*Press briefing*
The Executive Board of the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union met on Tuesday with the President of the High Authority for the Press and Audiovisual Media (HAPA), Mr Mohamed Abdallah Lahbib. Several members of the Authority’s Council and staff attended.
The President of the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union, Mr Ahmed Salem Sidi Abdallah, said that the new Board brings together media professionals and has a new vision for media reform. To implement it, the Board is ready to cooperate and establish partnerships with all parties involved in the media sector, foremost among them HAPA.
Ould Sidi Abdallah added that the Board is counting on the High Authority in several areas of its new vision, particularly the enforcement of legal provisions, especially the Professional Journalist Act, improving journalists’ conditions, safeguarding their material and moral rights, and strengthening the institutional structure of press organisations.
He said that, drawing on the trust of journalists and press organisations, its credibility and its experience, the Union seeks to be the primary and sole representative interlocutor for Mauritanian journalists with official authorities and regional and international bodies.
The Union President stressed the commitment of the Union and its new Board to supporting press reform and enhancing journalists’ professionalism. To that end, they are ready to use every means available under the law to end the unfair treatment experienced by many journalists.
Ould Sidi Abdallah welcomed the gains made for journalists in recent years, both in legal provisions and digital infrastructure, such as the professional journalists’ register and HAPA’s progress in accurately registering press organisations. He stressed the need to engage with and take account of conditions on the ground when addressing difficulties arising from the reform measures being undertaken.
The President of the High Authority for the Press and Audiovisual Media (HAPA), Mr Mohamed Abdallah Lahbib, outlined the measures the Authority has taken in recent years to professionalise and reform the sector, affirming that it will continue along this path, whatever measures that may require.
Ould Lahbib said that the Authority has worked, and continues to work, to turn benefits granted to the press, such as the press card and the Private Press Support Fund, into instruments of reform, even if this may be described as restrictive. He called on partners, foremost among them the Journalists’ Union, to shoulder responsibility for reform and be prepared to bear its cost, because reform is painful and necessarily comes at a price.
The Authority’s President said that they began launching the professional journalists’ register as soon as the decree implementing the Professional Journalist Act was issued. He noted that they faced many constraints during its launch but succeeded in overcoming them.
He discussed their work to revise the decree on electronic services to address its shortcomings, notably its failure to define a press organisation and its simplification of establishment procedures in a way that is inconsistent with other legal provisions, particularly the Professional Journalist Act.
He also presented information on the comprehensive survey currently being conducted by the Authority, the digitisation of the Public Support Fund, and the publication of the Authority’s annual report and its report on media pluralism. He noted that they are preparing to issue a report on the classification of media organisations in the country.
Ould Lahbib announced their readiness to organise a forum to develop the Private Press Support Fund. He said the Authority is ready to cooperate with the Union on anything that advances press reform, particularly training, encouraging positive competition in production, and improving journalists’ conditions.
Several Executive Board members spoke during the meeting. They called on the High Authority for the Press and Audiovisual Media (HAPA) to accelerate enforcement of the Professional Journalist Act, combat impersonation of journalists, and use its external partnerships to secure specialised training for Mauritanian journalists.
Media Committee
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