Benin: the UPMB launches four calls to reform the media sector.

Speaking before HAAC councillors, the presidents of the National Council of the Press and Audiovisual Employers of Benin (CNPA-Bénin) and of the Observatory of Ethics and Deontology in the Media (ODEM), as well as the leaderships of the House of Media, the Benin Broadcasting and Television Company (SRTB) and the National Office of Printing and Press (ONIP), the union leader framed his intervention around this year’s United Nations theme, “Shaping a Future of Peace”.

The UPMB stressed the material precariousness affecting the profession. “Media professionals still do not, for the overwhelming majority, benefit from a decent salary, let alone adequate social coverage to effectively carry out their role in our country in the process of construction,” said Hervé Hessou. He also pointed to a regulatory framework deemed not favorable to the press, as well as the economic precariousness of media companies, journalists’ security, and fair access to public information. The need for a regulatory framework “that protects without unduly constraining” was also highlighted.

The president of the Union of Media Professionals of Benin (UPMB), Hervé Prudence Hessou, also praised the role played by the media during the recent municipal, legislative and presidential elections, calling the press the “fourth estate” essential to democratic consolidation.

Four Calls Issued

Hervé Hessou structured his statement around four distinct calls. To the authorities, he urged the consolidation of democratic gains and the strengthening of guarantees of press freedom. To media companies, the improvement of working conditions and the professionalization of the sector. To journalists, a “surge of ethics and rigor”. To the public, responsible use of information.

The UPMB urged the entire profession to actively combat disinformation, to strengthen its adherence to ethical principles, and to contribute to educating citizens in critical thinking. Hervé Hessou also highlighted the need for alignment between journalism, technologies, including artificial intelligence, and human rights, in line with UNESCO’s directions.

Note that the UPMB’s intervention comes in a tense context for the Beninese media sector. Several journalists and internet users have been prosecuted in recent years on the basis of the digital code adopted in 2018, which tightly regulates expressions disseminated on the internet and has served as the basis for numerous proceedings before the Court for the Repression of Economic and Terrorist Offences (CRIET).

Benin, long presented as a regional model in terms of media pluralism, has seen its ranking fall in RSF’s annual reports in recent years, which notably point to the narrowing of the critical space under the double mandate of President Patrice Talon. Several online media outlets have been suspended or closed during the period.

The May 3 ceremony occurred three weeks before the inauguration of the elected president Romuald Wadagni, scheduled for May 24, an occasion that several professional organizations see as a window for a new dynamic of dialogue with public authorities on sector regulation, the status of journalists and the profession’s collective bargaining agreement.