Do not sacrifice others in the name of freedom of the press, NMC urges journalists

Accra, July 20, GNA – Mr. Yaw Boadu
Ayefoafoh, chairman of the National Media Commission (CNM), invited the
journalists not to sacrifice other people in the name of exercising freedom of
expression.

He said "freedom without responsibility
makes this freedom useless, "declaring that while the nation struggled to
ensure the safety of journalists, they should also ensure
responsible journalism so that their writings do not harm psychology
the safety of others.

Mr. Boadu Ayeboafoh said that during a
Stakeholder engagement and validation workshop in Accra on Friday
proposed national coordination mechanism for safe and responsible journalism in
Ghana.

The stakeholder meeting was organized by
the Ministry of Information in collaboration with the United Nations
Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), to solicit contributions
in the framework project and, subsequently, to validate it in order to guarantee the security and
responsible journalism in the country.

Stakeholders were selected from 21
journalists, including the Ghana Journalists Association, the national media
Commission, training institutions in journalism, communication school and
Ghana Bar Association.

The other groups are the armed forces, the national forces
Peace Council, National House of Chiefs and National Commission for Citizenship
Education, media stakeholders such as Ghana Independent Broadcasters
Association, Association of Private Newspapers of Ghana, Sports Editors
Association of Ghana and Civil Society Organizations Focusing on the Media and
human rights.

Mr. Boadu Ayeboafoh was of the belief
that the framework would make media practitioners more impactful and meaningful
to the development of the nation.

He recognized the role of the Ghanaian media
had played in strengthening the country's democracy, noting that she had allowed
the nation to achieve the longest constitutional regime since 1993.

He therefore urged the participants
present at the meeting to make useful contributions that would guarantee
Holistic implementation of the framework and the test of time.

Mr. Abdulourahamane Diallo, Head of Mission
from the UNESCO Office in Ghana, stated that the United Nations enjoyed freedom of
expression of great esteem and urged stakeholders to put in place
ensure that the media contribute to improving the democracy of the nation
credentials.

He said that it was a right inscribed in the article
90 of the Universal Convention on Human Rights and other international conventions
conventions of which Ghana was a signatory.

Therefore, said Mr. Diallo, UNESCO, which has
mandated to promote human rights in the world, would work to protect human rights
freedom of the media, access to information and the safety of journalists.

He stated that Ghana had ratified many
international conventions on human rights and has made considerable efforts
promotion of human rights over the years, however, annual reports on the state
of media freedom in the country is not encouraging, with crimes against
journalists.

Mr. Diallo cited the horrific badbadination of Ahmed
Suale of Tiger PI, and said that UNESCO had subscribed to the investigation into the case
to ensure that the perpetrators of such a heinous crime are brought to justice.

He said the safety and security of journalists
the concerted efforts of all stakeholders, and commended Ghana for
the initiative to create a safe environment for the practice of journalism.

Mr Diallo presented various UNESCO programs
initiated over the years to ensure the safety and security of
journalists from around the world and promote freedom of expression in West Africa.

The framework on security and accountability Journalism in Ghana underlined four areas including; ensure intensive
education for all actors on their roles to ensure a safe and responsible environment
media environment, ensuring an appropriate framework that validates attacks and threats
on journalists and introduce interventions to prevent attacks on journalists
and prosecute those who unleash violence against journalists as well as
establish a single window platform providing accurate annual statistics on
attacks, the safety of journalists and complaints against media professionals.

GNA