PRESS RELEASE

MEDIA IN SUDAN AT A CROSSROADS

Nairobi , 27 November 2007

Independent media in Sudan still face severe challenges to pursue their right to express themselves freely. Although the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ending the 21 year long civil war between North and South Sudan , opened up space for a more democratic setup for media ownership and practice of journalism, issues such as censorship, harassment and persecution continue to challenge the media.

This is the overall conclusion in the report “Assessment and Outline of a Strategy for Media Support – Media in Sudan at a Crossroads” which was launched today at a meeting between Sudanese media representatives in Nairobi .

The report offers an assessment of the media situation in Sudan , as well as the outline of a strategy for media support in the coming years. It builds upon the “Media and Peace in Sudan – Options for Immediate Action” report, which provided an assessment as of August 2003 of the media and opportunities for media development in Sudan , published by International Media Support.

Updating the 2003 findings, this new report describes and contextualizes a series of challenges in bringing an environment conducive to freedom of expression through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the changes to the political framework in Sudan .

The report was produced in cooperation between International Media Support (IMS), ARTICLE 19, the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS), the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and the Olof Palme International Centre (OPIC).

A wide range of media practitioners and stakeholders contributed to the report, including representatives from the Sudanese media and Sudanese authorities, civil society organizations, religious and political groups, as well as representatives from the donor community.

Through this comprehensive process IMS has strived to ensure broad support in Sudan and internationally for the findings of the report so that it may form a common ground for future media support in Sudan .

“The media will be a decisive player in Sudan ’s transition into a democracy. It is our hope that the assessment provides a much-needed overview of the media situation in the country and thereby strengthens support to the media sector with the aim of developing an environment conducive to media freedom” states Jesper Hّjberg , Executive Director of International Media Support.

The report is published by International Media Support and funded by the European Commission, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The report is in the process of being translated into Arabic.

For further information, please contact IMS:

Finn Rasmussen , team leader, tel: +45 2554 3539, email: fr@i-m-s.dk

Lotte Dahlmann , communications coordinator, tel: +45 2554 3541, email: ld@i-m-s.dk

Jesper Hّjberg , executive director, tel: +45 2531 0015, email: jh@i-m-s.dk

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

International Media Support (IMS) contributes to peace, stability and the development of democracy in conflict and conflict threatened areas through rapid interventions to promote and strengthen press freedom. The aim is to allow the population in endangered areas to exercise their right to express themselves freely – also in times of crisis.