Guided by the principles on freedom of expression and access to
information enshrined under the Banjul Declaration of the African
Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Windhoek Declaration and
African Charter on Broadcasting, delegates also called for a
constitutional provision that explicitly guarantees media freedom and
the repealing of repressive laws such as AIPPA, Public Order and
Security Act (POSA) and the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA).
More than 100 journalists and representatives of civic society
organisations who attended the two-day conference organised by the
Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) vowed to defend media freedom through
the principle of self-regulation as stipulated under the Banjul
Declaration on the Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa.
Noting that statutory regulation curtails media freedom and the
fundamental right to access to information, the conference called for
the enactment of democratic legislation that is in tandem with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human
and Peoples Rights.
Delegates affirmed that the media should voluntarily regulate itself
through democratic, transparent and publicly legitimate media bodies
such as the Voluntary Media Council endorsed and established by
journalists in June 2007 under the auspices of MAZ.
The conference resolved to push for the transformation of the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) into a truly independent public service
broadcaster and the establishment of independent regulatory bodies
appointed through a transparent public process with the endorsement of
Parliament.
The conference held under the theme, The Media We Want… Free, Fair and
Open, was convened to forge a common strategy of coming up with a
comprehensive alternative policy and legislative framework to entrench
media freedom and freedom of expression in Zimbabwe.
MAZ comprises MISA-Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), Media
Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) and Zimbabwe National Editors
Forum (ZiNEF).