The definition of “terrorism” in the Proclamation should be narrowed to include only acts of serious crime that pose a serious threat to life, safety or property and that are intended to advance an ideological, religious or political cause and influence the government by inflicting terror on the public.[more]

Freelance journalist Stanley Gama was on 30 March 2010 summoned to Harare Central Police Station where he was questioned in connection with an article that appeared in the Zimbabwean edition of The Sunday Times published in South Africa.[more]

Britain's media watchdog on Tuesday upheld a complaint against a blog written by a journalist in what was its first-ever move to censure a newspaper or magazine over comments by a blogger. [more]

Journalists should not be harassed or arrested while conducting their lawful professional duties, the Minister of Media, Information and Publicity Webster Shamu said in Harare on 28 March 2010.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is extremely concerned by a resolution condemning “defamation of religions” which the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted on 25 March. It was submitted by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).[more]

ARTICLE 19 has delivered a training workshop in Kenya on media law and

freedom of expression for 30 lawyers, judges, prosecutors and state officials from

Ethiopia and Kenya. This is especially relevant at a time when increasingly

restrictive laws are being passed in Ethiopia to control civil society organisations and there are concerns about the Ethiopian Government’s commitment to freedom of expression in the country.[more]

The second continental congress of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has been concluded Sunday in Harare, Zimbabwe, on a call for a stronger and more united journalist movement in the Africa. [more]

The Seychelles National Assembly has passed a bill that will transform the Seychelles Nation, the only national newspaper in the country, from a government department to an agency, according to a release from the Eastern Africa Journalists' Association. [more]

The United Nations Mission in Sudan is taking to the airwaves with a new radio drama series aimed at raising public awareness on various issues, including measures related to the ongoing process of implementing the peace accord that ended two decades of civil war in Africa’s largest country.[more]

ARTICLE 19, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International News Safety Institute (INSI) have welcomed a draft resolution on protection of journalists in situations of armed conflict which has been proposed at the thirteenth session of the UN Human Rights Council by Bangladesh, Egypt and Mexico.

[more]

The Government of Swaziland insists on media statutory regulation and has vowed to push through the Media Commission Bill 2007 which seeks to regulate the media by statute. The government recently declined to register the voluntary Media Complaints Commission (MCC), a self-regulatory framework.[more]

The Sunday Mail (21/3)’s heavily editorialized front-page news story of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s meeting with members of the new Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) to ensure that it begins its work of licensing new media products without delay, vividly exposed the negative sentiments of the newspaper’s managers to media reforms.[more]

Voice of America (VOA) began satellite broadcasts of its Amharic-language programs to Ethiopia this week after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi ordered that VOA’s broadcasts be blocked. [more]

Reporters Without Borders is baffled by the fact that Albert Yangari, the publisher and editor of the newspaper L’Union, and Jonas Moulenda, one of his reporters, have been summoned three times in connection with a libel suit brought by Alfred Nguia Banda, the former director-general of the Gabonese Shippers Council (CGC), which oversees maritime traffic in Gabon.[more]

The Zwedru Magisterial Court in Grand Gedeh County has acquitted Smile FM's former station manager Garley Mahn of charges of disorderly conduct. [more]

Several journalists were beaten and shot at as they faced the fury of authorities and demonstrators in clashes at the site of Ugandan royal tombs destroyed in an arson attack last week, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Three people were killed. Journalists are also under threat from the state as it attempts to muzzle the media and target critical journalists with repressive amendments to the press law, reports the International Press Institute (IPI) and Freedom House. [more]

Reporters Without Borders deplores yesterday’s ruling by an Islamic court in Kaduna, in the northern state of Zamfara, ordering a Nigerian human rights group, the Civil Rights Congress, to close its blog and stop hosting debates on Twitter and Facebook about the use of amputation to punish theft. The debates were prompted by the 10th anniversary of Nigeria’s first amputation under Sharia law.[more]

