CIVIL SOCIETY COMMUNIQUE AHEAD OF THE AU- ABIDJAN MEETING ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN AFRICA -9TH – 22ND OCTOBER 2012
KAMPALA
Background
We members of Civil Society Organizations from Uganda gathered here in Kampala Uganda, for a national public dialogue on the situation of freedom of expression, opinion and information in Uganda held on 17th September 2012, convened by the Human Rights Network for Journalists Uganda (HRNJ-U), and the thematic cluster on freedom of information and expression in Uganda, in an effort to enhance the participation of civil society in the upcoming AU meeting on freedom of expression in Africa from -9th – 22nd October 2012 in Abidjan make the following recommendations:
Pledges
State parties to the AU charter make the pledging initiative a continuous one and actively encourage States to identify and announce pledges at sessions of the AU that would advance the work of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of expression and Access to information in Africa.
Impact of the office of the Special rapporteur on freedom of expression, opinion and information
Recalling the rights under the UDHR and the ICCPR which were incorporated in the ACHPR,
Aware of the commitment by the government of Uganda to uphold the AU standards on freedom of expression and access to information.
Considering the steps taken by the Uganda government to establish mechanisms on the promotion and protection of human rights like the Uganda Human Rights Commission and a Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.
