Articles Written By: Lindsay Ross

Milestone for Free Speech: Commonwealth adopts Principles on Freedom of Expression

Today, the Commonwealth governments adopted the Principles on Freedom of Expression and the Role of the Media in Good Governance - a milestone for free speech across the Commonwealth  In the final Communiqué they also said the member States ‘are urged to take concrete and meaningful steps to implement them within their domestic frameworks’. This link will take you to a joint press release from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and the Commonwealth Journalists Association.Read more

New Commonwealth Secretary-General Announced

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Apia, Samoa, leaders announced the selection of the Honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, currently Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana, as the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.  Media Statement By Hon. Shirley Botchwey, Commonwealth Secretary-General elect. Apia, Samoa. 26th October, 2024. I am honoured to have been elected today as the 7th Secretary-General of our Commonwealth by Heads of Government, meeting in Apia, Samoa. I am humbled by their trust and confidence in me; and I thank them profoundly. This election would make…Read more

CHOGM Samoa 2024

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2024 (CHOGM) will take place in Apia, Samoa from 21-26 October 2024. It will be the first CHOGM to be held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State. The CHOGM website can be accessed hereRead more

Cameroon bans reporting on President Paul Biya’s health, whereabouts

The Cameroonian government should end its threats to sanction private media journalists who report on the condition and whereabouts of President Paul Biya, 91, who has not been seen publicly for over a month and has missed scheduled international engagements, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. “The Cameroonian government should simply put the rumors to rest by arranging a public appearance by the head of state,“ said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “The health of the president, who has been in power for 41 years and may seek re-election next year, is of public interest.…Read more

Gambian journalists charged with false news over president’s exit plan report 

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Gambian authorities to drop all charges against The Voice newspaper editors, Musa Sekou Sheriff and Momodou Justice Darboe, and to repeal Section 181A of the country’s Criminal Code in line with the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court’s landmark judgment and recommendations from the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. “It is outrageous that President Adama Barrow praised his country’s press freedom record at the UN General Assembly on the day journalists Musa Sekou Sheriff and Momodou Justice Darboe were detained and later charged with ‘false news’ over their reporting on his chosen successor and exit plan ahead of the 2026…Read more

Journalists Muhammad Bachal Ghunio and Nisar Lehri killed amid rising violence against press in Pakistan

Pakistani authorities must immediately investigate the killings of Awaz TV reporter Muhammad Bachal Ghunio and International News Agency reporter Nisar Lehri and ensure an end to the intensifying wave of violence against journalists in the country said the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Pakistani authorities must immediately bring the perpetrators of the killings of journalists Nisar Lehri and Muhammad Bachal Ghunio to justice and show urgent political will to end the horrifying cycle of violence against journalists that has continued this year across Pakistan,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The press in Pakistan cannot carry…Read more

Pakistani journalist in hiding after police raid his home over protest reports

Pakistani police have raided the home of digital journalist Usman Khan three times, forcing him into hiding to avoid detention for his coverage of protests over alleged human rights abuses in southwestern Baluchistan province. “Pakistani police must immediately cease their attempts to detain independent journalist Usman Khan and allow the media to report on current affairs without fear of intimidation or arrest,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ Asia program coordinator. “Pakistani authorities must do more to protect independent voices across the country. We have seen an alarming uptick in attacks on the press…Read more

Nigerian security forces attack, arrest journalists covering protests

  • Posted on August 28, 2024
  • /Under Assault
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to investigate reports that dozens of journalists were assaulted, harassed, and detained while covering cost-of-living protests, which began on August 1. CPJ is investigating multiple incidents including one in the capital Abuja on August 3, where masked security forces fired bullets and teargas at several journalists wearing “Press” vests and their media-branded cars at the national stadium. Attacks on the press have been reported across the country since July 31, including by unidentified assailants who smashed the windows of a Channels Television-branded bus carrying 11 journalists and a car carrying two journalists in the northern…Read more

Kenyan journalist Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki shot in leg covering protests

  • Posted on August 5, 2024
  • /Under Assault
Kenyan authorities must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the July 16 shooting of journalist Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki as she covered ongoing protests in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Kariuki, a reporter for the privately owned Mediamax Network Ltd media group, was shot three times with rubber bullets across her left thigh as she covered anti-government in Nakuru County, according to Greg Onyango, a local journalist who was with Kariuki during the incident and spoke to CPJ, a statement by the Media Council of Kenya, a statutory industry…Read more