Government censorship, harassment and arrest of bloggers and journalists severely restricts freedom of the press in ethiopia. Exceptions to the first amendment congressional research service 3 own home. World press freedom day 2019 journalism and elections in times of disinformation we, the participants at the unesco world press freedom day international conference, held in addis ababa, ethiopia, may 2019, recalling article 19 of the universal declaration of human rights udhr, which states. Ethiopia is currently the secondleading jailer of journalists in africa, after eritrea. Under abiy, ethiopias media have more freedom but challenges remain april 29, 2019 3. Msmaku asrat france and press freedom the pen is mightier than the sword edward bulwerlytton 1839 one of the momentous events in world history is the french revolution of 1789. Baobab recently penned a piece on the decline of the importance given to human rights. Media and freedom of expression assessment ethiopia in transition. Freedom of expression is also a powerful means of addressing deep rooted structural problems in society like corruption and embezzlement. Nevertheless, in recent times, rights groups have accused ethiopia of engaging in continuing repressive measures against the press and the media that undermine the continued vitality of the democratic process.
The draft ethiopian proclamation concerning press freedom. The mass media and freedom of information proclamation, which purports to update and reform the first ever ethiopian press law of 1992, has been a source of controversy ever since its initiation in 2002. To this end, the research find out that press freedom in ethiopia is descending owing to factors like government, the political economy, lack of professionalism. While the constitution guarantees freedom of the press, this right is often restricted in practice. World press freedom day 2019 media for democracy journalism and elections in times of disinformation concept note global conference addis ababa, ethiopia may 2019 on 3 may 2019, unesco will celebrate the 26th edition of the celebration of world press freedom day in almost 100 countries. The worldwide commemoration theme concerns the current. The press law was gazetted in 1992 as a proclamation to provide for the freedom of the press. Ethiopia is not coloured red on the world press freedom index map for the first time since the five colours began being used in 20. Ethiopia free speech and free press around the world. Press law from its introduction in 2003 to the passage of the mass media and freedom of information proclamation in july 2008. Freedom of the mass media and access to information proclamation no. Media freedom in africa remains under attack inter press. Media law in ethiopia download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi.
Addis ababa, ethiopia elias meseret, an ethiopian journalist with more than 11 years experience, is feeling optimistic as he marks world press freedom day on friday. Academic pieces, documents, proclamations, interviews, news reports and presentations were qualitatively analyzed in accord with the. Freedom of the press 2015, the latest edition of an annual report published by freedom house since 1980, found that global press freedom declined in 2014 to its lowest point in more than 10 years. We look forward to the time when the ethiopian government. Christophers position is a welcome step toward what cpj hopes will be a continued u. Freedom in the world 2019 table of contents on the cover cover image by kal. Part ii of the comment analyzes the effects the press law will likely have on the media and citizens of ethiopia. Ims carried out two missions to ethiopia to addis ababa and adama in the period 3. The jurisprudential dearth 203 understanding of received truths. The draft ethiopian proclamation concerning press freedom by article 19 global campaign for free expression london june 2003 1. According to the 20 annual press freedom index by reporters without borders, ethiopia was ranked 7th out of 179 countries. Real press freedom in ethiopia depends on liberating the commercial shackles on a stunted media system elshadai negash, for addis standard. The ethiopian government should mark world press freedom day, on may 3, 20, by immediately releasing all journalists jailed under the countrys deeply flawed antiterrorism law.
On top of further circumscribing the already limited access of journalists under the present press law it also. Freedom of the press in djibouti is not specifically mentioned by the countrys constitution. By brandon sams introduction ethiopia is a country with a turbid history of free speech and free press rights due to a troubled conflict both internally and externally. The proclamation was adopted and came into force upon its publication in the federal negarit gazeta of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia official gazette 14th year no. New journalist arrests put press freedom gains at risk 9 july 2019, 18.
A second panel,classified, censored, imprisoned why media laws need reform, was chaired by wanifra press freedom director alison meston. Join the global work for press freedom and stay up to date on. Freedom of the press is recognized and respected in ethiopia article 3. It led to the overthrow of the ancient regime and heralded the age of enlightenment. Ethiopias mass media and freedom of information proclamation. Thus, with the exception of some conflict zones like somalia, most of the serious violations of press freedom occurred within electoral or preelectoral contexts. Tegegnes vision for journalism in ethiopia was not radically free by the standards of the 21 st century, but in a society that had been ruled by warring monarchies for thousands of years, it was a valiant step in the direction of an independent press. In a memorandum sent to deutsche welles dw germanys international broadcaster correspondents outside ethiopia in late 2010, ludger schadomsky, editorinchief of dws amharic program, blasted ethiomedia and similar sites by extension as a disgrace to press freedom.
