Celebrating the enduring legacy of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa
Posted: 16 September, 2024 Filed under: Nicholas Cheruiyot | Tags: Access to Information, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African continent, Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, democracy, false news, information laws, information legislations, international human rights standards, internet shutdowns, intimidation, online harassment, physical threats, right to freedom of expression, Securing the Effective Realization of Access to Information in Africa, sexual violence, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, transparency, verbal abuse, violations Leave a comment
Author: Nicholas Cheruiyot
LLM Student, Centre for Human Rights
1 Introduction
The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa (SR) was established in 2004 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Commission).[1] This was following a series of events beginning in 1998 when the idea of free and open internet was conceived,[2] considering the importance of access to information in relation to the freedom of expression. The SR is one of the special mechanisms within the Commission, whose purpose is to promote and protect the freedom of expression throughout the African continent.[3] As the SR marks two decades in 2024 since its establishment, it has made significant progress in shaping Africa’s freedom of expression and access to information landscape as discussed in this article. There have however been challenges which have hampered its important role.
AfricLaw 