AMDISS urges the government to uphold media freedom, open civic space, and ensure the safety and protection of journalists
AMDISS urges the government to uphold media freedom, open civic space, and ensure the safety and protection of journalists
Yesterday, the AMDISS team met with Hon. Michael Makuei Lueth, Minister of Information, Communication, Technology, and Postal Services in his office.
During the meeting, AMDISS briefed the minister on the issues affecting media freedom in South Sudan, such as the continued removal of articles from the newspapers, harassment of journalists, heavy fines imposed on the media houses, and confiscation of media gadgets among others.
“Hon. Minister, seeing newspapers circulating with blank spaces is not good for the country. It demonstrates the extent of media censorship and this tarnishes the image of the country. There are better ways to address media issues rather than deleting articles already passed by editors who are supposed to be the final people as far as media is concerned,” said AMDISS’ Director, Ms. Ayaa Irene Lokang.
On his part, Mr. Chuol Jany, the Deputy Secretary of AMDISS expressed concern over the safety of journalists, saying “In Juba, it is hard for journalists to interview people on the streets. If you are seen with a camera on the street, you are arrested.”
“This is not good. Just a few weeks ago, a journalist working for CGTN had his documents confiscated simply because he was capturing video footage on the street. This is very wrong,” he lamented.
Chuol pled to the government to remove restrictions imposed by the security apparatus on the media, appealing to the government to instead give a chance for media pluralism, and cooperate with the media to bridge the information gaps in the country.
AMDISS also briefed the minister on its commitment to continue training journalists through the Media Development Institute, an institute whose objective is to professionalize the media in the country.
The minister in his response, acknowledged the positive role of the media and the effort by AMDISS in training journalists and advocating for a vibrant media in South Sudan. However, cautioned journalists against publishing negative stories that incite violence and cause divisions in the community.
“We all know the importance of media in our country. But the media should be professional. The media should not be used to incite violence. The work of the government is to see that the media is used responsibly and professionally, but if you target an individual’s personality, then you would be taken to the court,” Makuei warned.
Minister Michael Makuei acknowledged the fact that there is a lack of understanding between the media and the security and he said the government will organize a workshop that will bring together journalists and the security sector to dialogue and find a way to mend their relationship.
AMDISS and Minister Michael Makuei used the opportunity to exchange ideas on media freedom, the safety of journalists, and creating a suitable environment for the media to start
The meeting was part of AMDISS’ media campaign initiative to advocate for a conducive environment for media and journalists to operate freely without censorship and fear of intimidation, arrest, and confiscation of media gadgets at a time the country prepares for its first-ever general elections in December this year.
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ADMISS MEDIA / PUBLICATION
PRESS RELEASE
AMDISS conducted a review workshop for Judges on enhancing a deeper understanding of the South Sudan Media Laws
March 29, 2022, Juba—AMDISS conducted a follow-up workshop for Judges to review the recommendations gathered from the past workshops conducted in 2021 and reflect more on how the media laws could be used to attain accountable and responsible media in the country.
The Executive Director of AMDISS Mr. Michael Duku Aggrey said the workshop offers an opportunity for Judges to brainstorm on the interpretation of the media laws to help in safeguarding the work of journalists and media houses to operate ethically for the public good. He urged the judges to adjudicate the media offenses using the Media Authority Act 2013 to guarantee the safety of journalists in the country.
He disclosed that AMDISS through its training wing-Media Development Institute (MDI)-embedded media law and ethics as one of its courses in the one-year program as a way to equip journalists for professional media work after graduation.
“Last year, the Judges also recommended training of the media laws to the constitutional post-holders, security organs, and legislators. AMDISS as an advocacy organization has a mandate if resources permit to do this training at various levels. On Thursday 31 March, we are going to have another workshop with members of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly where we shall talk about media laws. The Parliamentarians are the right people to make the laws and so if there are gaps in this discussion, it could be brought forward to engage with them. So, our advocacy is across the three organs of the government,” Duku stated.
The Secretary of the Board of AMDISS Ms. Josephine Achiro encouraged the Judges to share ideas on the need to establish a specialized court to try media-related offenses in the country. so that the Media Laws of the South find an appropriate avenue for its application just like other considerations accorded to the establishment of a special court on gender-based violence.
“Forum as this offers an opportunity for judges to discuss issues relating to media laws and other challenges affecting the freedom of expression in our country. There are cases where journalists are arrested and another one kidnapped by unknown people weeks ago. This specialized court will help in addressing such cases. The issue of defamation will be adjudicated in this specialized court as a civil wrong, not a criminal one. As AMDISS, we are happy to engage with the judiciary to strengthen the democracy in South Sudan,” Francis said.
Tom Carter, a British Embassy spokesperson in Juba reaffirmed his country’s readiness to continue supporting the national organizations working to promote freedom of expression in South Sudan.
Carter acknowledged the role of media in educating and disseminating accurate information of public interest, urging the judges to work hard in protecting human rights in South Sudan.
