MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE OCCASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY MARCH 21 1999

The Freedom of Expression Institute would like to congratulate South Africa on the occasion of its fifth Human Rights Day for the significant progress made in building a human rights culture. The launch of the National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on December 10 1998, is just one indication of ongoing efforts to build a rights culture in South Africa. Notwithstanding our achievements, FXI beleives that South Africa still has a long road to tread in entrenching human rights and making them accessible to all South Africans.

Regarding freedom of expression, FXI maintains that it is a right about which all those committed to democracy have to be constantly vigilant. Our work over the past year has proved that we cannot presume that everyone will respect freedom of expression and the press. Consequently the Institute has spoken out on a number of occasions.

Apart from consistent monitoring and advocacy, there is also substantial work still to be done in terms of legislation to improve access to information, media diversity and press freedom. Furthermore, the recent example of a foreign journalist being arrested and detained over a weekend under the archaic Protection of Information Act serves to illustrate how important it is that we address the legislation which is still on the statute books despite the freedom of expression and access to information clauses in the Constitution.

FXI would also like to take this opportunity to highlight the challenges to advance freedom of expression as articulated in the National Action Plan and to call on South Africans, particularly those in the mass media, to consider ways and means of doing this.

In conclusion, we would like to note that it is particularly fortuitous that at this time when we are commemorating Human Rights Day the Parliamentary Justice Committee will be holding public hearings on the lang-awaited Open Democracy Bill. FXI welcomes this move and hopes that the Bill will soon become an Act thereby giving full recognition of the access to information clause in the 1996 Constitution.

Freedom of Expression National Action Plan Challenges Attached.

Contacts : Laura Pollecutt (Executive Director) 083 604 1073 or Mandla Seleoane (Chairperson) 083 602 5507