UJOSS calls on South Sudan government to remove restrictions on press freedom
The union of journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) has called on state actors to remove restrictions on press freedom.
“We would like to draw attention to the situation of violence against journalists and media workers as we anticipate the 2024 general election period, it is imperative to denounce and avoid the restrictions on the press that have existed in the past,” said Majak Daniel Kuany, the Secretary General for UJOSS during celebration of International Day to End Impunity Against Journalists in Juba on Thursday.
Sapana Abuyi, the Director General of Information and Media Compliance at the South Sudan Media Authority, said the media landscape has improved compared to the previous years.
He said intimidation and physical attacks on journalists have drastically reduced.
Jasper Kodi, the representative of United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) urged the government to protect journalists and to prosecute systematically those guilty of crimes against them.
“We must collectively redouble effort to guarantee their protection,” said Kodi.
Moyiga Nduru, Commissioner for the Commission of Access to Information said the media landscape has improved following regulations put in place by the media authority.
“We have come a very long way, when you take 2005 up to 2015, the media landscape in this country was characterized by chaos and by indiscipline but after that there has been some progress,” said Nduru.
