News
Regional Conference on Information and Communication Rights in Africa Hosted in Windhoek
The Conference on Information and Communication Rights in Africa, co-hosted by fesmedia Africa and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in the African Commission on Human and Peoples鈥 Rights (ACHPR), in partnership with UNESCO Windhoek Office and the Namibia Media Trust (NMT) focused on the major challenges affecting Access to information, Freedom of Expression, the media, and digital rights in Africa.
The Regional Conference, which took place from 31 May to 2 June 2023 in Windhoek, brought together over 60 access to information (ATI), digital rights and human rights activists, media workers and support actors from across Africa to craft a forward-looking roadmap and build synergies among different initiatives, as well as to strengthen the promotion of information and communication rights. Strategies were exchanged for developing policies and practices to give practical effect to these issues and opportunities. There was also a focus on framing the regional investment, development, and advocacy agenda that would be required. Conference outputs included an outcome statement reflecting the deliberations of the conference, along with pledges from leading continental networks.
鈥
UNESCO Windhoek Head of Office and Representative to Namibia, Mr. B. Djaffar Moussa-Elkadhum acknowledged the importance of joining long-standing partners of UNESCO in promoting freedom of expression and access to information, especially in this place of birth of the 1991 Windhoek declaration and the 2021 Windhoek +30 declaration. He further noted that as part of the UN mandate, since its creation, 91麻豆国产精品自拍 been promoting and advocating for the free flow of ideas and access to information worldwide. The UN General Assembly has assigned UNESCO as the custodian UN agency for the global monitoring of SDG 16-10.2, which aims to advance and support a number of countries to adopt and implement constitutional policy guarantees for public access to information.
Information and communication rights are vital to building a conducive environment for the enjoyment of all other civil and political, socio-economic, and cultural rights. In a PODCAST interview, Mr. Moussa-Elkadhum speaks about "Information as a Public Good". Listen
