Freedom of Expression (FoE) is a fundamental human right. However, violations of FoE rights continue to be a major challenge to participatory and accountable governance in West Africa. In many countries in the region, critical media and dissenting voices are not tolerated and are often abused. In order to help improve the situation, the MFWA and its national partners across West Africa will work toward ensuring the following:
- Noticeable improvement in respecting and protecting the right to freedom of expression by state and non-state actors in West Africa
- The public’s right to access information is guaranteed by regional and national laws and respected in practice
Our efforts towards the attainment of the above objectives under the Freedom of Expression Programme are focused on the following areas of work:
- Law and policy reform advocacy relating to digital migration, Internet freedom, and de-criminalisation of defamation laws
- FoE Rights Monitoring, Campaigns and Protection
- Freedom of Assembly
- Freedom of Expression Violations
- Freedom of Expression and the Law
- Access to information advocacy
- Safety of journalists advocacy
- Access to Justice and anti-impunity campaigns
You may read more about What We Do or our Overall Strategy.