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Insult and criminal defamation laws - statutes that make it a criminal offense to "insult" the honour or dignity of public officials - exist in dozens of countries around the world.
International human rights bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee, have condemned insult and criminal defamation laws as incompatible with international standards on freedom of expression. Yet governments often use them to stifle the media and shield officials from public scrutiny. At IFEX's 2002 General Meeting in Dakar,
Senegal, members agreed to mount a joint campaign to lobby governments
on insult and criminal defamation laws. CAMPAIGN NEWS
3 MAY 2005 Statement issued on May 3 2005 at the Lusaka, Zambia workshop on insult laws and criminal defamationA campaign to persuade African governments to rid the Continent of "insult laws" and criminal defamation that shield governments from public scrutiny was launched at a media workshop in Lusaka, Zambia, on 3 May, World Press Freedom Day. The workshop, under the auspices of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), was attended by lawyers and representatives of the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), the Southern Africa Editors' Forum (SAEF), the Southern Africa Journalists' Association (SAJA), the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), some of whom are members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). They discussed the extent to which African governments use "insult laws", criminal defamation and immigration laws to restrict public criticism of their conduct. Insult laws, mostly a legacy of the colonial era and ostensibly intended to protect the dignity and official status of kings, presidents, prime ministers and, depending on the country, parliamentarians, officials especially police and defence chiefs and even foreign diplomats, are frequently used to prevent the publication of criticism of government and officials. A recent survey showed that at least 125 media and journalists were charged under these laws in 35 of the 53 countries in Africa over some 10 years and observers have noted an increase in recent years in judicial harassment of journalists. Many of the journalists were convicted and fined or imprisoned. Forty-eight countries in Africa have these laws on their statute books, though Ghana, Egypt and Kenya have recently scrapped theirs. In this respect these countries are seen as beacons of hope on the Continent. Workshop delegates decided on the media exercising various strategies dictated by local conditions to further the campaign. These include wider publication of cases where journalists are charged and imprisoned under these laws, engaging with civil society organisations, including law societies and the International Bar Association, lobbying institutions such as the SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) Parliamentary Forum, politicians and other policy makers and making representations to the recently appointed African Union's Freedom of Expression Rapporteur, Mr. Andrew Chigovera. African Union structures, such as the AU's Commission on Peoples' and Rights, will also be engaged. The AU's Nepad African Peer Review Mechanism of good political governance will be given especial attention based on the premise that countries that criminalise expression and opinion under insult laws and criminal defamation cannot be judged to practice good governance. The campaign will also make representations to the recently established Commission on Africa that countries must commit to a review of such legislation with the aim of scrapping it before they can be accorded a rating of practising good political governance under the APRM. Positive ratings will open access to greater trade advantages and donor aid. The workshop was funded by the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NIZA). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 DECEMBER 2003 - IFEX DELEGATION URGES BOTSWANA TO REPEAL OUTDATED LAWS A delegation of IFEX members met the President of Botswana on 20 November 2003 and urged him to set an example for other African countries and the world by repealing the country's insult and criminal defamation laws. Representatives of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), Freedom of Expression Institute and the International Press Institute met with President Festus Mogae in Gaborone to express concerns over such laws, which could be used by authorities to suppress media scrutiny and public criticism of the government. They said insult laws cast a chilling effect on press freedom, encouraging self-censorship in the media. "Case studies in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere show that criminal defamation and insult laws are often brought by governments simply to suppress legitimate public scrutiny of the government, resulting in harsh repression of journalists," the delegation argued. According to a global study by WPFC, criminal defamation and insult laws - statutes that make it a criminal offense to "insult" the honor or dignity of public officials - exist in dozens of countries around the world. These laws are incompatible with international standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights, WPFC says. Free-expression experts from the UN, the Organization of American States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have also been urging governments to repeal these laws (see http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/showarticle.asp?artID=141&lID=1). The IFEX delegation emphasised that Botswana is acknowledged as a leading democracy in Africa, with a good track record in media freedom compared with many other African countries. It should therefore lead by example by removing criminal defamation and insult laws from the country's statutes. They provided Mogae with reports and reference material written by WPFC and ARTICLE 19. Mogae, in turn, argued that the relevant statutes in Botswana reflected the traditional cultural values of the nation, which allowed vigorous criticism of authorities but disallowed name-calling, ridicule and personal insults during such exchanges. The system was reciprocal and persons of higher rank are also not permitted to insult those below them, Mogae said. He also argued that civil defamation was not a remedy to protect the reputations of poor people who did not have the resources to bring such legal challenges. They could, however, resort to the protection of the State in bringing such challenges through the existing criminal statutes. Mogae agreed to pursue further dialogue
with the delegation and expressed hope that it would lead to better
understanding between the media and authorities. ARTICLE
19 World
Press Freedom Committee International
Federation of Journalists OSCE-RSF Recommendations for Decriminalising Libel and Defamation OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media UN,
OAS and OSCE Experts on Free Expression |
Some of these are old colonial-era laws that have not been repealed, while others are newly enacted.  |
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