Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, 23 August 2010. For immediate release.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has expressed concern over the implications of a proposed Protection of Information Bill currently before the South African parliament.

“The proposed legislation would shield the government from press scrutiny and effectively criminalize activities essential to investigative journalism,” WAN-IFRA said in a letter addressed to the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma.

In its current format the bill empowers officials to classify any public or commercial data as confidential on vaguely defined "national interest" grounds without having to give an explanation. Such powers could be used to outlaw coverage of issues including public law enforcement and judicial matters.

One of the most alarming aspects of the bill is its lack of a “public interest” defence for use by journalists to support the disclosure of classified information, an omission that means anyone found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of official or classified information could face severe penalties.

A separate proposal to replace the country’s independent Press Ombudsman and Appeals Panel with a government-appointed Media Appeals Tribunal risks turning the current self-regulatory system into an instrument of political censorship. Members would inevitably face an inherent conflict of interest, whereas the present system has repeatedly acted with neutrality.

In line with the Declaration of Table Mountain, WAN-IFRA’s call for African states to promote the highest standards of press freedom that was recently endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the organisation urged President Zuma to amend the Protection of Information Bill to uphold constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press “and to ensure that any future media reform in South Africa fully respects international standards of press freedom.”

The full letter read:

“We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, to express our serious concern at two recent moves by the ruling ANC that seriously threaten press freedom in South Africa.

“The Protection of Information Bill currently before parliament seeks to replace apartheid-era legislation with far-reaching provisions that would virtually shield the government from press scrutiny and criminalize activities essential to investigative journalism.

“Under the bill, officials would be empowered to classify any public or commercial data as confidential on vaguely defined "national interest" grounds without having to give any explanation. Such powers could be used to outlaw coverage of such issues as public law enforcement and judicial matters, with political appointees having the final say over which information should be classified.

“One of the serious deficiencies in the legislation is that there is no provision for a “public interest” defence by journalists and others to support the disclosure of classified information. Anyone found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of official or classified information could face heavy penalties.

“We are also seriously concerned at an ANC proposal that parliament appoint a Media Appeals Tribunal to adjudicate on complaints against the press. Such a government-appointed agency could be used as an instrument of political censorship, as has happened many times across Africa, and members would inevitably face an inherent conflict of interest. We respectfully remind you that an effective self-regulatory system, including a Press Ombudsman and an Appeals Panel, is already in place and has repeatedly been shown to act with neutrality.

“We bring to your attention the Declaration of Table Mountain, endorsed at the 60th World Newspaper Congress and 14th Editors Forum in Cape Town in June 2007 and recently signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in July 2010. The Declaration of Table Mountain, among other things, calls on African states to promote the highest standards of press freedom in furtherance of the principles proclaimed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other protocols and to provide constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press.

“We respectfully call on you to ensure that the Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunals proposal are either amended in line with constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press or withdrawn altogether. We ask that you ensure that any future media reform in South Africa fully respects international standards of press freedom.”

For more information on the Declaration of Table Mountain, WAN-IFRA’s campaign to end insult and criminal defamation laws in Africa, visit http://www.declarationoftablemountain.org/home.php

More WAN-IFRA press freedom protests can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/pfreedom/rubriques.php?id=304

WAN-IFRA is the global organisation for the world’s newspapers and news publishers, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. Learn more about WAN-IFRA at http://www.wan-ifra.org/ or through the WAN-IFRA Magazine at http://www.wan-ifra.org/magazine.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris, France. Tel: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org.

Read a joint statement made by South Africa’s leading journalism education institutions condemning the Protection of Information Bill here.