Support Wits Declaration on media freedom and responsibilities

31 Mar 2011

The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) is urging the media and allied industries to support the Wits Declaration, which was adopted earlier this month by participants from 21 African countries at the Regulations and Rights media conference held at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The delegates reaffirmed their belief in media freedom, the need to fight for access to information and their support for self-regulation in their industry.

Wits Declaration

"We declare:

Our support for media self-regulation as a means to enable and encourage good journalism and the free flow of information;
That we recognise the crucial importance of access to information to enable the free flow of information and empower citizens and governments alike;
That we strongly reaffirm our commitment to the responsibilities that come with this to ensure citizens have useful and accurate information to enable democracy to work;
Our commitment to promoting the highest ethical and professional standards among practitioners;
That we call on African Union member states to live up to their obligations as enshrined in the African Charter and the Declaration of Principles of the AU Commission on Freedom of Expression."

To show your support for the Wits Declaration, send an email to az.oc.msilanruoj@rotide with the subject heading "WITS DECLARATION". In the body of the email, include your details as follows:

We [name of organisation] / or I [name of person] would like to be a signatory / signatories to the Wits Declaration.

The conference, supported by the British and Canadian High Commissions, was co-hosted by the SANEF and Wits Journalism with participants from Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Morocco, Angola, Mozambique, Cameroon, Gambia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Britain, Canada and South Africa.

Updated at 1.08pm on 31 March 2011.

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