But if zenawis democratic credentials compared favorably to those of his predecessors, his government has never had a good press freedom record. Reporters without borders rsf presents the 2020 press freedom barometer. National endowment for democracy shares her thoughts with straight talk africa host shaka ssali on ethiopias poor ranking on press freedom as. Birtukan midekssa on press freedom in ethiopia youtube. We, the participants at the unesco world press freedom day international conference, held in. Ethiopia is getting ever harsher in its treatment of journalists. This is a miniresearch conducted to examine the status of press freedom in ethiopia during eprdf period 1991now. Article 19 is releasing this report on the current legal framework for freedom of. The freedom of the mass media and access to information proclamation was passed into law in december 2008, and has been criticized by the private media and. It is one of the top countries when it comes to jailing journalists, many of whom it charges under the 2009 antiterrorism law. After years of severe restrictions on press freedom, the government took initial steps to increase freedoms for independent media in 2018, when a number of prominent journalists were released from prison. A year of sweeping reforms in ethiopias political and media landscape culminated early this month with prime minister abiy ahmed receiving the felix houphouetboigny prize for peace on the sidelines of the world.
Abiy ahmed ali, who was awarded the nobel peace prize in 2019, allowed the many detained journalists and bloggers to be released as soon as he became prime minister in 2018. This book is about press development and freedom in ethiopia, with a focus on the state media. Geneva, switzerland by human rights league of the horn of africahrlha march 2009 ethiopia is said to be one of the emerging democracies in africa. Minister negeri lencho was asked whether his appointment brought more transparency and press freedom. However, the press proclamations of 1992, 1999, and the broadcast proclamation of 2007 have not been able to guarantee journalists and media workers freedom in. Filed under news tagged with addis ababa, addis ababa university, ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front, humanrights, politics of ethiopia, united states. The imprisoned journalists are all held in addis ababa, either temporarily in the police central.
Freedom of the press foundation protects, defends, and empowers publicinterest journalism in the 21st century. Ethiopia was africas leading jailer of journalists throughout much of the 1990s, and it drove scores of reporters and editors into exile. It is more draconian than the press law in force and sets back the strides made so far in terms of the freedom of the press in ethiopia. The amount of hatred splashed across ethiomedia is a disgrace to any. Ipiwanifra 20 press freedom mission report jan 14, 2014 share. A proper assessment of the state of press freedom in ethiopia should start from noting the level of diversity interms of content, ownership, content and format achieved in a short time, despite resource constraints and the abuse and misuse of.
Journalists cautiously celebrate press freedom in ethiopia. The rate of decline also accelerated drastically, with the global average score suffering its largest oneyear drop in a decade. Since its inception, the elastic terrorism legislation has been dogged by controversy as it further criminalizes freedom of. The legal framework for freedom of expression in ethiopia. However, article 15 of the constitution of djibouti does mention an individuals right to express their opinion. Freedom of expression and the media landscape in ethiopia. In august 2009, ethiopias antiterrorism proclamation no. When it comes to press freedom, ethiopia has one of the worst records on the continent, says the pressure group reporters without frontiers. The complete analysis, including narrative reports on all countries and territories, can be found on our website at. A year of sweeping reforms in ethiopia s political and media landscape culminated early this month with prime minister abiy ahmed receiving the felix houphouetboigny prize for peace on the sidelines of the world press freedom day 2019 celebrations in. There is no such thing as freedom without limits, wrote tegegne, and for the time. An ethiopian human rights advocate that spoke with civicus recently reiterated that ethiopia has for a long time severely restricted press freedom and the work of civil society. Ethiopias constitution contains strong provisions on freedom of expression and press freedom, yet many journalists have fled the country and others have been prosecuted for their work. This booklet is a summary of findings for the 2019 edition of freedom in the world.
Investigation centre known as maikelawi or the third police. Real press freedom in ethiopia depends on liberating the commercial shackles on a stunted media system elshadai negash, for addis standard a year of sweeping reforms in ethiopias political and media landscape culminated early this month with prime minister abiy ahmed receiving the felix houphouetboigny prize for peace on. An agenda for thought and action a report from a summit on freedom of the press in the twentyfirst century, university of oregon, april 12, 20 theodore l. United states wherein he forwarded the market place of ideas rationale for free. When it comes to press freedom, ethiopia has one of the. Press freedom in ethiopia international press institute. The new authorities also restored access to more than 200 news. After the fall of the derg, freedom of expression was for the first time issued in the transitional charter the transitional charter of ethiopia, 1991 article 1a. It examines the political and social situations of the monarchy era, the marxist military regime, and the. Introduction in april 2003, article 19, global campaign for free expression issued a briefing note commenting on a draft ethiopian proclamation concerning press freedom. Pdf the status and descent of press freedom in ethiopia. Addis ababa then hosted the world press freedom day in may 2019,but enthusiasm surrounding the event was soon dampened by the arrests of two.
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