In May 2019 Open Access Government reported that the International Observatory of Human Rights used UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day events in Addis Ababa to call for a UN Special Envoy focused on journalist safety.
Ethiopia hosted the global forum after a sharp rise in the Reporters Without Borders index following the release of jailed journalists under Abiy Ahmed. Panelists including formerly imprisoned Ethiopian journalists warned that a new hate-speech bill could again silence critics if drafted too broadly.
The week mixed celebration of freer talk with reminders that journalists were still being killed and harassed worldwide, and that Ethiopia’s earlier anti-terror and civil-society laws had been tools of censorship.
As press-freedom archive, the file captures the hinge mood of 2019: more open microphones in Addis Ababa, and already a fear that new speech rules could rebuild the cage.
Sources: Open Access Government