PROMOTING FREE EXPRESSION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

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Freedom of expression

Freedom of expression refers to your right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas without fear or restriction from surveillance, censorship or laws silencing dissent. As people turn to various media as a way of expressing their views they may not feel safe as more governments are using legislation to stifle free speech.

In that regard, MISA Zambia promotes freedom of expression as a driving principle of democracy and good governance. The organisation advocates for the repeal of various oppressive laws, particularly the Zambian Penal Code, that undermine the freedom of expression.

The organisation uses various strategies such as legal tests and research on laws seen to limit freedom of expression, as well as producing public education materials, training and lobbying around the topic.

MISA Zambia advocates for freedom of expression as an umbrella of press freedom which is only recognised implicitly in Article 20 on freedom of expression in Zambia’s Constitution.

Freedom of expression news

Worrying decline in media freedom in Southern Africa

Worrying decline in media freedom in Southern Africa

Reporters Without Boundaries has released the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, which points to worrying signs for freedom of expression in Southern Africa, with a number of countries recording sharp declines. Botswana, long regarded as a bastion of democracy, saw a...

MISA launches second regional press freedom report

MISA launches second regional press freedom report

MISA has launched the second edition of the State of Press Freedom in Southern Africa report, with this year’s edition focusing on digital surveillance of journalists. The report was launched simultaneously in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where MISA, UNESCO and the government...