Article 19: East Africa Newsletter, November 2009

After setting up an Nairobi office in early 2008, Article 19 now issued the first newsletter of a monthly newsletter series on media developments and frreedom of expression in East Africa.

This month has certainly been busy for the staff at A19 in Nairobi, Kenya. At the forefront of the month’s agenda has been the implementation of The Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act1. Where does A19 come in? Well, in Kenya there are between four and six dominant media groups which hold most of the broadcast frequencies and radio stations posing a threat to the plurality and diversity of Kenyan voices and opinions heard over our airwaves. The Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act aims at tackling this problem as well as the issue of lack of regulation of the ICT sector.

Stakeholders were upon release of the draft regulations invited to make submissions by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and the Ministry of Information and Communications. A19 contributed resources towards the Kenya-ICT Consumers Conference that brought together actors in the human rights, ICT and media sectors to discuss the draft regulations. A19 submitted recommendations on the draft Broadcasting Regulations which are intended to govern the CCK’s exercise of licensing powers and regulation of content. We also made submissions on the draft Radio Communications and Frequency Spectrum Regulations which deal with the issuance of radio licences and frequencies. A19 found the rules to be lacking in democratic grounding and in need of significant amendments. The rules regarding CCK controlled media content for instance are of great concern and are a significant infringement on Freedom of Expression space in this sector, as are many of the other rules. The battle is however far from over for us at A19 East Africa, and we continue to pursue the necessary amendments.

A19 early this month submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of the Universal Periodic Review. In this report, we expressed our concern on the lack of application of Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Information principles in the Kenyan Constitution. The submission called attention to the issue that there is no coherent media law in Kenya complying with international standards for freedom of expression amongst a number of other concerns.

Meanwhile in Sudan, in a gesture of solidarity with long time partners Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED), A19 this month issued a statement in support of their application to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). For those of you not ‘in the know’, Amir Suliman and his colleagues Osman Hummeida and Monim Elgak are seeking justice for their unlawful detention and ill-treatment on 24th November 2008. Their treatment was ostensibly due their work in the human rights movement in Sudan, and their cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor. A19 lauds their move to seek justice and condemns the actions of the National Intelligence and Security Services in Sudan last November.

This month also brought the launch of our state-by-state media assessment of the difficulties and issues faced by the Sudanese media. Aptly titled Mapping the Void, the work addresses the practical as well as legislative situation for journalism in the country. The assessment pointed out the dire conditions in which journalists are expected to work. This includes having to work with sub-standard or outdated equipment from as far back as the 1970’s, and not being paid for extended periods of time.

Our legal team also released an analysis of the draft Rwandan Law on Access to Information. A19 emphasised in the analysis that there is need for some changes to prevent any undermining of the law. Some of the suggestions we proposed included extending protection for whistleblowers and minimising costs under the fee regime for applicants seeking information.

On a less sombre note, A19 is excited to be continuing its work with The Hewlett Foundation in a project that will produce two studies (one in Kenya and one in Nigeria), on the links between Right to Information and the realisation of health care rights. The research component of this Access to Information project (now in its second year) started this month. We aim to inform national campaigns in Kenya and further afield in Nigeria through this work. We also hope to see the research and legal analysis elicit more effective response to Right to Information requests as well as encourage a greater sense of obligation to provide information amongst government officials in the health care sector.

Look out for our December Newsletter coming soon!

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Source: received via email on 11.12.2009; for further information please visit http://www.article19.org