SECTOR 1 1.4 Government makes every effort to honour regional and international instruments on freedom of expression and the media. The panel observed that Algeria was one of the countries in the world that signed, ratified and adhered to nearly all international instruments in almost all areas. According to the participants, the promptness of the Algerian government to endorse these international instruments is mainly due to the fact that the authorities can then use this to help the country regain prestige on the international scene. Like many other countries, Algeria ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Besides, the country confirms in its Constitution that it “adheres to the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter” (article 28). In line with this commitment, Algeria signed in 1989 the United Nations international covenant on civil and political rights (adopted in 1966 by the United Nations General Assembly). Article 19 of this covenant reaffirms the right of any individual to freedom of opinion and of expression while attaching special duties and responsibilities to this right. On 10 April 1986, Algeria also signed the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Adopted in Nairobi in June 1981, this Charter entered into effect on 21 October 1986. Article 9 of this charter stipulates that “every individual shall have the right to receive information. Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law”. Algeria is chronologically the 23rd of 43 countries to have signed this regional instrument. The country has a seat on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. More recently, Algeria was on 11 June 2006 the second among seven countries to have ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights. This charter was adopted in May 2004 during the Summit of the League of Arab States in Tunis and entered into effect on 15 January 2008, following its ratification by the United Arab Emirates. The right to information and to freedom of opinion and expression is stipulated in its article 32. The Charter also proclaims “the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any medium, regardless of geographical boundaries”. However, irrespective of the motivations of authorities during the signing and ratification of international legal or conventional frameworks, the application of the rules and principles leaves much to be desired. In certain cases, the country has made such significant reservations that the instruments were void of their substance. This is true for the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the rights of women in Africa. Although it signed the Protocol barely five months after its adoption in Maputo (Mozambique) in June 2003, Algeria is yet to ratify and submit the instruments of ratification. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ALGERIA 2009 17