SECTOR 1 1.4 The Government makes every effort to honour regional and international instruments on freedom of expression and freedom of the media. As to the issue of respecting international and regional instruments on the freedom of expression and press freedom, the panel expresses consensus regarding the worrying tendency of the Senegalese government to sign mechanically almost every document submitted by multilateral organisations and then not striving to honour them. That being said, the panellists are divided as to the efforts made by the Senegalese state with regard to the freedom of expression and of the press. According to one of them, the government demonstrated its good will in this regard under the old regime (deposed by the outcome of the March 2012 presidential election) to the extent that it did attempt to adopt a bill on access to information, in accordance with its international commitments. 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: 3.3 (2010:3.9; 2008:n/a; 2006:n/a) 1.5 Print publications are not required to obtain permission to publish from state authorities. In Senegal, print media are not in fact subject to prior authorisation by government or any other state authority. The fundamental law of the country provides, in Article 11, that “the creation of a newspaper for political, cultural, sports, social, recreational or scientific information is free and not subject to any prior authorisation”. 78 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SENEGAL 2013