Africa

2018

  
This screenshot of South Africa's Daily Maverick shows an op-ed by CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal about her experience in Tanzania.

Angela Quintal recounts CPJ’s ordeal in Tanzania

Johannesburg, November 13, 2018–“We drove down a dirt road and entered the premises of what appeared to be a safe house, through a large gate. Several men in plain clothes stood in the front yard. At least one appeared to be armed with a rifle. Their animosity was palpable… We were ordered out of the…

Read More ›

Tanzanian police stand guard outside a vote counting center at a school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on October 28, 2015. On August 16, 2018, CPJ joined a call for the UN Human Rights Council to address a crackdown on free expression and other rights in Tanzania. (AP Photo/Khalfan Said)

CPJ joins call for UN Human Rights Council to address crackdown in Tanzania

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 29 other civil society groups yesterday wrote to the member and observer states of the United Nations Human Rights Council urging them to address the deteriorating situation for human rights, including freedom of the press, in Tanzania during the upcoming 39th session of the council in September.

Read More ›

Ethiopian photojournalist Aziza Mohamed, pictured in Nairobi in 2014 with her colleagues, from left, Endalkachew Tesfaye and Endale Teshi, who both now live in the U.S. and Habtamu Seyoum, who is still waiting for resettlement. (CPJ/Nicole Schilit)

Ethiopian photojournalist shares experiences of going into exile

For World Refugee Day, exiled Ethiopian photojournalist Aziza Mohamed spoke with CPJ Journalist Assistance Program Coordinator Nicole Schilit about her experience of being a refugee and eventually being resettled in the U.S. [This transcript of Aziza’s comments has been edited for length and clarity.]

Read More ›

A demonstration calling for LGBT rights in Trinidad and Tobago on April 12. Journalists covering LGBTQ issues say they often face retaliation for their work. (Reuters/Andrea de Silva)

Covering LGBTQ issues brings risk of threats and retaliation for journalists and their sources

To mark the annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, CPJ spoke with journalists and news outlets based in Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, the U.S., Uganda, and Russia, about the challenges they face reporting on LGBTQ issues.

Read More ›

A banner of Tanzanian President John Magufuli adorns a wall around the country's tanzanite mines. Magufuli's government has imposed a series of restrictions on rights, including freedom of expression. (AFP/Joseph Lyimo)

CPJ joins call for Tanzanian government to respect human rights

CPJ, along with 64 other non-governmental organizations, today wrote to Tanzanian President John Magufuli to express concern about a worrying decline in the respect of human rights, including freedom of expression.

Read More ›

Cartoonist Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé, pictured in court in February 2018. The journalist was acquitted and released from jail but authorities in Equatorial Guinea have not renewed his passport, which means Esono Ebalé cannot return to El Salvador. (AFP/Samuel Obiang)

CPJ joins call for Equatorial Guinea to renew cartoonist’s passport

CPJ, along with eight other human rights organizations, today urged the government of Equatorial Guinea to renew without further delay the passport of acclaimed cartoonist Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé.

Read More ›

Riot police prepare ahead of civilian protests in Kinshasa. Journalists covering unrest in the DRC risk being detained, attacked, or harassed. (Reuters/Kenny Katombe)

Journalists covering unrest in the DRC face arrests, assault, and internet shutdowns

On New Year’s Eve, as the world prepared to ring in 2018, Congolese journalist Edmon Izula was being repeatedly hit with a rifle and threatened at gunpoint by a member of the state security forces. Iluza was one of at least three journalists harassed by authorities that day, in a scenario that has become common…

Read More ›

Ethiopian jounalist Eskinder Nega (center) is released from jail in February 2018. The country's authorities since re-arrested Eskinder and at least five other journalists. (AFP/Yonas Tadesse)

CPJ joins call for Ethiopia’s prime minister-designate to ensure journalists’ immediate release

The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with 40 civil society organizations, yesterday sent a joint letter to Ethiopia’s prime minister-designate, Abiy Ahmed, urging him to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of recently arrested journalists, and human rights defenders.

Read More ›

Venus symbols are seen during an event where UN Women and rights groups launched a campaign against violence towards women as International Women's Day approaches, in Mexico City, Mexico in March 2018. CPJ has documented threats faced by women journalists across the globe. (Reuters/Henry Romero)

On International Women’s Day, CPJ looks at threats women journalists face

From imprisonment, sexual violence, cyber harassment, and even death, CPJ has documented threats faced by women journalists across the globe.

Read More ›

A billboard featuring President Salva Kiir, left, and opposition leader Riek Machar, is displayed in Juba in 2016. South Sudan is due to resume peace talks under an agreement that includes calls for an end to harassment of the press. (AFP/Albert Gonzalez Farran, CDS)

As peace talks resume South Sudan continues its assault on press freedom

A ceasefire agreement signed on December 21 between the South Sudanese government and opposition forces has revived a 2015 peace process and brought hope that the conflict will not persist into its fifth year. The agreement includes obligations to “ensure protection of media” and “[c]ease all forms of harassment of the media.” Yet, ahead of…

Read More ›

2018