SECTOR 1 Article 9 of this Charter, noted a panellist, stipulates that “1) every individual shall have the right to receive information; 2) every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law”. Benin is very open to the signing and ratification of international instruments, but their application remains insignificant. Once an international instrument has been ratified, it must form part of the country’s legal framework. But there is a tendency for those who wield political power to “swallow up” the national judicial system. According to one participant, a great deal remains to be done with regard to the African Court on Human and People’s Rights. Indeed, the country acceded to this Court in 1998 but only ratified the protocol in 2014, thus becoming the 28th African country. It was made possible thanks only to the advocacy drive of the organization Changement Social Bénin (CSBénin), which was Benin’s focal point in the Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and People’s Rights. Generally speaking, international instruments are signed but the citizens in whose names they are ratified are usually not informed of such decisions. This boils down to the state not opening up to discussion and issues of freedom. 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: 2.6 (2007=n/a; 2009=3.2; 2011=2.7) 1.5 Print publications are not required to obtain permission to publish from state authorities. In Benin, it is sufficient to make a declaration in order to create a print publication. But the unanimous feeling is that, in practice, this involves an authorisation. The example cited in confirmation thereof is the practice revealed in the Department of Internal Affairs, a division of the Ministry of the Interior, where an amount of 50,000 CFA francs (about 100 US dollars) is required to create a print publication. This has been imposed on citizens despite the absence of any such legal requirement. Anybody refusing to pay this sum will not receive authorisation. 70 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BENIN 2014