CJA urges Secretary-General Sharma to get tough with Gambia’s President
will April 23, 2012 0 COMMENTS
Media Advisory:
The Commonwealth Journalists Association wishes Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma success on his forthcoming visit to The Gambia and urges him to send a forceful message to President Yahya Jammeh regarding the deteriorating conditions for a proper functioning news media in his country.
Our colleagues in the Commonwealth Journalists Association report that media in The Gambia remains under sustained pressure through prosecutions for sedition and criminal libel, government closure of news agencies, intimidation and physical attacks on journalists.
We support the urgent call for legal and institutional reform that will bring The Gambia’s media laws in line with international standards and indeed with human rights agreements that the government has signed.
Continue reading at CommonwealthJournalists.org
We campaign for free, bold and honest journalism across the Commonwealth. Our members should feel engaged, supported and safe in pursuit of these aims, as they work to uphold the finest principles of the profession and their role in a free society.
Our aims and values are enshrined in The 12 Principles, a new code proposed for freedom of expression and the role of media in good governance across the Commonwealth.