African Media Lawyers Network launched at conference in Ghana

African Media Lawyers Network launched at conference in Ghana

The third Africa Media Congress, held from 15 to 17 May 2024 in Accra, Ghana, concluded with a major milestone in its closing ceremony attended by hundreds of delegates from Africa and the global community: the official launch of the African Media Lawyers Network (AMLN), the first continental network with a mission to protect freedom of expression and press freedom in Africa.
The lawyers’ network was officially launched by Dr Rita Bisnoth, Director of the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Liaison Office in Addis Ababa, and Ms Sarah Peters of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU).

Speaking at the launch, Dr Visnout said:
“After much hard work, extensive consultations and agreements with stakeholders led by the Pan African Lawyers Union and the African Congress of Journalists, I am pleased to launch the African Media Lawyers Network today. We want to leverage the African Media Lawyers Network while focusing on the safety needs and requirements of journalists. As UNESCO, we are here to support at national, regional and local levels.”

The year 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists, and numerous consultations have been held across the continent to review achievements, gaps and ways of improvement regarding the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity in Africa, she added.

“Freedom of expression and safety of journalists are declining in Africa. Unfortunately, journalists are still under attack and face many challenges. That is why we have agreed to establish the African Media Lawyers Network as a major step towards addressing these challenges,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, Sarah Peters added:
“We are happy to be here to launch the first African Media Lawyers Network operating at the continental level. This network aims to bring together legal professionals, media practitioners and institutions to strengthen the quality and capacity of media-related litigation activities, both preventive and protective. Let’s make this network effective and achieve great results.”

Commenting on the launch, CAJ President Chris Isiguzo said: “We are pleased to officially launch the African Media Lawyers Network, led by PALU, CAJ and UNESCO. This is a major step towards addressing the issue of impunity for journalists witnessed through arbitrary arrests, detentions and malicious prosecutions. We are assembling a team of lawyers under this network to be able to respond swiftly when journalists face such issues across Africa.”

Ahead of the announcement, the partners also hosted a workshop on the sidelines of the Convention entitled “Advocating for the Media: Media Litigation, Advocacy and Freedom”, bringing together journalists, lawyers, freedom of expression advocates and other stakeholders.
The workshop invited a panel of experts, including lawyers, journalists and civil society organisations, to discuss the role of media lawyers networks in improving the media space in AU Member States, strengthening collaboration between lawyers and the media in AU Member States, and sharing good practices by continental, regional and national lawyers’ networks.

The establishment of the AMLN, the first ever continent-wide Media Lawyers Network, aims to support journalists and media companies in protecting and promoting press freedom, providing legal expertise and advocating for a legal environment conducive to independent and accountable journalism in AU Member States. The project is funded by UNESCO/IPDC.

Through its team of empowered lawyers, AMLN will lead a coordinated response to emerging threats and harassment against journalists and provide necessary legal assistance, including reviewing media laws and policies.

The AMLN will foster greater collaboration and knowledge sharing among legal practitioners, media partners and stakeholders to enable faster progress in protecting journalists and promoting press freedom on the continent.

Currently hosted by PALU in Arusha, Tanzania, the AMLN will bring together teams of lawyers from across the continent to develop an action plan to rapidly respond to cases of journalists facing prosecution, as well as lead research and reform efforts on repressive laws in AU member states.

From PRNigeria