As if to answer my November article that Africa needs harmonised media and communications policies, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights took a significant step by passing a Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa. Article 19 needs to be commended for sponsoring the declaration, one of the strongest ever to be passed by an African institution.
The adoption of the declaration by the African Union and NEPAD should ensure that it becomes the benchmark by which Africans measure the extent of freedom of expression and the media in their countries. Importantly, countries in violation of its provisions could be brought before the commission. Moreover, as soon as the African Court of Justice and the Africa Parliament are up and running, it stands to reason that countries with constitutions, media policies and regulations that are inconsistent with the declaration would have to begin a process of compliance.
Of critical importance is that the declaration explicitly covers freedom of information and the media in articles I and IV. It calls for a revision of tough defamation and privacy laws, which inhibit freedom of expression and give excessive protection to public figures who “should be required to tolerate a greater degree of criticism.” It further calls for a balance in criminal restrictions and national security legislation between freedom of expression and legitimate national interests.
The declaration’s promotion of diversity, which encompasses access for marginalised voices (including women, children and refugees) and the use of local languages in media and public institutions, articulates the vision of an African communications landscape characterised by a free and pluralistic media.
Linked to the vision of a diverse media environment is the declaration’s realisation of the importance of broadcasting in all its forms public, private and community as laid out in articles V and VI. The declaration marks a revolutionary departure from Africa’s past by recognising private broadcasting. Together with the recognition of community broadcasting, this has the potential to liberalise the airwaves. Although the declaration recognises the importance of public service broadcasting in an African context, it lays out the institutional arrangements necessary to prevent genuine public broadcasters becoming dominant and monopolistic state broadcasters (see article VI).
It is no exaggeration to say that none of the so-called public broadcasters in Africa, including the South African Broadcasting Corporation, fulfill the conditions of article VI. Armed with this declaration, public broadcasters and civil society could now embark on a programme of broadcasting reform.
In relation to regulatory frameworks, the declaration emphasises the importance of regulators that are independent from political and economic interests, well resourced, and accountable to democratic representative institutions. Developing a diverse, free and independent media is impossible without credible regulation.
But perhaps the greatest value of the declaration is that it recognises the broader economic context within which the media exists. In article XIV, the commercial nature of media is affirmed.
The economic context is important not only to producers (media owners and workers who are dependent on media for a living) but also to the public (who require rich sources of alternative information in order to participate in effective citizenship).
In my view, the declaration has far-reaching implications for African citizens because by protecting voices and the channels through which voices are heard it lays the foundation for full cooperation in the political and socio-economic rebuilding of Africa in the 21st Century.