Modou S. Joof, News Editor of The Voice newspaper, Banjul, The Gambia |
The North Bank Evening
Standard has just gathered that the
Banjul-based African Commission on Human and People's Rights has granted
"Observer Status" to the Gambia Press Union (GPU) about an hour
ago.
The Gambia Press Union
applied for observer status under the ARTICLE 19/GPU European Commission-funded
project.
"This means that one of the core objectives of
our common project has been reached," said Mr. MENZAN BRUNO Programme
Assistant ARTICLE 19, on Wednesday. "Congratulation to you all who
worked towards the attainment of this objective."
He added: "We hope GPU will take full advantage
of this status which allows the GPU to make statements at the Commission
sessions."
Reacting to the news, Mr. Modou S.
Joof, News Editor of The Voice newspaper, said “the approval and granting of
observer status to the GPU is a remarkable achievement for the Union.”
“It is another milestone in the
history of the Union and if taken seriously, it will step up efforts on the
campaign for free expression and of the press by the Union,” said Mr. Joof, who
is also the President of the Young Journalists Association of The Gambia (YJAG).
“This observer status will give the GPU the platform to speak for their
membership and relay to the Commission cases of violations of press freedom in
The Gambia.”
The Article19/GPU
project is part of a year capacity building
programme supported by the 9th European Development Fund for Non-State Actors Strengthening Programme in
The Gambia. It is intended to strengthen the
capacity of Gambia media practitioners to deepen their understanding of freedom
of expression standards and enhance their ability to contribute to democratic
and economic governance in The Gambia.
The first phase of the
project, a training for 20 Gambia journalists on "International
Standards on Freedom of Expression" has already been completed.
12 participants have been selected to partake on further training on "Safety and Security for
Journalists".
The African Commission is
currently holding its 50th Ordinary Session in Banjul, which will last for two
weeks. It started on Monday October 24, 2011.
On the sidelines of the 50th Ordinary Session, the
Commission gathered African experts on Friday October 21, for a three day
consultation workshop focusing on how to implement and monitor the “Human
Rights Strategy for Africa" (HRSA), as part of efforts to strengthen
the African human rights system, to deepen the culture of democracy and to
ensure the promotion of human rights on the continent. The experts are expected
to develop a roadmap for the implementation of the action plan of the HRSA.
This was preceded by another three day
"Forum on the Participation of Non-governmental Organisations’ in the 50th
Ordinary Session of the African Commission" which ended on
October 21. Discussions were centered on a variety of topical issues, including
the current Human Rights Situation on East, West, North, South and Central
Africa.
Congratulation to GPU.
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