By Politico staff writer
In a bid to ensure the safety and security of journalists in the execution of their professional duties, the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) and partners have finalized the draft Policy on the Safety of Journalists in Sierra Leone.
The decision to complete and adopt the document was made on Friday 26th August 2022 at a workshop organized by the Group at the Negus Nagas Complex, Grafton village, Western Rural District where heads of National journalists’ associations and organizations were assembled. The workshop was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the United States of America.
The Policy on the Safety of Journalists is part of several initiatives aimed at providing a conducive environment for media practitioners in the country; an environment in which media practitioners are safe and feel confident in executing their tasks in society.
Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of MRCG, Dr. Francis Sowa, noted that the workshop was part of continued efforts by MRCG and its stakeholders to create a convenient environment for journalists and media practitioners in their lines of duty. He added that the MRCG had engaged government and stakeholders and had conducted numerous stakeholders’ meetings.
He continued that “our business here today is to look at a draft policy which has been developed for the safety of journalists in Sierra Leone and to make necessary corrections and adopt it. The final version will be adopted and used as a template by media houses to have their individual policies to guide and secure their journalists.”
The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, stated that meetings of such caliber are very necessary as he said the country was fast approaching the general elections; the period in which journalists are more faced with safety and security issues.
He added that engaging the Government on media and safety issues is as important as anything, noting that it has the tendency to improve the media landscape in Sierra Leone.
“This workshop is a continued effort from the signing of the MoU between the security sector and the media and we will continue to have these kinds of engagements to strengthen journalists’ safety,” said SLAJ President.
The Policy seeks to promote the safety of journalists in Sierra Leone and to comply with international standards on the safety of journalists in the country. It also aims at ensuring that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between SLAJ and the Security Sector Institutions is implemented and also provides a generic template that media institutions can use to develop their own policy on the safety of journalists.
The workshop ended with the stakeholders making inputs and adopting the draft Policy.
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