Monthly Archives: October 2020
MRA, IPC Condemn NBC Fines Against 3 TV Stations Over Coverage of #ENDSARS Protests
LAGOS, Wednesday, October 28, 2020: Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the International Press Centre (IPC) today condemned the sanctioning of three television stations by theNational Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the coverage of the #ENDSARS protests, describing the Commission’s action as an outrageous violation of the Constitution and basic principles of …
Read More »MRA Condemns Attacks on the Media During #EndSARS Protests as Reprehensible
LAGOS, Friday, October 23, 2020: Media Rights Agenda (MRA) today condemned recent attacks against journalists and media houses in some parts of the country, particularly in Lagos, by State and non-State actors in the wake of the #EndSARS protests, describing the actions as reprehensible acts of intimidation and reprisals against …
Read More »Police Brutalises Journalists Covering Protest in Abuja
A cameraman with Arise Television, Francis Ogbonna and a journalist with Premium Times, Ebuka Onyeji, were on October 11, 2020 assaulted while covering a news conference where Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu announced the dissolution of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police. …
Read More »African civil society leaders advocate ‘no country left behind’ in the ATI drive
The African Platform on Access to Information Working Group (APAI-WG) on September 28, 2020 called on African leaders to ensure that no country is left behind in giving effect to the fundamental importance of access to information as the global community celebrated the first International Day for Universal Access to …
Read More »US State Department Releases Guidance to Help US Companies Prevent Foreign Governments from Misusing their Products or Services with Surveillance Capabilities
The U.S. State Department has released guidance to assist U.S. companies seeking to prevent their products or services with surveillance capabilities from being misused by foreign government end-users to commit human rights abuses. Announcing the release of the guidance document on September 30, 2020, State Department spokesman, Mr. Morgan Ortagus, noted …
Read More »Internet Freedom Report Details Rights Abuses in African Countries in COVID-19 Context
The fight to contain the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is hurting digital rights in Africa, according to the report of a new study released in September, which documents the harms to digital rights and their effects as experienced in various countries on the continent. Titled “State of Internet Freedom in …
Read More »MRA Welcomes UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Safety of Journalists, Calls on Government to Fully Implement it
Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has welcomed an October 6 resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council on the safety of journalists and called on the Federal Government to give full effect to its provisions, including by bringing all its laws, policies and practices into compliance with its obligations under …
Read More »UN Human Rights Council Adopts Resolution on Journalists’ Safety, Condemns Misuse of Laws to Obstruct Journalists
The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on October 6, 2020 adopted a resolution on the safety of journalists in which it expressed deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue …
Read More »2020 Global Legislative Openness Week Opens
The 2020 Global Legislative Openness Week (GLOW) will be observed from October 26 to 28, 2020 and will provide an opportunity for diverse stakeholders in parliaments, governments and civil society to collaborate and make progress towards adopting and implementing openness commitments GLOW brings an open, participatory legislative process around the …
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