The
Gambia Press Union (GPU) is pleased to announce the launch on April 1st, of the
two-year United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) sponsored project titled
‘Enhancing Government-Media Relations to Improve the Legal Environment for
Freedom of Expression in The Gambia.’
During
the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day last year – 2016, the GPU
launched the ‘Decade of Campaign for the Protection and Promotion of Freedom of
Expression in the Gambia’. We have since started work to realise the objectives
of this declaration.
On
March 21, 2017, UNDEF approved a grant of US$220,000 to the GPU, after
negotiations that lasted more than one year.
Through
this project, the GPU will work with national and international partners to
complement the efforts of the Government of President Adama Barrow, aimed at
promoting an enabling environment for freedom of speech and responsible and
investigative journalism in The Gambia.
In
this regard, the GPU and its partners will engage in consultations with a wide
range of stakeholders, including media, lawyers, students, youth, security
forces, National Assembly, judiciary, government agencies and civil society.
This
will lead to the establishment of the National Freedom of Expression Committee
that will work towards a comprehensive review of existing freedom of
expressions and advocate for the introduction of laws that are conducive to
freedom of speech. The union will also come up with annual state of freedom of
expression report.
Furthermore,
the GPU will set up an independent media self-regulatory mechanism to monitor
compliance and enforce the code of conduct while serving as a platform for the
public to lodge complaints against media infringements on the rights and freedom
of the members of the public.
