Journalists Must Feel Safe Even When They Are Wrong – Oppong Nkrumah

General News of Friday, July 19th, 2019

Source: clbadfmonline.com

2019-07-19

The Government of Ghana has stated that it aims to create a safe and media-friendly environment for journalists to practice freely without fear of harm, even if they make mistakes. Thus, a forum to validate the framework for security and accountability journalism in Accra

This framework is part of efforts to promote free and responsible media practice in Ghana.

Friday's forum benefited from Ghana's participation in the recent World Conference on Freedom of the Media held in London, which discussed ways to ensure responsible media and the safety of journalists.

Representatives of various groups and agencies, including the Ghana Association of Journalists, Security Agencies, Civil Society Groups, the National Media Commission and Foreign Missions of the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and UNESCO participated in the forum to make contributions to the framework that will be implemented. in September of this year.

At the opening ceremony, Ghana's Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said guaranteeing free and responsible journalism was a collective duty and urged all stakeholders to play an active role in the discussions.

"We need to create an environment in which journalists can operate freely and be sure that even if they make mistakes, they will not suffer physical harm," Nkrumah said.

He explained that such an environment should be an environment in which "we can validate the allegations of badaults and also ensure the protection of journalists as well as punish the perpetrators".

Mr. Nkrumah revealed that the framework provides for the creation of a permanent multi-stakeholder committee to ensure that there is a safe and conducive environment for the practice of responsible journalism in Ghana.

He expressed the government's determination to support measures that broaden the boundaries of freedom of expression to advance democracy in the country.

The tentative framework highlights some major activities such as intensive training of all actors, including the media, security agencies, the judiciary, among others, on their role in ensuring a safe and secure environment. practice of safe and responsible journalism; an appropriate framework that validates attacks and threats against journalists in Ghana and the introduction of interventions to prevent attacks, to protect journalists and to prosecute those involved in the attacks.