The meeting was presided over by the Chairperson of the Board, Madam Soyata Maiga (Mali), who is also a Commissioner at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

At the end of its meeting, the Board unanimously adopted and issued this resolution:

1. The Board expresses grave concern about the renewed attacks on the media sector, on media freedom and freedom of expression in many parts of the sub-region, especially in countries that are grappling with problems of fundamentalism, and terrorism as well as drug trafficking.

2. The Board calls on national governments and regional bodies in West Africa to work collaboratively to address the challenges posed by extremism, terrorism and drug trafficking to media freedom and practice in West Africa. The Board, on behalf of the MFWA, pledges its support for such efforts through collaborative activities, partnerships and other forms of intervention as may be required to effectively respond to these problems.

3. The Board notes and hereby endorses ongoing efforts by the international community, led by the UN, and the global freedom of expression movement to find effective mechanisms for ensuring the safety of journalists and other media workers. It calls on West African governments to support these initiatives and commit themselves to the protection of media practitioners in the lawful pursuit of their professional duties.

4. The Board also commends the Secretariat of Media Foundation for West Africa and MFWA’s Network of Lawyers for the Defence of Journalists for their pioneering efforts in using the instrumentality of the Ecowas Community Court of Justice to advance media rights and successfully defend media practitioners.

5. In this regard, the Board specifically notes the cases of Musa Saidykhan and Chief Ebrimah Manneh, both from The Gambia, which the Network of Lawyers took up at the Ecowas Court on behalf of the MFWA and won resoundingly.

6. The Board calls on Ecowas Leaders and relevant organs of ECOWAS to ensure the enforcement of the decisions of the Court in their entirety in order to discourage the growing culture of impunity in The Gambia as well as other parts of the region.

7. The Board expresses deep concern about the falling standards of professionalism in media practice in many parts of the region and calls on media professional bodies and associations as well as the media community in the region as a whole to develop and implement effective self-regulatory mechanisms to improve professional standards.

8. The Board resolves to organise a regional Conference on Freedom of Expression in Lusophone Africa to explore the challenges faced by the media in Lusophone countries in Africa and other parts of the continent. The Board intends that the Conference should take place in Praia, Cape Verde, during the last quarter of 2013 and looks forward to the active engagement of critical stakeholders of the relevant countries, including their governments.

9. The Board hereby approves and resolves to adopt a new three-year Strategic Plan proposed by the Secretariat of the MFWA to guide the activities, operations and institutional development of the MFWA from 2013 to 2015. The Board expresses its confidence that the implementation of the Plan will help to chart a new direction for the organization and enhance its effectiveness. The Board also approved a Gender Policy for the Promotion of Women’s Rights and Gender Equity as well as a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, which will provide a basis for ongoing assessment of the organization’s effectiveness.

10. The Board resolves that its next Board Meeting should take place at the end of June, 2013 in Lome, Togo.

Adopted in Accra, Ghana, this Sunday, the 2nd day of December, 2012


Kwame Karikari (Prof)
Executive Director
MFWA
Accra
Tel: 233-30-22 4 24 70
Fax: 233-302-22 10 84
Email: mfwa@africaonline.com.gh, alerts@mediafound.org
Website: www.mediafound.orgMFWA Board adopts resolutions