Guinea Bissau: CPJ, Partners Urge Guinea-Bissau to Improve Press Freedom Ahead of UN Review

15 November 2024
Committee to Protect Journalists (New York)

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined two other press freedom organizations in calling on authorities in Guinea-Bissau to accept and implement recommendations to improve its press freedom record at the country's January 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

The UPR is a peer review mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, through which the human rights records of the Council's member states are reviewed every 4.5 years, and recommendations are made for improvement.

Since January 2020, authorities in Guinea-Bissau have undermined press freedom through physical and verbal attacks, arbitrary detention of journalists, and legal harassment, according to the October 2024 submission by CPJ, the local journalists' union (Sinjotecs), and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).

The three organizations recommend that Guinea-Bissau improve its press freedom record by investigating and ensuring accountability for past attacks on the press, ending arbitrary detentions and media shutdowns, repealing laws that criminalize journalism, and allowing the press to establish self-regulatory mechanisms.

The UPR submission is available in English here.

Read the original article on CPJ.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2024 Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.