Journaliste en danger (JED)
From TrustAfrica wiki - African Regional Organizations
Journaliste en danger (JED)
374, avenue colonel Mondjiba
Complexe Utexafrica
Galerie Saint Pierre, Kinshasa/Ngaliema
B.P. 633, Kinshasa I
Democratic Republic of Congo
Telephone: + 243 814 035821; +243 9898 0760; +243 99 96 353
D. M’Baya Tshimanga, President
E-mail: jedkin@ic.cd
Website: http://www.jed-afrique.org/
Description
Journaliste en Danger (JED) is an independent non-profit organization founded in November 1998 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on the initiative of a group of Congolese journalists with the primary mission to defend and promote press freedom in DR Congo.
JED was founded out of the concern that press freedom was being violated and that journalists had become victims of unfair justice. It is not an association reserved solely for journalists, but rather a wholly independent and open structure to all those who feel like having a vocation to defend and promote their right to inform and to be informed freely without any restriction. Since May 2003, JED has been active in eight other Central African countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, The Central African Republic, Rwanda and Chad.
JED is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of non-governmental organizations that monitors freedom of expression worldwide and defends journalists, writers, internet users and others who are persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Track Record
JED’s major milestone was the publication of the Journaliste en Danger Report in 2004 entitled ‘The State of Freedom of Press in Central Africa’, launched in December 2004. The report was part of JED’s campaign to eliminate criminal defamation and criminal libel provisions in the DRC and other countries because of the barriers such laws present for freedom of expression. It covered the nine member countries of the Central African Media Organization (OMAC) and Central African Newspaper Editors’ Organization. The DRC is a member of both of these organizations. The report called attention to the uncertainty present in the DRC concerning journalists’ rights. It surveyed, case by case, the instances of jailed journalists, the journalists subjected to state interrogations, and the threatened, assaulted or tortured journalists. The report then covered the economic and judicial pressures present in the DRC for journalists.
JED has assisted a number of papers that have either been closed down or subject to pressure. It has promoted the Internet as a means of alternative publication (e.g. via allAfrica.com) as a pressure point for governments to rethink their policies on cracking down on the press.
Challenges
Press freedom in Africa is punctuated by endemic problems of weak infrastructure, a lack of resources, inadequate training facilities and the continued use of restrictive press laws. This situation is grim, as government control over the press remains rigid and in some countries appears to be getting worse. In those countries where journalists do enjoy a measure of freedom of expression, they must contend with harsh media laws, which often result in criminal prosecution, arrest, and censorship. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political instability and conflict have further chipped away at the country’s already weak media infrastructure. Journalists have been caught in the middle of violent clashes between government forces and rebel troops in the northeastern parts of the country. Media employees are routinely harassed and detained by the authorities. Criminal defamation is liberally applied by the courts throughout the country. The main challenge however, presents itself when even the organizations advocating for press freedom are threatened. In recent months, the president and general secretary of Journaliste en Danger have been the recipients of death threats and harassment to the organization’s exhaustive reporting on violations throughout the country.
Opportunities
The press, media organizations and donors should take advantage of the growing democracy in Africa expand the press and its establishment. Additionally, the Internet represents a huge change because it has opened up numerous opportunities for the free press. It is now impossible for governments to monopolize information flows. This, along with the paucity of effective media support organizations in Central Africa, a region whose media faces severe challenges, makes the support of organizations such as JED all the more important.