Justice Bol Lul Wang affirmed that some of the Judges did not get an opportunity to look through the media laws and therefore this opportunity is handy to look critically at some of the contradicting sections and interpreted it correctly.
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AMDISS MEDIA / NEWS AND EVENTS
AMDISS trains judges on media laws, protection of journalists
AMDISS—26 May 2021, Juba
The Association for Media Development in South Sudan [AMDISS] in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] organized a two-day workshop for judges on enhancing the understanding of media laws and freedom of expression at AMDISS premises on Tuesday [26 May 2021].
Speaking during the opening session, the UNESCO Country Representative, Julius Banda said that freedom of expression is a driver of all sustainable development goals.
Mr. Julius Banda stressed the importance of upholding the freedom of expression and safety of journalists to fast-track the implementation of developmental projects in South Sudan.
“We believe that if a society is free; if people are free to express their views without fear of prosecution if the media is independent, free and journalists act freely without any sort of censorship or fear from prosecution, the society will be able to come to a consensus on the issues of development in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, accountability, and rule of law. If people are able to express their views in all these areas, you’re creating an enabling environment for sustainable development,” Banda said.
He disclosed that UNESCO was working very hard with many development actors to promote Article-19 and all the rights attached to it.
The universal declaration of human rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Julius Banda disclosed that UNESCO’s global approach is to build alliances with the other arms of the government in promoting the freedom of expression and the alliance that it will build with the judiciary to safeguard the media practitioners from rights violators.
“The judges hold in their hands the power to enforce the law and therefore, we believe we need to have this direct conversation that we are continuing to have on implications of defending these rights,” he added.
According to Julius Banda, one of the areas that need improvement in the media laws of South Sudan is the area of defamation. He stressed that the defamation case should be a civil matter to safeguard journalists from rights violators.
“We believe according to the international standards that defamation should not be under the criminal law but it should be part of the civil matters because we believe that the government should not be policing what people say or do to each other but rather if someone is offended and if there is indeed a case, it should go under court as a civil matter. This is the best practice that we see from the international standard and that is what we are discussing with the media authority and with the ministry of justice,” he said.
As the country is transitioning to a permanent constitution, a process that was launched yesterday [May 25, 2021] by the head of state, Mr. Julius Banda hopes that the freedom of expression will continue to be enshrined in the new constitution.
He also expressed a hopeful note that the bill of rights will remain as a constitutional matter and as the country goes into the next constitution; the right to education and all the other rights will be protected by the supreme constitution of the Republic of South Sudan.
He hinted that UNESCO considers the media to be the fourth estate of government and that the constitutional process would be looking at the balance of power between the three main arms of the government; the executive, the parliament, and the judiciary.
“We hope that the judiciary would be independent as the international standard requires but also we hope to see the independence of the judiciary is being maintained in the constitution,” he further added.
He said UNESCO looks to the judiciary as an ally to enforce the laws to protect the rights of journalists especially when it comes to their safety.
“The freedom of expression is a constitutional right; it is part of the international declaration of human rights and therefore, it is an important right that needs to be protected. We take a multi-stakeholder approach in tackling issues of freedom of expression, press freedom, and safety of journalists because there are many actors,” he said.
On his part, the President of the Court of Appeal for Greater Equatoria Circuit, Justice Stephen Simon appealed to the newly appointed lawmakers to exert their efforts in formulating laws that promote the virtue of justice, peace, and equality in the country.
Justice Simon acknowledged the role of media in educating and sensitizing the people of South Sudan on matters of public interest.
“For us in the judiciary, we are mandated to see the cases when people have disputes. This is our duty. Education of our people on the issues of public interest is a key thing for South Sudan to come out from the anarchy we are in. Here, the media plays a very central role in educating and sensitizing our people. I would like to thank AMDISS for facilitating this workshop. If there is a chance for educating judges, we are ready,” Justice Simon said.
The Executive Director of AMDISS, Mr. Michael Duku Aggrey advised the judges to familiarize themselves with the media laws and use the laws as a reference to the cases involving the journalists to avoid criminalization of journalists.
Michael Duku extended his appreciation to Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut and Justice Benjamin Baak Deng, the director for training and research at the Supreme Court for allowing twenty judges to participate in the follow-up workshop on enhancing understanding of the media laws and freedom of expression to improve the image of the country.
“Issues to do with media crimes and prosecution have been happening in this country. The media laws were signed in 2013 and up to now, there are a lot of media violations happening in the media sector and we need to work together to address this matter. We have very good laws in the country but the implementation of these laws is lacking. We need the judges to help us in the interpretation of the media laws,” Duku said.
Speaking on the same occasion, the Interim Chairperson of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan, Mr. Oliver Modi appealed to the judges to help in the protection of journalists through the application of media laws.
Oliver Modi asked the judiciary to recognize the media as the fourth arm of governance in the country.
“Media played a commendable role during and after the liberation struggle. I would like to register my appeal to the parliament to endorse the media as the fourth arm of the governance to accelerate development and nation-building,” he said.