FAJ and its affiliated journalist unions and associations continue to document intimidation, arbitrary detention, online harassment, censorship and physical attacks against journalists across the continent. These violations do not only endanger individual media professionals. They also undermine the public’s right to information, which is central to human rights and democratic accountability. When journalists are silenced, civic space diminishes or vanishes completely, resulting in the erosion of society’s capacity to challenge authority, combat corruption and gross human rights violations as well as engaging substantively in public life.
FAJ is deeply concerned about the situation of journalists in countries experiencing unconstitutional government changes and in areas affected by conflict and crises. Sudan currently stands out as the deadliest environment for journalists in Africa this year, with at least six journalists and media workers killed in the line of duty as recorded by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) although similar dangerous threats also exist in places like Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. In such contexts, journalists often become the first targets of those who seek to control national narratives. Their work becomes extremely dangerous and their human rights require urgent and dedicated protection. Journalists who report on political crises are at greater risk just for telling the truth and being a voice to the voiceless.
In 2025, there have already been serious attacks and threats against journalists in Burkina Faso, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. These incidents illustrate a wider pattern of hostility toward independent journalism and show how fragile the environment for media freedom remains across the continent.
FAJ calls on governments and state institutions in Africa to uphold their human rights obligations by protecting journalists, reforming restrictive media laws, confronting impunity and conducting credible investigations into all attacks against media professionals. Those in power do not grant media freedom as a favour. Governments have a duty to respect and defend this public right. A society where journalists are unsafe is a society where human rights are insecure. African Union instruments reinforce these responsibilities by committing states to uphold freedom of expression and protect civic space.
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“Journalists across Africa continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience in the face of rising repression, but we must not mistake resilience for protection.” The hostile attitudes directed at journalists by various actors must come to an end,” said Omar Faruk Osman, President of FAJ. “In several countries, journalists face unique and escalating dangers and their human rights require urgent attention. If human rights are truly our everyday essentials, then safeguarding journalists’ ‘rights must become a daily obligation for all African states.”
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