SECTOR 1 1.11 Civil society in general and media lobby groups actively advance the cause of media freedom. This goes for organisations of Congolese journalists and media but also other civil society organisations (e.g. the NGO la voix des sans voix; Voice of the Voiceless VSV). These actions manifest themselves through protest marches, the issuing of memoranda, and communiqués For example, a protest march was organised by the main organisations of journalists (UNPC2, OMEC3, S NPP4, JED5, UCOFEM6) when a Member of Parliament insulted a journalist, and a memorandum was handed over to the Speaker of the National Assembly. 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: 4.9 1.12 Media legislation evolves from meaningful consultations among state institutions, citizens and interest groups. Media laws are most likely the result of successive battles pitting media professionals against the Ministry of Communication. The laws on the freedom of the press (Law 08/011 and Law 96/002), the 1981 Law on the status of journalists and on the CSAC are all texts developed by journalists and endorsed by the State. Due to disagreements with the Ministry of Communication, however, their adoption has been delayed and their implementation is selective. The text for the 1981 Law on the Freedom of the Press, for example, was submitted to the parliamentary communications committee in 1995 and 2 3 4 5 6 84 Congolese National Press Union (UNPC) Congolese Media Observatory (OMEC) National Union of Media Professionals (SNPP) Journalistes en Danger (JED) Congolese Union of Women in Media (UCOFEM) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Democratic Republic of Congo