The Government of Swaziland is currently finalizing a Bill that will see current state broadcasters, Swazi TV and the national radio station, Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services (SBIS), being transformed into public service broadcasters.[more]

A Somali journalist was ordered by an Al Shabab court to leave the port city of Kismayo within 36 hours on Monday, local sources told IPI today.[more]

Freelance journalist Nunurai Jena was on 21 March 2010 detained by security officials at Beitbridge Border Post on his way home from South Africa. [more]

Launching April 2, 2010, Building Bridges will recognise and reward peacemakers and peace projects across Kenya as a way of strengthening the peace building capacity of Kenyan citizens. Kenya needs peace to prosper and everyone has a role to play. The campaign supports people from all backgrounds to make a change. Building Bridges, in partnership with Media Focus on Africa Foundation and Butterfly Works, is raising awareness and support for the winning initiatives and individuals through an interactive online platform buildingbridges.co.ke. The campaign will run for three months and the winning individuals and organisations will receive cash prizes. [more]

Reporters Without Borders is disturbed to learn that access to the website of the independent news radio station, Radio Kalima-Algérie (www.kalimadz.com), has been completely blocked for the past two days. At the same time, Eutelsat has stopped carrying the station’s broadcasts on its Hotbird satellite.[more]

An amendment to the Ugandan Press and Journalist Law presently before the Ugandan cabinet contains a number of deeply troubling provisions that, if made into law, would severely inhibit the media environment and do considerable damage to the reputation of Uganda in the eyes of the international community.[more]

The Ashanti Youth Incorporated, a traditional youth group in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, on March 22, 2010 gave a three-day ultimatum to the management of Multimedia Broadcasting Company owners of a network of radio stations including Luv FM in Kumasi, to sack the of host a morning newspaper review programme, Ato Kwamena Dadzie, for allegedly insulting the king of Asanti, the Asantehene. [more]

The journal on economic, policy and development studies is published by eight Mozambican universities and is produced with UNDP support. It contains information produced in Mozambique, about Mozambique and for Mozambicans.[more]

Sanna Camara and Saikou Jammeh, reporters of privately-owned Banjul-based The Daily News newspaper were on March 17, 2009 arrested and detained by military officers drawn from the Tourism Security Unit (TSU) of the Gambia Armed Forces, while on an editorial assignment at a tourist site.[more]

A speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the Nation Media Group: "Media and the African Promise," delivered on 18 March 2010:[more]

For too long, news about and for Africans has come predominately from outsiders. International media portrayals of Africans have often been unrecognizable to Africans.[more]

An address by Amadou Mahtar Ba, Chief Executive Officer of the African Media Initiative and President of AllAfrica.com to the first Pan African Media Conference, 18-19 March 2010, Nairobi, Kenya:[more]

The United States opposes Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles’ decision to jam Voice of America’s Amharic Service and condemns his comparison of their programming to Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda. [more]

International Press Institute (IPI) Director David Dadge on Friday addressed the Pan Africa Media Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of a panel entitled “Media Freedom: A Balance Sheet.”[more]

On 10 March 2010, a combined team of security agents from the Anti-Terrorism Squad and anti-riot policemen attached to the Onitsha Area Command assaulted and detained four journalists for three hours for covering a peaceful demonstration. The demonstration was staged by members of the Association of Radio and Television Technicians Anambra State (ARTTANS) in the commercial city of Onitcha in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. The affected journalists were Daniel Ukpai and Augustine Ngwu, both of whom are reporters for Minaj Broadcast International (MBI) in Obosi, MBI cameraman Samuel Nwabuisi and Ifeanyinwa Ede, a reporter for the Nigerian Television Authority in Onitsha. A Sony PD 170 digital camera belonging to MBI was also damaged by the policemen. [more]

JED condemns the arrest and ill treatment of Radio Télévision Bangu head of programming Mohamed Lukebana by national security officers in Kimpese, about 145 km from the town of Matadi in Bas Congo province, southwest of Kinshasa. JED has noticed a rather disturbing trend of harassment of journalists in Bas Congo province by intelligence agents and is appealing to provincial authorities to put an end to this intimidation.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the conduct of the investigation into the murder of Bayo Ohu, the assistant news editor of the Lagos-based daily The Guardian, who was shot dead at his home in a Lagos suburb on 20 September 2009.[more]

In 2008 refugee journalists in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, set up KANERE, a news reporting project 'to counter the monopoly on information enjoyed by humanitarian organisations that largely control access to and information about refugee camps.' They believed that a refugee free press could ‘open up new spaces for public debate and action on refugee encampment.’ But KANERE’s unwillingness to allow aid agencies to play a role in the publication appears to be putting both the future of the project and the safety of its team in jeopardy, as this background note outlines: [more]

‘National Unity and Reconciliation Act Should not be Used to Justify Censorship’: The International Press Institute (IPI) today declared its support for the position of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) and Appeal Judge KK Mthiyane in the case of The Citizen vs. Robert McBride. [more]

JED is demanding the immediate and unconditional release of two journalists who have been held since last weekend at a prison in Bandundu, western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), calling the arrest and detention "an intolerable abuse of power by the provincial governor's chief secretary." [more]

News of South African President Jacob Zuma’s visit to persuade Zimbabwe’s coalition parties to resolve the increasing number of disputes within the alliance dominated the private media’s coverage of the widely reported power-sharing quarrels during the week.[more]

Hatari.co.ke is is a website that allows anyone in Nairobi, Kenya, to submit reports about crime and corruption in the city. ("Hatari" means "danger" in Swahili.) It will provide the growing city and its inhabitants with a repository of public information about incidents such as carjacking, corruption, police harassment and others. [more]

In a country that suffers from an increasingly restrictive media environment, proposed legislation amending the 1995 Press and Journalist Act in Uganda will further stifle freedom of expression, according to Freedom House.[more]

Nairobi — Following are remarks presented at the launch of the "Reporting Development Network Africa" during a reception at the Sienna Hotel prior to the opening of the Pan African Media Conference 2010.[more]

The Ethiopian government is settling political scores against journalists by slamming four newspaper publishing companies with crippling fines in reprisal for their coverage of the disputed 2005 elections, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The state is threatening to freeze their assets if the fines are not paid. [more]

Reporters Without Borders firmly condemns three new arrests of journalists by the Al-Shabaab militia. [more]

ZMC must get to work on media reforms

MMPZ welcomes President Mugabe’s remarks while addressing the media at Zimbabwe House last week that the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) should immediately start operating, as there was no reason for not doing so. [more]

On 9 March 2010, opposition Patriotic Front (PF) President, Michael Sata sued the Times of Zambia for defamation and has applied for an interim injunction to restrain the newspaper and its servants or agents from publishing any defamatory words concerning him.[more]

The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African Regional Organisation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), today strongly criticized the Press and Journalists Bill in Uganda on the grounds that it is unsound and constitutes a major stumbling block to press freedom and democratic standards in the country. [more]

Oukasie, Sharpville, Orange Farm, Siyathemba: images of violent protest action against poor service delivery have dominated the news in the past few weeks, signalling growing frustration with the Jacob Zuma administration’s failure to address the implosion of services in parts of South Africa.[more]

Dear President Biya, We are writing to express our alarm at the harassment and abuse of at least a dozen journalists in Cameroon. These reporters each raised questions about your administration’s management of public finances, the progress of an anti-corruption drive dubbed Operation Sparrowhawk, and local government affairs. We call on you to hold members of the administration accountable for using security forces and criminal laws to settle scores with the media. We further urge you to initiate reforms that would refer matters of defamation to civil courts.[more]

On 4 March 2010, the day of the Togolese presidential election, Radio France, Radio France Internationale (RFI), RTL and the daily "La Croix" were finally granted visas for Togo. Special correspondents from Radio France and RFI then travelled to Lomé, but the last-minute decision to grant them visas allowed for only partial coverage of the election.[more]

Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) strategies are viewed in many contemporary business circles as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. BoP refers to the 2.6 billion people who live below the $2 a day breadline and many business strategists argue that if targeted correctly, these consumers can offer businesses access to one of the fastest growing markets. Even if the price of products and services has to be reduced, profit can be made up in volume.[more]

The International Press Institute (IPI) today wrote an open letter to Ghanaian President Atta Mills, calling on him to ensure that attacks on journalists in the West African country are promptly investigated, and that the perpetrators are brought to justice. In recent weeks, a number of incidents of violence against journalists - often allegedly at the hands of political party supporters or police officers - have been reported. IPI calls for an end to impunity, and would like to note that until those who attack journalists realize that they cannot escape justice by hiding behind their police badge or party affiliation, violence against reporters will continue. Continuing reports of violence against journalists damage Ghana’s reputation as the freest country for media in Africa.[more]

Fear has gripped independent journalists in Rwanda amidst reports that one reporter has gone missing.

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The fight for free access to information is being played out to an ever greater extent on the Internet. The emerging general trend is that a growing number of countries are attemptimg to tighten their control of the Net, but at the same time, increasingly inventive netizens demonstrate mutual solidarity by mobilizing when necessary.[more]

A Liberian journalist, Garley Mahn, has been released on bail by police in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County. Journalist Mahn was released following two days in detention. [more]

Food insecurity on the African continent is severely aggravated by a depletion of nutrients in the soil that leads to a decrease in soil productivity. A remedy to this problem is the increased use of fertilizers, yet many African farmers cannot afford or access this agricultural input that farmers on other continents have used in abundance to dramatically increase food production. Using more fertilizer would prevent African farmers from having to plant so expansively but allow them to have higher crop yields in smaller areas without depleting the soil.[more]

Mbariza Ntore” (Kirundi for “inform us so that we can vote”) is a media support project of the Dutch NGO, La Benevolencija, set up with a total of 18 different media houses (radio, print press, TV, Internet and news agency) in Burundi. The project enhances the capacity of citizens to better understand the conditions in which they are being invited to fulfill their political rights.[more]

The Government of Swaziland has launched a Swaziland Communications Commission Draft Bill 2009 to regulate the broadcasting sector in the country. Once the Bill becomes law, the Commission will among other things, issue licences to TV and radio broadcasters.[more]

An angry crowd of mourners attending a mass funeral in Dogo Nahawa, central Nigeria, assaulted state radio reporter Murtala Sani on Monday. Sani, a reporter for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, was assigned to cover the funeral of more than 40 people killed during a bloody March 7 attack on four villages in central Nigeria.[more]

Reporters Without Borders celebrates World Day Against Cyber Censorship on 12 March. This event is intended to rally everyone in support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all. It is also meant to draw attention to the fact that, by creating new spaces for exchanging ideas and information, the Internet is a force for freedom. However, more and more governments have realised this and are reacting by trying to control the Internet.[more]

Efforts by the local media to operationalize a self-regulatory framework have failed following government’s refusal to register the Media Complaints Commission (MCC). The media have now resolved to appeal to the Minister of Information for intervention though reserving the right to approach the High Court of Swaziland to compel the government to register the MCC.[more]

Journalists in Kigali are on tenterhooks after President Paul Kagame, left, made new accusations of their supposed involvement in a bomb attack in Rwanda. Just months before Rwanda’s presidential elections, Kigali was recently hit by two grenade attacks that killed two people and injured 30 others, according to news reports.[more]

On 1 March 2010, MISA-Zambia submitted before the Parliamentary committee on Information and Broadcasting Services that the operation of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) (Amendment) Act of 2002 was long overdue and has since condemned government proposals to amend the Act before it is even implemented.[more]

Amnesty International has welcomed the release of an Egyptian blogger, who was facing jail after he published a post alleging nepotism within the armed forces.[more]

The Ugandan parliament has passed a bill that protects individuals who disclose information on corruption or law-breaking in government or private bodies, reports ARTICLE 19. But Ugandan journalists are fighting for the right to do their jobs as press freedom violations escalated in the country in 2009 with countless radio stations shut down, say local rights groups. [more]

Police brutality and legal action are the two greatest sources of attacks on journalists in Liberia, says the Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP) in its 2009 report. Journalists and media workers also face death threats, detention and censorship. [more]

The Ethiopian Supreme Court today ruled against four independent media houses, forcing them to pay fines that were originally rendered void under a 2007 pardon. The four publishing companies, Serkalem, Sisay, Zekarias and Fasil, must now pay a total of 295,000 Birr (approx. €16,100) - more than the average Ethiopian would earn in a century, according to income figures from the International Fund for Agricultural Development.[more]

The Kanifing Magistrate Court on March 8, 2010 remanded Edwin Nebolisa Nwakaeme, a local human rights defender and a Director of Programmes of the Banjul-based Africa in Democracy and Good Governance (ADG) in police custody for allegedly “giving false information”.[more]

WAN-IFRA and IASN welcome release of kidnapped journalists [more]

The privately-owned Nation Magazine and its Editor, Bheki Makhubu, have been taken to court by the Attorney General (AG) for criminal contempt of court following an article published by the magazine in November 2009 criticizing judges of the Supreme Court. However the magazine has told MISA-Swaziland that they will defend the case.[more]

A free media is a critical component in the creation and maintenance of a healthy and vibrant democracy. It plays a key monitoring, evaluation and watchdog role over both private and public institutions. [more]

MISA Malawi has issued an appeal to the country’s president Bingu wa Mutharika to intervene on reports that government departments have been given a directive to stop advertising with some private media houses in the country, among them, Nation Publications Limited (NPL), publishers of The Nation, Weekend Nation, Nation On Sunday and Fuko. [more]

ARTICLE 19 welcomes the recent bold move by the Uganda Parliament to pass

the Whistleblowers Bill, a critical milestone in the country’s efforts to stem

corruption and embrace transparency and accountability.[more]

On 1 March 2010, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) expressed extreme shock at the decision of the military prosecutor to try blogger and student Ahmed Mostafa, 20, in a military court for allegedly publishing false information about the military establishment, after an unusually quick investigation, according to ANHRI lawyers of the Legal Aid Unit who attended the interrogation sessions.[more]

Voice of America (VOA) reported today that its transmissions to Ethiopia are being electronically jammed. The Ethiopian government denied responsibility. [more]

Reporters Without Borders today expressed deep concern about the plight of two sports journalists working for South African M-Net Supersport television who were kidnapped on 1st March and are still being held hostage.[more]

Whose election is this? That was the question I am left with at the end of a fascinating week where I have heard directly from a top

Labour campaign strategist, Welsh voters, and LSE political pundits. If you believe the mainstream media it is in the hands of the spin doctors and journalists. The pollsters and professors say it’s ‘motorway man’ in the marginals. I am not so sure.[more]

ARTICLE 19 expresses grave concerns that press freedom in Rwanda is deteriorating and that criminal charges being brought against journalists in Rwanda will contribute to the silencing of independent media voices ahead of the presidential elections later this

year.[more]

Tsvangirai’s sanctions comment fuels state media propaganda

The recent furore over Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s sanctions comments reignited debate over the power of television to selectively quote politicians and the weakness of politicians who make public statements that can be used to support issues they do not necessarily agree with.[more]

Last month, I had the pleasure to meet again with Shaazka Beyerle, Senior Advisor at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, during her visit to Washington.[more]

New York, March 4, 2010—Voice of America (VOA) reported today that its transmissions to Ethiopia are being electronic jammed. The Ethiopian government denied responsibility.[more]

More than 450,000 people have signed an online petition urging Uganda's parliament to drop a bill that would impose the death sentence for the crime of "aggravated homosexuality" - when an HIV-positive person has sex with anyone who is disabled or under the age of 18.[more]

The Center for Media Studies & Peace Building (CEMESP) has launched the 3rd edition of its account of threats to freedom of expression with calls for the government and authorities to recognize and support the inalienable rights of others to dissent.[more]

Security forces fired on anti-government protesters in the city of Gagnoa, Ivory Coast, killing five and injuring several others on 19 February, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). French TV news station France 24 was suspended after its coverage of the incident and opposition newspapers have been threatened. [more]

The Angolan government is targeting human rights defenders with intimidation, harassment and detention, says Human Rights Watch. The lethal attack on Togolese football players by Angolan separatist rebels in January was also used as an excuse to round up critics of the government. At least eight activists have been arrested since the attack and journalists have been threatened. [more]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns firmly the physical assault and violence by security operatives and supporters of the opposition Sierra Leone people’s party (SLPP) in Bo, Southern Sierra Leone against ten journalists.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is relieved to learn that local retransmission of the French TV news station France 24 resumed yesterday in Côte d’Ivoire after the National Council for Audiovisual Communication (CNCA), which is responsible for regulating broadcasting, decided to rescind the suspension order it issued on 22 February.[more]

Participants from the African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information today released the Regional Findings and Plan of Action to advance the right in Africa. The conference found that while access to information is a fundamental human right, political and institutional constraints in Africa have limited the opportunities to exercise the right. [more]

New York, March 2, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the safety of two sports journalists, one South African and one Nigerian, who were seized by unidentified gunmen in military uniforms on Monday. The gunmen stopped a bus carrying 21 crew members of M-Net’s SuperSport channel, a South African private satellite television station, and took the three journalists hostage, local journalists told CPJ. Another Nigerian journalist was able to escape.[more]

New York, March 1, 2010—A Zimbabwean freelance journalist was arrested today for the third time this year—this time for taking footage of prisoners outside a courthouse in the capital, Harare, according to local journalists.[more]

Freelance photojournalist Andrison Manyere has been released from police custody after paying US$20 admission of guilt fine for disorderly conduct in a public place.[more]

The re-run elections for a new executive of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) held in Bulawayo on 27 February 2010 have yet again sparked controversy with some members of the union describing them as null and void.[more]

A newly-launched privately-owned newspaper, Swazi Mirror, is being sued to pay damage of E800 000 (US $150 000) by the publisher of a rival paper, the Times of Swaziland.[more]

Freelance photojournalist Andrison Manyere was on 1 March 2010 arrested at the Harare Magistrates Courts while filming the arrival of accused persons charged with attempting to overthrow the government of Zimbabwe.[more]

Lucia Afate, a parliamentary deputy for Mozambique’s main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, is suing journalist Jose Vasco da Gama over a story that appeared in the weekly paper “Magazine Independente” (MI) in 2009, which claimed that Afate had secretly married Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama in a traditional ceremony in the northern province of Nampula.[more]

Ghana’s Supreme Court on February 24, 2010 awarded 2,000 GH Cedis (approximately US$1400) in favour of privately-owned Accra-based TheDaily Dispatch newspaper, its editor, reporter and publisher, Ben Ephson, Akwasi Mensah and Allied News Limited respectively, as legal costs, in a 2003 defamation case brought against them.[more]

Reporters Without Borders condemns university student Ahmed Abdel Fattah Mustafa’s trial by court martial for blogging about army human rights violations. Held incommunicado since his arrest by state security agents on 25 February, he appeared today before a Cairo military court on charges of “publishing false news” and trying to “undermine people’s confidence in the armed forces.” The trial was adjourned.[more]

Only 24% of persons seen, heard, or read about in the news are female. This is one of the key findings of the 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP). The preliminary report is being released on 2 March 2010 at a panel discussion and debate on the occasion of the 54th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. [more]

Hanevy Ould Dehah, the editor of the website Taqadoumy, was finally freed today along with around 100 ordinary offenders under a presidential pardon issued in honour of Mawlid (the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday).

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ARTICLE 19 today releases its analysis of the Kenya Communications (Broadcasting) Regulations, which came into force in January 2010, and recommends several changes to bring the Law in line with international standards.[more]