SECTOR 4 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: 1.8 4.2 The media follows voluntary codes of professional standards, which are enforced by independent/nonstatutory bodies that deal with complains from the public. The Congolese Media Observatory is a self-regulatory body set up by the media industry. It was created in 2001 after a seminar on “Media and Peace” for journalists in Pointe-Noire. Among its goals, the observatory was created to foster the principle of ethics and professionalism. Its main activities include monitoring the media landscape and it often hears complaints from the public on the conduct of the media. The observatory has elaborated an eight-point guideline to help it gauge the media scene. They include, among others, violation of the concept of objectivity and fairness, circulation of false information, violation of privacy and human dignity, the propagation of hatred, and the use of unorthodox methods of news-gathering. According to the observatory, the three most frequent press offences recorded in 2008 included violation of the principles of objectivity and fairness (33%), promotion of hatred (17.54%), and violation of privacy (14.42%). Nonetheless, the observatory has difficulties since it lost its main source of funding which was initially provided by an iNGO called Life and Peace Institute, which no longer operates in the country and has no office. Congolese journalists also drew up a media code of conduct in 1992 at the end of a national media forum. The code deals with the duties and rights of journalists, and lays down guidelines for what is considered acceptable professional conduct throughout the industry. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 2013 113