Journalist in Danger releases annual report revealing alarming plight of journalists
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 15 December 2010 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Journalist in Danger releases annual report revealing alarming plight of journalists, 15 December 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d0b18a41a.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Journalist in Danger, partner organisation of Reporters Without Borders, on 10 December published its annual report revealing the disturbing state of press freedom in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the plight of journalists working in the country.
The report, released on International Human Rights Day, records in minute detail every attack on the right to be informed and to inform the public throughout the year - 87 cases in 2010 compared to 75 in 2009. The state of press freedom has deteriorated and journalists are working in a climate of fear following the murder of a cameraman in the east of the country and the killing in the capital, Kinshasa, of prominent human rights activist, Floribert Chebeya, director of La Voix des Sans Voix (Voice of the Voiceless).
Concluding its annual report, Journalist in Danger recommends:
1. the president of the Republic:
gives concrete form, by sending strong signals, to his expressed desire to protect and ensure the safety of journalists and human rights defenders with the aim of discouraging any act likely to put their lives in danger.
To swiftly enact the fundamental law on the organisation and functioning of the superior broadcast and communications council (CSAC), already adopted by parliament several months ago.
2. the government:
while awaiting the adoption of a law decriminalising press offences, examines the request for a moratorium on imprisonment of journalists facing proceedings for defamation or for injurious accusations.
3. Parliament:
instigates and adopts a law on access to public information to allow journalists access to official sources of information.
"We salute the tremendous work of Journalist in Danger, to which Congolese journalists can turn every time they are victims of violence or come under pressure. We share the anxieties of our partner organisation about the difficult landscape in which journalists in the Democratic Republic of Congo have to work. In the run-up to elections in 2011, it is essential that the authorities undertake to protect journalists and to guarantee the free circulation of information", said Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, Jean-François Julliard.
Read the summary, in French, of the 2010 report on the state of press freedom in the Democratic Republic of Congo:
For further information go to the website of Journalist in Danger
