Opening of a Forum to discuss the Draft Code of Ethics for Communication Professionals

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture, Arts, Communication, and Relations with Parliament, Mr. Sidi Mohamed Jedou Khatri, supervised today, Thursday in Nouakchott, the opening of a forum on the draft Code of Professional Ethics for Communication Professionals, organized by the High Authority for Press and Audiovisuals (HAPA).

During this forum, several workshops will be held, addressing the draft Code of Professional Ethics for Communication Professionals and the professional responsibility of journalists, in addition to the signing of the Code of Professional Ethics for Communication Professionals.

The Chairman of the High Authority for Press and Audiovisual Media, Mr. Mohamed Abdullah Lahbib, said in his speech on the occasion that this project is considered an advanced step in the accumulated reform process that began with the formation of the Press Sector Reform Committee, which submitted its report to His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Sheikh El Ghazouani, in 2021. He highlighted that since then, the competent authorities have been working to implement the recommendations contained in the report, which has strengthened freedoms and developed control and regulatory mechanisms, contributing to the management of the sector according to a strategy of gradual reform towards a professional, skilled, free, and responsible media.

He added that the draft code of ethics for communication professionals will contribute to preserving democratic gains and consolidating the experience of constructive dialogue, and will ensure that citizens have their right to access accurate and professional news.

He affirmed that signing the code will enable self-regulation in the journalism and media sector, through communication professionals adhering to its provisions, which will make journalists supervisors of themselves regarding what they publish and produce in terms of news.

In turn, the President of the Professional Ethics Authority in Journalism, Mr. Abdelkaddous Ahmed Al-Makki, thanked the High Authority for Press and Audiovisuals for this initiative authorized by law, which sincerely reflects its interest in this field through support and training, embodying the attention that His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Sheikh Ghazouani, gives to it within his program “My Ambition for the Nation,” which the government is working to implement.

He said that it is time to establish an ethical charter that would form the basis of journalistic practice to convey news and information with honesty, accuracy, and objectivity.

The forum was inaugurated in the presence of the President of the National Human Rights Commission, the Communications Director at the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Communication and Relations with Parliament, and members of the High Authority for Press and Audio