African Commission Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa Application of the Declaration As mentioned in the Introduction, the principles of this Declaration were introduced to give meaning to Article 9 of the Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights, which states that every individual has the right to receive information, and every individual has the right to expression and disseminate their opinions within the law. Article 21 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Namibia provides for freedom of speech and the media and should be read together with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and in particular this Declaration on the Principle of Freedom of Expression in Africa. The Declaration could also be used by citizens, organizations and the courts when interpreting the Namibian Constitution and domestic law in the local context. It is therefore advisable for Namibia to be proactive and include these important principles in existing and future policy and legislation. Main provisions The Declaration consists of sixteen articles. Article I guarantees freedom of expression and equal opportunity to access information for all people as a fundamental and inalienable human right and an indispensable component of a democratic society. This is a very strong statement. In most southern African countries, Namibia included, freedom of expression and the media are guaranteed. But a major challenge remains the issue of access to information. Article II guarantees that there shall be no arbitrary interference in the exercise of freedom of expression, and that any restrictions shall be provided for by law, serve a legitimate interest, and be necessary in a democratic society. This is a very strong statement and excludes the normal “national interest or national security” concerns that governments often rely upon. Article III states that freedom of information imposes an obligation on governments to take positive measures to promote diversity in the availability and sources of information, access to the media for marginalized groups and promotion of local languages and voices. Promoting diversity through proactive measures should be a core objective of Government policy, legislation and regulation relating to information and communication. Article IV deals with access to information that is held by public and private bodies and sets out a number of principles in this regard. This is an area in which Namibia has fallen behind other countries, as there is no proactive legislation to ensure that public bodies and companies make information available and accessible to the public on a systematic basis. Article V says that State control or monopoly over broadcasting is incompatible with the right to free of expression. Rather States shall promote a diverse and independent private broadcasting sector. This article sets out principles on which the regulation of private and community broadcasting should be based. Article VI deals with public broadcasting and states that government controlled broadcasting should be transformed into public service broadcasters that are accountable to the public through Parliament. The Article outlines the principles on which this accountability should be based. For Namibia this provision is very important because, as this study goes on to show, all the boards of the country’s publicly-funded media, including the NBC, are appointed by the Minister, and are accountable to Government, rather than being accountable to the public through Parliament. Article VII - deals with bodies that regulate broadcasting and telecommunications, and states that such bodies should be independent and adequately protected from interference, particularly of a political and economic nature. The Article goes on to state that members of such bodies should be appointed through an open and transparent process involving civil Namibia Media Law Audit – report final draft 12