS Africa Regional
Conference, held in Bamako in 2002,
was attended by representatives
from 51 African countries as well
as delegates from o<strong>the</strong>r countries
In 2010, Panos Institute West Africa
commissioned a comparative study
of <strong>the</strong> impact of <strong>the</strong> African Charter
on Broadcasting (ACB) in five
countries of West Africa — Ghana,
Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal
— with particular attention to <strong>the</strong>
emergence of a three tier model
of public, private and community
broadcasting.
The research found that <strong>the</strong> ACB has
and from African and global
organisations, <strong>the</strong> private sector
and civil society.
The Bamako <strong>Declaration</strong> , adopted
<strong>the</strong>re requested African States,
to “adopt <strong>the</strong> ‘African Charter’ on
radio broadcasting as a framework
for <strong>the</strong> development of policies and
legislations regarding information
technologies and broadcasting in
Africa.” Through this declaration,
Section 3: Independence
<strong>the</strong> ACB gained <strong>the</strong> endorsement
of African governments. It secured
fur<strong>the</strong>r intergovernmental support
following <strong>the</strong> UNESCO World
Press Freedom Day conference of
2005, held in Senegal. The Dakar
<strong>Declaration</strong> on Media and Good
Governance “reaffirmed” <strong>the</strong> ACB,
noting that this document “extended
<strong>the</strong> principles of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Declaration</strong> of
<strong>Windhoek</strong> into calls for practical
action”. The Dakar <strong>Declaration</strong> was
endorsed by <strong>the</strong> Member States of
UNESCO at its General Conference
on 20 October 2005 .
In addition to <strong>the</strong>se endorsements
by intergovernmental bodies, numerous
civil society fora have endorsed
<strong>the</strong> ACB since its adoption
in 2001. In March 2010 <strong>the</strong> AUC-EC
Joint Informal Expert Meeting on
Media and Development (GFMD,
2010) cited <strong>the</strong> ACB as one of three
standard-setting African texts on
media development. Such statements
are indicative of <strong>the</strong> continuing
currency of <strong>the</strong> ACB in civil
society advocacy, particularly at international
level.
How West Africa scores broadcast
independence
By Steve Buckley
“The [1991]
declaration focused
primarily on <strong>the</strong>
promotion of <strong>the</strong>
print media and
was silent on issues
such as broadcasting
liberalisation and
<strong>the</strong> globalisation of
<strong>the</strong> communications
industry.”
achieved significant recognition at
<strong>the</strong> African and international level,
and that its recommendations are
also broadly accepted as normative
standards for media freedom and
media development. But at <strong>the</strong>
country level, <strong>the</strong> picture was
somewhat different.
Among <strong>the</strong> countries surveyed,
awareness and perceived impact
of <strong>the</strong> ACB was ra<strong>the</strong>r uneven.
Awareness was highest in Nigeria
where <strong>the</strong> Charter has been endorsed
by <strong>the</strong> National Broadcasting
Commission as a definitional basis
for community broadcasting and
where it is frequently referenced in
advocacy briefings and declarations.
Impact was perceived as greatest
in Mali, which offers <strong>the</strong> most
open environment for private
and community broadcasting. In
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