African Anti-corruption Day: AFRICMIL urges FG on laws to protect whistleblowers - ITREALMS

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The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has called on the Nigerian and other African governments that have yet to enact whistleblower protection laws to take urgent steps to do so to encourage their citizens to expose corrupt acts and other illegalities hampering good governance and accountability in the continent.

In a press statement to commemorate the 2024 African Anti-Corruption Day, Dr. Chido Onumah, Coordinator of AFRICMIL, said, “We find it most disappointing that so far only about 10 countries including Ghana and South Africa, out of the 54 countries in Africa, have put in place initiatives such as legislations to promote whistleblowing.”

PIN welcomes DRC's adoption of digital rights laws - ITREALMS

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The Paradigm Initiative (PIN) has welcomed the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) adoption of various regulatory laws relating to digital rights, reports ITREALMS.

These, ITREALMS gathered, include the Ordinance-Law N•23/008 of March 10 2023, authorising the ratification by the DRC of the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention), Ordinance-Law N•23/010 of March 13 on the Digital Code in the DRC, which addresses cyber security as well as the adoption at the National Assembly level of Law No. 23/009 of March 13 2023, laying down the modalities for exercising freedom of the press, freedom of information and broadcasting by radio and television, written press or any communication medium in the DRC.

Establishing Rules and Laws for Effective Implementation of Local Content Promotion Policy in Telecoms Sector - ITREALMS

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ESTABLISHING RULES AND LAWS FOR THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL CONTENT PROMOTION POLICY IN THE NATIONAL TELECOMS SECTOR. AN ADDRESS BY PROF. UMAR GARBA DANBATTA, THE EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (NCC) FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021 VIRTUALLY.

Prof. Umar Danbatta of EVC.

Protocol

The Nigerian Communications Commission is pleased to collaborate with Messrs. Business Metrics and their partners to deliver this great maiden initiative of its Policy Implementation Assisted Forum on the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector (aka PIAFo-001).

Paradigm Initiative blames African govts over use of laws stifling internet freedom - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Paradigm Initiative has blamed African governments for using laws to stifle Internet freedom, reports ITREALMS.

In the 2018 edition of the Digital Rights in Africa report by Paradigm Initiative released at the Internet Governance Forum in Paris on Tuesday, November 13, the organisation accused many African governments of rolling out legislation and policies which enforce privacy violations, infringements to freedom of expression, access restrictions and hurt other digital rights, a report has revealed. 

ITREALMS reports that the report entitled “Legislating Restriction: How African Governments Use Restrictive Laws,” is the third edition of the Digital Rights in Africa.

According to ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, “The 2016 and 2017 editions focused on Internet Shutdowns and Citizens fightback against digital rights abuses. The 2018 edition focuses on how governments across Africa have transitioned from solely brutal tactics of arrests, Internet and social media app disruptions, and imprisonment to more refined, subtle and apparently “legal’’ approaches - or those that supposedly respect the “rule of law’’ - in stifling digital rights in Africa.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania and beyond, governments have begun to roll out legislation and policies which enforce privacy violations, infringements to freedom of expression, access restrictions and hurt other digital rights.

Director of Programmes of Paradigm Initiative, Tope Ogundipe, “Our 2018 Digital Rights in Africa Report takes a look at this trend across Africa and discusses the way forward for civil society as we continue in the fight for digital rights and freedoms on the continent”.

This report highlights 8 countries across North, East, West and Central Africa where critical developments in the legal or policy space have conspired to hurt digital rights. These countries are Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and Benin. Others are Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 48-page report is published in English and French and is available for free download on the Paradigm Initiative’s website.

The report also bemoans the role certain actions of China, Russia and the United States have impacted on rights in other rights in African countries.

According to the report, “The surprise withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council is another stark symptom of the strange times we are in... Beyond the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United States has lost some of its moral authority as an arbiter and defender of global human rights as a result of happenings within its own borders. These developments have emboldened hitherto repressive, but hesitant, state actors into acts that brazenly attempt to restrict human rights online and offline.”

“The increasing influence of China and Russia in global affairs is definitely changing perceptions about the thresholds of what is acceptable or not in human rights standards. Even more so, it would seem many African countries have begun to borrow a leaf from repressive foreign governments’ playbooks for violating digital rights,” the report continued.

The report also laments the slow passage of laws with the potential to uphold digital rights, noting that, “Interestingly, as states across the continent rush towards the passage of legislation which violate digital rights, simultaneously, they have either refused to implement calls for the enactment of legislation which protect digital rights or have introduced delays in the passage of such laws and policies. For instance, there are only 23 countries with data protection legislation in effect on the continent, whereas data protection has become a crucial foundation for life in our digital age and the successful working of the digital economy.”

Nenye Dom/GEE

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World Press Freedom Day 2017: African editors wants media freedom restriction laws abolished

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The African Editors Forum (TAEF) has reiterated calls to heads of states and governments to, as a matter of urgency, to abolish all laws that restrict media freedom, reports ITRealms.

Chairperson, African Editors Forum, Jovial Rantao, in a press statement made available to ITRealms, also called on African states to recognize the indivisibility of press freedom and their responsibility to respect their commitments to African and international protocols upholding the freedom, independence and safety of the press.

“On this day, our thoughts go out to the many journalists and editors who are languishing in jails across the continent, simply for doing their work. One of these is Ahmed Abba, a journalist in Cameroon who was tried in a military court and handed a 10 year sentence with a hefty fine. Seven other journalists in Cameroon are on trial,” Rantao said.

She also said, TAEF is seriously concerned about the deteriorating state of media freedom and strongly deplores the intimidation, by the government of Zambia, of journalists and editors. Three journalists have appeared in court, charged with spurious crimes - all in an effort to intimidate them and dissuade them from telling the truth fairly and honestly.

TAEF, according to Rantao, remains worried about media freedom violations which are taking a growing toll on African journalists.

“We are concerned about the deterioration of media freedom in  South Sudan, Republic of Congo, Uganda, Djibouti, Burundi Nigeria, Mali and Eritrea,” she said.

Further, TAEF urged African governments to recommit themselves to the Windhoek Declaration and the Declaration of Table Mountain.

“Both declarations condemned, in the strongest terms, all forms of repression of African media that allows for banning of newspapers and the use of other devices such as levying import duties on newsprint and printing material as well as withholding government advertising,” she lamented.

TAEF emphasized that African governments should release jailed journalists for their professional activities immediately and allow journalists who have been forced into exile to return to their countries.

African states must promote the highest standards of press freedom in furtherance of the principles proclaimed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other protocols and to provide constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press.

Uj. Dominic/GEE

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