SECTOR 1 Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, is effectively protected and promoted. 1.1 Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, is guaranteed in the constitution and supported by other pieces of legislation. The constitution and laws of the Republic of the Congo grant citizens wideranging freedoms, including freedom of expression, information and media. The country’s post-conflict constitution, adopted in a referendum on 20 January 2002, is the principal guarantor of these “new” freedoms. Article 19 states: “Every citizen has the right to freely express and share his/her opinion through speech, writing, image or all other forms of communication. Freedom of information and communication is guaranteed; censorship is prohibited; access to sources of information is free; every citizen has the right to information and communication...” For many Congolese, this provision is revolutionary, compared to the one party and “dictatorial” system that prevailed prior to the new constitution. Article 19, in fact, follows another provision in the preamble of the constitution recognising several international instruments dealing with fundamental rights as “an integral part” of the Congolese constitution. These include: • • • • The United Nations Charter (1945); the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981); and other “pertinent international texts relative to human rights that have been dully ratified”. In the same year that the country’s post-conflict national dialogue ended, the Republic of the Congo passed a “Freedom of Information and Communication” law. The 2001 law provides the framework for the exercise of “freedom of information and communication guaranteed by the constitution.” It notes that: Article 4: “Access to sources of information is free; censorship is prohibited; no one can be disturbed for his/her ideas and opinions. The right to seek, receive, spread information and ideas by any means of expression within the limits set by this law, without the consideration of frontiers, is guaranteed.” 74 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 2013