The government has pledged support for the journalists as the country is commemorating World Press Freedom Day.
Somali journalist will today be joining their counterparts around the world to mark this day with the theme ‘keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law’.
In a press statement, Somali acting minister for Information, Abdirahman Idan Yonis said his ministry is dedicated to ensure respect of press freedom and working on the safety of journalists.
“We are committed to protect Somali journalists, Somali government took the responsibility to implement press freedom,” said Yonis.
The minister noted that the government had been working on procedures to ensure the safety of the journalist in the country.
“In April the government held a conference on the safety of Somali journalists, after the conclusion of the meeting we formed National Coordinating Committee, Judicial agencies are part of the committee to ensure justice prevails,” he explained.
Mr. Yonis pointed out that the ministry of information in cooperation with the media reformed the proposed media bill.
“We did some amendments to the media bill following proposals by the media, we did so, to respect the freedom of the media,” he said.
Mr. Yonis confirmed that the ministry submitted the proposed media bill to the parliament for endorsement.
“The bill moved to the parliament and waiting to be approved by the lawmakers,” he affirmed.
The government collaborating with UN has hosted the first conference on the safety of Somali journalists for the first time since the 1990s.
The outcome of the conference
A National Coordinating Committee has been established, comprising of the government, the Civil Society and the Independent Media.
The Committee is consisting of 11 members that are: four members from the government, four members from the Independent Media and 3 members of the civil society.
A member from the government has been elected as the Chairperson of the Committee; a member from the civil society was also selected to be the deputy chairperson as a member from the independent media was chosen to be the Secretary of the Committee.
World Press Freedom Day is an event first established by the United Nations in 1993 to promote and celebrate press freedom worldwide and to honour journalists who lost their lives.
The event is held annually on the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration and sees the awarding of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to a deserving individual or organization
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