MEDIA rights watchdogs in the Southern African Development community (Sadc) region are developing strategies to come up with resilient media systems in the region which is being affected by shrinking democratic space.
The region’s media is said to be under siege, with Zimbabwe currently crafting the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) Amendment Bill, which will likely affect media freedom and freedom of expression ahead of the 2023 general elections.
In resolutions that came out yesterday from a Solidarity Spaces meeting held last week in South Africa and hosted by Misa on the way forward in pursuit of promotion and defence of freedom of expression, media watchdogs resolved that everyone had the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Sadc media watchdogs also resolved that the media had a right to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.
“Troubled by the seeming regional consensus to enact laws that promote the surveillance of citizens online; we, therefore, commit to work together in solidarity to support, develop and strengthen resilient media systems in southern Africa,” the report read.
“We commit to develop a new support mechanism for collaborative campaign work on the basis of the Spaces of Solidarity meeting to highlight attacks on free speech and media freedom, including using key anniversary dates like World Press Freedom Day.”
They said effective steps should be taken to analyse trends on media freedom in the region, identify emerging issues, and build coalitions of campaigners around threats on media freedoms.
The watchdogs said they wanted a platform to advocate for improved safety of journalists, expansion of civil space and enhanced cyber security.
“We commit to reaffirm the importance of access to information laws as enabling legislation from which other rights may be enjoyed and support like-minded organisations in advocacy for access to information, safety of journalists, digital rights, and an improved civil society space as well as undertake monitoring, advocacy, research, policy development, awareness raising on access to information legislation, cybersecurity, digital rights and the safety of journalists,” they said.
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