Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.8 1.4 Government makes every effort to honour regional and international instruments on freedom of expression and the media. The fact that regional and international instruments are referred to in the preamble of Togo’s constitution could be taken as an indication that the government is willing to honour its international commitments related to freedom of expression. In fact, the introduction to the country’s basic law says the Togolese people are convinced that a state which upholds the rule of law “can only be based on political pluralism and the principles of democracy and the protection of human rights as defined in the United Nations Charter of 1945, the Universal Declaration of Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1948 and the International Pacts of 1966, as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’s Rights adopted in 1981 by the Organisation of African Unity.” More specifically, article 50 of the constitution provides that “the rights and responsibilities spelt out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international instruments related to human rights, ratified by Togo, form an integral part of the (…) constitution.” The question remains whether the principles and values espoused in the constitution are indeed applied. In itself, the fact that they are contained in the basic law does not say anything about the government’s seriousness in honouring and giving practical effect to the respective regional and international instruments. The panel also pointed out that the ratification, domestication and effective implementation of these instruments is not solely the responsibility of government but that other stakeholders such as the organisations of civil society have an important and crucial role to play in this regard. 86 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2010