Sierra Leone

Ref.No.UNIOSIL/PIO/40/2007

Freetown, Sierra Leone, -- Barely two months after the launch of the Sierra Leone Media Code of Conduct for reporting the forthcoming elections, Mr. Unisa Sesay, the chairman of the Independent Media Monitoring and Refereeing Panel (I-MARP) set up to promote compliance with the media code, has scored adherence to the Code as good..

Mr. Unisa Sesay, who is also Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Programme Manager of a Government-owned Commission, made the disclosure on UN Radio Sierra Leone. Sesay said Panel Members had been visiting media establishments in Freetown to dialogue on the content of the Code of Conduct with managers, programme producers, editors and reporters.

Noting that media practitioners are aware of the content of the Code, he said the routine visits had further enhanced their understanding and responsibilities. “We have noticed that our colleagues have become very conscious of their responsibilities, because those journalists who are familiar with the electioneering situation in the country, know that by now, things would have been very hot in the papers”, Sesay averred.

The Sierra Leone Independent Media Monitoring and Refereeing Panel for the 2007 electoral campaign is an outcome of extensive discussions that led to the signing of a Media Code of Conduct for the 2007 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections. The code of conduct was developed by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) with support from the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

By appending their signatures to the Code of Conduct on 17 March 2007, editors, managers, and proprietors of media and media-related institutions nation-wide consented to enhance their credibility through fair and objective coverage and reporting of the elections re-scheduled for 11 August 2007.

Meanwhile, the Sierra Leone Independent Media Monitoring and Refereeing Panel for the 2007 electoral campaign is poised to make its presence felt nationwide including monitoring at regional and district levels. According to Sesay, the general criteria have been established for those persons who would be monitors at the district level.