The Digital Platform brings new momentum in continental collaboration against impunity

UNESCO: What do you think have been the main achievements of the last 10 years to protect journalists and end impunity in Africa? What have been the challenges and opportunities?

Louis Thomasi: In my opinion, there has been a development of legal frameworks to guarantee freedom of expression, media freedom, access to information and the safety of journalists. The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, which was adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2019, is a significant achievement in this regard because it has given journalists and media organizations the conviction that they have a role to play in enhancing democracy, good governance and the rule of law. It was probably the first time that a document on human rights coming from the African Union (AU) called on governments to guarantee the safety of journalists and media workers as well as to take measures to prevent attacks on journalists.

I would also like to highlight some major legal achievements in relation to the murders of two prominent journalists in Africa: Norbert Zongo, murdered in 1998 in Burkina Faso and Deyda Hydara, assassinated in The Gambia in 2004. In the first case, the ruling of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights in 2014 stated important issues: that the failure of a government to diligently seek and bring to account the person responsible for the assassination of a journalist intimidates the media; that this has a chilling effect on freedom of expression; and that it violates the rights of journalists, and it endangers the truth. Concerning Hydara’s murder, the case was taken to the Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of the African Journalists (FAJ) in collaboration with the family of Hydara. The ECOWAS Court ruled in June 2014 that the government of The Gambia did not investigate the crime, allowed impunity, and violated the right to freedom of expression.

Both rulings can be considered landmark developments in the fight against crimes committed against journalists because they have highlighted the responsibility of governments not only to protect journalists, but also to end impunity and guarantee the rights with regards to freedom of expression.

Finally, I would say that the UN Plan of Action is without doubt one of the most interesting or outstanding documents on the safety of journalists in the past 10 years, and that it has been a strong mobilizing force in the battle against impunity in Africa. It has brought to light that this fight should not be left in the hands of journalists alone but should instead be in the hands of all sectors of civil society (including associations), governments and other State bodies. They should all play a role in this fight.

UNESCO: Why are monitoring and reporting mechanisms like the continental platform so important in Africa, and to what extent can they contribute to ensuring the safety of journalists and to ending impunity for crimes against them?

L.T.: The reporting and monitoring mechanisms are aimed at holding governments and other non-state actors accountable for their recklessness, I would say, in perpetrating violence against journalists. I use this term because in Africa, many governments have been indirectly involved in most of the crimes committed against journalists. Collecting data about these attacks obliges governments to follow the numerous international conventions that aim to guarantee the protection of journalists. Such initiatives are also meaningful for non-state actors, most of whom are influenced by governments and have lost interest in making any meaningful, independent and impartial investigation to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.

The Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa is an example of this type of initiative. It has created an opportunity, probably for the first time, for some of the biggest media organizations on the continent to work together as a continental body in the fight against impunity, something that had been lacking in the past.

Our intention with this Platform is to take the documentation work to a higher level. Most media organizations document violations of the rights of journalists, but don’t take any further action with regards to these alerts. In the case of the Digital Platform, we want to challenge some of these violations in a competent court of law, at the regional or even at the national level. This way, we will put an end to all fears related to the lack of availability of information on attacks against journalists.

UNESCO: What innovations does the Digital Platform for the Safety of Journalists in Africa introduce in the prevention, monitoring and processing of attacks against journalists in Africa? What can be done to strengthen the platform? How is used as a clearinghouse for different partners who are compiling reports on violations?

L.T.: The power of the digital platform lies in the fact that it has been able to bring together some of the biggest media organizations on the continent, alongside UNESCO and other UN bodies, and African Union (AU) bodies.

Together, we call not only on media organizations, but also on other prominent stakeholders in the defense of human rights and journalists´ rights, like associations and governments, to guarantee the safety of journalists and to end impunity for crimes committed against them. This requires a multi-stakeholder approach.

We need every media organization that works on media freedom and the protection of journalists’ rights to join this platform in order to enhance its strength. And there is a need to coordinate between all these organizations and to synergize to develop strategies on how we can improve, compile and verify reports on violations of journalists’ rights so that we all speak together with one voice at the level of the continent.

UNESCO: How has the UN Plan of Action helped in establishing protection mechanisms, and in what other ways has it helped to establish the issues of the protection of press freedom and of journalists as priorities for African governments?

L.T.: The UN Plan of Action is one of the most comprehensive documents with regards to the issues of crimes against journalists and the need to end impunity.

If you look at the document, it has actually outlined that governments have a responsibility to protect journalists and to create a conducive environment for the media to flourish. This is very important because some of the issues that the UN Plan of Action highlights have also been raised in the rulings of the murder of Norbert Zongo by the African Court, and in the case of Deyda Haydara, against the government of The Gambia. These are essential indicators that the Plan has created some hope that something can be done at all levels, but specifically by governments, by fulfilling their obligations in protecting press freedom in the interest of democracy, governance and the rule of law.

UNESCO: Based on the pan-African cooperation that this platform has, what kind of coalition, and involving which stakeholders, would you recommend implementing it across the continent? What role would you recommend other international partners play, besides funding?

L.T.: The recommendation I would give with regard to international partners for the protection of media rights would be to help the Platform’s upscale in the form of trainings. In each of the five regions across Africa (which are North, South, East, West and Central Africa), we have identified coordinators that would coordinate the work of the platform in these regions. We would also have focal points, probably in every country we operate in, to be able to monitor and report on violations of freedom of expression. Then, with the administration of the platform website, we need some form of support on the categorization and analysis of data, as well as to develop a database for the platform.

Director of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the African Digital Platform on Promoting Journalism and the Safety of Journalists.