Editing Defamation (section)

====Africa====
By 2013, at least 19% of the region had decriminalized defamation. In 2010, the [[African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights]] adopted a resolution, calling on [[African Union]] (AU) member countries to repeal criminal defamation or insult laws. In 2012, the [[Pan-African Parliament]] passed a resolution encouraging AU heads of state to sign the [[Declaration of Table Mountain]], calling for the abolition of insult and criminal defamation laws. Such laws frequently led to the arrest and imprisonment of journalists across the continent. It was signed by two countries. In most cases{{snd}}criminal or civil{{snd}}the [[burden of proof (law)|burden of proof]] continued to be on the defendant, and it was rare to have [[public interest]] recognized as a defence. Members of government continued to initiate most such cases. There was a trend towards using civil defamation in lieu of criminal defamation, but with demands for extremely high damages and the potential to bankrupt media outlets{{snd}}although the courts often dismissed such cases. According to an analysis by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life, laws against defamation of religion remained on the books in 13 countries (27%), four countries had laws penalizing apostasy, and two had anti-blasphemy laws.<ref name="UNESCO Africa Report 2014"/>