Get a copy of the released analysis from the following link: twitdoc.com/2SGS
Media
dialogue on ‘Media Freedom in Uganda; Analysis of inequitable legal
limitations’
At
Hotel Africana –Kampala, on 26th/ March/ 2014
Opening
remarks by Robert Ssempala - National Coordinator, HRNJ-Uganda
The Media plays a very
fundamental role in preserving a free and open society through dissemination of
information that fosters debate and contributes to good governance in Uganda. It
is therefore imperative that a favorable regulatory framework is set up by the
government to buttress and bolster the growth of the media and to maintain high
ethical standards, professionalism and competence of journalists.
A number of existing
laws in Uganda do not safeguard growth of the media, but rather seek to control
and criminalize the work of journalists. This analysis therefore aims at
steering public debate on the undue restrictions on the media and advocating
for reforms that will decriminalize speech and facilitate the enjoyment of
freedom of expression in Uganda.
Human Rights Network
for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) therefore struggles to realize a legal
regime that facilitates the enjoyment of freedom of expression and access to
information as a way of fostering development and empowering the citizens to
participate in the governance and decision making from an informed point of
view. Stringent laws and policies with overly broad interpretations narrow the
possibility of enjoying these fundamental rights as enshrined in the
Constitution, regional and international instruments.
Allow me to invite you
all to agree that the media is a very important aspect in information
dissemination and that journalists are the principal players; all together they
form the fourth Estate. So, full scale efforts must be made to ensure that all
of the restrictive laws that suppress free speech and kill democracy are
progressively repealed or amended.
For God and My Country
Robert
Ssempala
National
Coordinator
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