Lesotho: MISA Lesotho to host regional meeting
The Lesotho chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MILES) has won the bid to host this year's Annual General Meeting of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). At a meeting of the Regional Governing Council of MISA held on Wednesday, February 18 2004, in Pretoria, it was decided by a vote of nine to one to hold the next MISA annual general meeting and conference in Maseru in August 2004. The other bidding chapter was Namibia. It will be the first time that Lesotho will be hosting this prestigious event.
MISA Communiqué (Lesotho statement)
February 24, 2004
MISA Lesotho to host regional meeting
The Lesotho chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MILES) has won
the bid to host this year's Annual General Meeting of the Media Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA). At a meeting of the Regional Governing Council of MISA
held on Wednesday, February 18 2004, in Pretoria, it was decided by a vote of
nine to one to hold the next MISA annual general meeting and conference in
Maseru in August 2004. The other bidding chapter was Namibia. It will be the
first time that Lesotho will be hosting this prestigious event.
MISA is a non-governmental organization with members in eleven Southern African
Development Community (SADC) countries. Officially launched in September 1992,
MISA primarily focuses on the need to promote free, independent and pluralistic
media, as envisaged in the 1991 Windhoek Declaration. MISA seeks ways in which
to promote the free flow of information and cooperation between media workers,
as a principal means of nurturing democracy and human rights in Africa.
MISA's meeting also coincided with the holding of the Africa Conference on
Freedom of Expression organized by the African Commission on Human and People's
Rights in collaboration with ARTICLE XIX, MISA and the Media Foundation for West
Africa. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom government and
the Open Society Initiative provided material support for the holding of this
conference for Southern Africa (OSISA). This conference was held on the 19th and
20th February 2004 at the same venue as the MISA meeting.
The conference brought together representatives from member states,
intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, academia,
national media regulatory bodies, human rights and media advocacy NGOs and media
representatives.
A main objective of the conference was to raise awareness about the Declaration
of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa and other international
standards relating to freedom of expression. In addition, the conference
discussed the activities of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights,
with a view to enhancing its capacity to promote and protect this key human
right.
The conference ended with a statement calling on the African Commission on Human
and People's Rights to, among other actions, create an effective, independent
and specialized mechanism for promoting freedom of expression, and for member
states of the Commission to respect the provisions of Article 9 of the African
Charter on Human and People's Rights and undertake a
comprehensive review of their legislation and practice to ensure that they meet
the standards set out in the declaration.
The Lesotho delegation to the MISA meeting and Freedom of Expression conference
comprised MISA-Lesotho Chairperson Thabo Thakalekoala and National Director
Malefetsane Nkhahle.
Ends
Zoé Titus
Regional Programme Coordinator: Media Freedom Monitoring
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Regional Secretariat
21 Johann Albrecht Street
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek, NAMIBIA
Tel: +264 61 232975
Fax: +264 61 248016
Cell: +264 81 128 3919
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.misa.org
PROMOTING MEDIA DIVERSITY . PLURALISM . SELF-SUFFICIENCY . INDEPENDENCE