Tomorrow (2 September), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1230^th session focusing on the Protection of Journalists and Access to Information in Situations of Armed Conflicts in Africa.

The Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for the month of September 2024, Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, will deliver opening remarks followed by Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS). It is anticipated that Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to information in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will make a presentation alongside Omar Faruk Osman, President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) as well as Lydia Gachungi, UNESCO Regional Adviser on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists. A representative from the ICRC is also expected to make a statement.

As highlighted below, while there were sessions that raised aspects of the issues expected to feature during this session, this is the first time the PSC is considering this theme as framed for this session. This open session coincides with the 10^th anniversary of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI). As it’s to be recalled, in 2013, during its 70^th plenary meeting, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 68/163 in which it decided, on page 3, to, among other things, ‘…proclaim 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.’ In this regard, to commemorate this anniversary, the AU and UNESCO are jointly planning to hold a global conference in Addis Ababa from 6 – 7 November 2024 under the theme of ‘Safety of Journalists in Crises and Emergencies.’ 28 September 2024 on the other hand, will also mark the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) as decided during the 74^th UN General Assembly, in October 2019. During its commemoration in 2021, the AU reiterated its commitment to promote the right of access to information despite the challenges faced at all levels.

Within the framework of the AU, one of the entities that has carried out various initiatives for the protection of journalists and access to information is the Banjul-based AU’s human rights body, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). Consistent with AU’s strategic plan, Agenda 2063, specifically Aspiration 3 and 4 which speak of “An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law’’ and “A peaceful and secure Africa’’, respectively, and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission) during its 67^th Ordinary Session held from 13 November to 3 December 2020, adopted the ‘Resolution on the Safety of Journalists and Media Practitioners in Africa’. This resolution builds on the ACHPR’s Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa (the Declaration). This declaration provides a framework for African countries to follow as it contains establishments and principles for anchoring the rights to freedom of expression and access to information in conformity with Article 9 of the African Charter which guarantees individuals the right to receive information as well as the right to express and disseminate information. The Model Law on Access to Information, the ACHPR adopted in 2013, provides specific guidelines for African countries to fulfill their legal obligations under the African Charter regarding the right of access to information. Reports have further indicated that as of 2024, 29 African countries have adopted Access To Information (ATI) laws, while 26 others have yet to have the ATI law in Africa.

While journalists operating in conflict areas face inherent dangers, they are more vulnerable to direct violence as conflict parties seek to impose control on what is reported during conflicts. Thus, despite the provision of certain protection that is accorded to journalists under the international humanitarian law (IHL), such as immunity from military attacks and prisoner of war status for those accompanying armed forces, these protections are not always respected and journalists continue to face a wide range of threats, including censorship, harassment, arbitrary detention and even killings.

Recent reports indicate a rise in journalist killings in conflict-affected countries, reversing a previous trend of declining violence against media professionals. Although countries in conflict are not among the top countries with the worst records in the treatment of journalists as recorded in the Press Freedom Index in Africa 2022-2024, situations in which incidents of violence including the killing of journalists have been reported include the Sahel, Cameroon, DRC, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan among others. Incidents of attacks and violence on media practitioners and journalists have also been reported in recent protests staged in Kenya and Nigeria. In Somalia, in the course of 2023, a report from the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) documented numerous violent attacks, threats, and instances of persecution against media workers in the country. Somalia is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous places for journalists to work.

It is worth noting that women journalists and media practitioners face much higher levels of danger on account of the gendered nature of conflicts and crises. Apart from compounding the already small number of women media practitioners, such a gendered nature of attacks on women journalists has even greater adverse consequences in terms of giving voice to and capturing the disproportionately higher levels of dangers that women and girls are exposed to in conflict settings. In addition to these, the stigmatisation and stereotypical portrayal of women in conflict and crisis reporting, lack of women-owned media, underrepresentation of women in leadership roles, unethical reporting practices, and a failure to engage with survivors of violence, especially women and girls are more examples of challenges of journalism in the gender-inclusivity context. As it is to be recalled, the PSC during its 635^th meeting held on 20 October 2016, dedicated to the theme ‘The role of the media in enhancing accountability on women, peace and security commitments in Africa’, stressed the need for, among other things, ‘…media reporting to be context-sensitive, as well as to take into consideration existing gender and power relations.’ This was followed by the launch of the Network of Reporters on Women, Peace and Security jointly by the AU Commission and UN Women on 21 October 2016, an initiative to recognise media as a key partner in advancing the women, peace and security agenda.

Taking note of the growing challenges of misinformation and disinformation as well as hate speech in the context of new digital technologies and the acuteness of these challenges in crisis and conflict settings, the session will underscore the importance of the protection of journalists and factual reporting. In the same context, the session is expected to reflect on the positioning, status and treatment of new forms of media namely bloggers, vloggers, content creators, influencers and a myriad of new media actors in the collection, treatment and diffusion of information in crisis contexts and emergencies. In this context, on 4 August 2022, PSC’s 1097^th session dedicated under the theme of ‘Emerging Technologies and New Media: Impact on Democratic Governance, Peace and Security in Africa,’ highlighted ‘the need for the AU Commission to comprehensively and systematically address the immediate issues that arise from emerging technologies and new media, including the use of such emerging technologies and new media by actors engaged in terrorism and organised crime, the misuse of social media for propagation of hate, and the use of such technologies for surveillance, repression, censorship, online harassment and orchestrating cyber-attacks.’ Moreover, the session requested ‘the AU Commission in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to undertake a comprehensive study on Emerging Technologies and New Media: Impact on Democratic Governance, Peace and Security in Africa and the policy options available for harnessing the advantages and for effectively addressing the security threats associated with the use of these technologies and new media in Africa, based on available resources and to report back to Council.’

While there are six ‘Group of Friends for the Safety of Journalists’ globally, there is none in Africa. The six Group of Friends have been formed by permanent missions at the UN Secretariat in New York, UNESCO in Paris, OHCHR in Geneva, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg and the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington. As such, tomorrow’s session may serve as an opportunity for the establishment of the Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists in Africa, building on the Network of reporters on Women, Peace and Security launched in 2022 as noted above.

The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC may express concern over the plight of journalists and other media practitioners in active conflict situations. In this regard, it may stress the important role that the media can play as an agent of peace through factual and professional reporting. The PSC may commend the rich jurisprudence and elaboration of soft laws on freedom of expression, access to information and the protection of journalists by the ACHPR and urge AU member States to draw on and respect these soft laws and the decisions of the ACHPR. The PSC may further stress the need for member states to create an enabling environment for media including through the adoption and implementation of the law on access to information in accordance with the Model Law as a critical step for enabling journalists and media practitioners to play their role of informing the public and providing factual information critical to policy making including factual information and reporting critical to the planning, designing and implementation of initiatives for peace and for fighting misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, thereby contributing to the achievement of Agenda 2063 and the goal of silencing the guns in Africa by the year 2030. The PSC may also call on AU member states to further strengthen their legal frameworks, combat impunity against journalists and guarantee the safety and security of media personnel. It may also reiterate its 635^th session on the need for media reporting to be context-sensitive, as well as to take into consideration existing gender and power relations. PSC may also call for the adoption of targeted measures for the protection in particular of women journalists and media practitioners considering the disproportionately higher level of risk facing women media practitioners and their small number. The PSC may also call for the formation of a ‘Group of Friends for the Safety of Journalists in Africa’ similar to other continents, with the objective of enhancing multilateral cooperation, preventing violence, protecting journalists at risk, prosecuting perpetrators and creating a safe environment for media workers. The PSC may also call on all member states, which have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention).