Advocacy Initiatives within the media community in anti-corruption

At the Regional Workshop on Anti-CorruptionOrganised by Sida

Presentation by: Gayathry Venkiteswaran, Executive Director,

Southeast Asian Press Alliance23 May 2013

About the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)

SEAPA is the only regional organization with the specific mandate of promoting and protecting press freedom in Southeast Asia. Formed in 1998, its members are the Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility and the Philippines Centre for Investigative Journalism (Philippines); Thai Journalists Association (Thailand); Alliance for Independent Journalist and the Institute for Studies on the Free Flow of Information (Indonesia), and the Centre for Independent Journalism (Malaysia)

Content of presentation

1. SEA Countries indices2. Issues in anti-corruption from the media’s

perspective 3. Advocacy Initiatives

1. SEA in the global context UN conventions on rights and anti-corruption

Freedoms, governance and transparency

FOCUS: Land rights and the extractive industries: Expression on sale?• Control over resources is a key theme that

recurs in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Philippines – with direct impact on the media and citizens’ expression (land grabbing for redevelopment, illegal logging, mining, construction of dams, gas pipeline projects)

• Intimidation, harassment, arrests linked closely to the coverage or expose of these issues

2. Issues a. Who exposes corruption?• Where do leaks come from – and how are

they related to the political interests of the parties?

• Often, media exposes are based on tips that have a political agenda

• On the other hand, its NGOs doing work on the ground that also uncover malpractices

• Few countries have adequate whistleblowers and witness protection laws/programmes

b. How free is the media?

• Low observance and practice of press freedom in most of the countries

• Laws that control, particularly criminal defamation

• Threats to life for those attempting to expose stories on corruption

• Media ownership closely linked to politics - censorship

3. Advocacy InitiativesInitiative 1 – Developing Investigative Journalism• Promotion and capacity building in

investigative journalism among journalists, by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

• Regional and national trainings/workshops

Initiative 2 – Promoting use of Freedom of Information

• Promotion and capacity building in the use of the freedom of information legislation among journalists, by the Aliansi Jurnalis Independen and Institut Studi Arus Informasi, Indonesia

• SEAPA supports national efforts to have FOI legislation

Initiative 3 – Defending independent spaces • Support and defend independent media and

spaces such as citizen journalism, bloggers, independent media outlets to be able to publish information about corruption

• Highlight violations and attacks to mobilise responses, such as the Cambodian groups – CCHR, CCIM, Mizzima, Malaysiakini

• SEAPA and other human rights groups

Initiative 4 – Campaign to end impunity in media killings • Global campaign initiated by International

Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX)• Individual cases highlighted to raise public

support and state responses• SEAPA and other human rights groups

5. Conclusion

• Corruption is definitely a threat to the strengthening of democracy, human rights in the states

• However, in almost all the countries, media community and NGOs respond to changes, some more successful than the others

• Increasing role of citizen journalists and NGOs in producing and disseminating content could help the media in monitoring governance issues

Thank You!

T: @seapabkkseapa@seapa.orgwww.seapa.org