SECTOR 4 The media practice high levels of professional standards. 4.1 The media follow voluntary codes of professional standards, which are enforced by self-regulatory bodies that deal with complaints from the public. There is no media self-regulatory body in charge of professional standards in Cameroon. The Cameroon Media Council (CMC) is an advisory body to the Minister of Communication, whose members are chosen by the Ministry. It was established to deal with complaints from the public, as well as to handle issues of ethics. The Council was set up following deliberations within the Union of Cameroon Journalists (UCJ), and its creation was funded by the Canadian government. But the organ is dormant, and its credibility was compromised «For some journalists, almost as soon as it was created. In 2006, the correcting wrong Council failed to take a stand on the publishing in several newspapers of controversial lists of 50 information seems like the alleged homosexual public figures. In this regard, worst humiliation they the public felt the Council was biased. can ever be subjected to,” said one panellist. » There are two national codes of ethics for journalists in Cameroon - one developed by the UCJ and the other by the state. The Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) is in the process of creating an ethics committee. It is unclear to what extent journalists and editors respect existing national codes. However, many newspapers such as Mutations, the Standard Tribune and The Post have their own in-house guides and codes of conduct, which their journalists and editors are compelled to uphold. The media law obliges newspapers to carry rejoinders or allow aggrieved parties the “right of reply”. In spite of very harsh laws, Cameroon is replete with newspapers that are unwilling to respect basic ethical principles. Some newspapers refuse outright to run rejoinders when members of the public complain about their reporting. “For some journalists, correcting wrong information seems like the worst humiliation they can ever be subjected to,” said one panellist. 100 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER CAMEROON 2011