Sudan's media laws not enough

Media rights organisation, ARTICLE 19, has condemned a set of four draft media laws as "unlikely to improve on the current dire situation for Sudan's media."

The organisation's report expresses serious concern at the current state of legislation as well as at the new proposals.

John Barker, ARTICLE 19's Africa programme director, said:

"These new draft laws will not bring the much-needed reform that we and others have long called for. If adopted, they would instead serve to maintain the status quo for the foreseeable future."

The four new laws that the organisation has received would govern the print as well as the broadcast media, and propose a new 'access to information' regime. However, the new media laws would still allow for significant government interference in media regulation, including the shutting down of newspapers, while the 'access to information' law contains exemptions that are so broad that it would be more likely to serve as a secrecy law.

The report also expresses concern at the lack of any true consultation with stakeholders in the drafting of the laws, and questions why a 'press law' is necessary at all. It also contrasts these laws with developments in Southern Sudan, where the legislative assembly has recently adopted a progressive media policy recognising, among other things, that self-regulation is the best form of regulation for the print media.

Source: ARTICLE 19