Editing Defamation (section)

====Africa====
Between 2012 and 2017, four AU member states decriminalized defamation. Other national courts defended criminal defamation's place in their {{sic |constitution |expected=laws}}. Regional courts pressured countries to decriminalize defamation. The [[ECOWAS Court|ECOWAS Court of Justice]], which had [[jurisdiction]] over cases pertaining to [[human rights]] violations since 2005, set a precedent with two rulings in favour of cases challenging the criminalization of defamation.<ref name="UNESCO Africa Report 2018"/>

In the [[landmark case]] of ''Lohé Issa Konaté v. the Republic of Burkina Faso'', the [[African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights]] overturned the conviction of a journalist, characterizing it as a violation of the [[African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights]], the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], and the treaty of the [[Economic Community of West African States]] (ECOWAS). The journalist was subjected to censorship, excessive fines, and a lengthy imprisonment for defamation. Following this legally binding decision, the country in question proceeded to amend its laws and pay the journalist compensation.<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2018"/><ref name="UNESCO Africa Report 2018"/>

In 2016, the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe declared its criminal defamation laws unconstitutional. In 2017, the [[High Court of Kenya]] declared Section 194 (criminal defamation) of the Penal Code unconstitutional.<ref name="UNESCO Africa Report 2018"/>

Civil society and press freedom organizations lobbied for changes to the penal codes in their respective countries{{snd}}sometimes successfully. However, even in countries where libel or defamation were explicitly decriminalized, there were often other laws whose broad provisions allowed governments to imprison journalists for a wide range of reasons (cybercrime, anti-terrorism, incitement to violence, [[national security]]).<ref name="UNESCO Africa Report 2018"/>

The majority of countries had defamation laws, that were used to charge and imprison journalists. Media outlets were suspended after publishing reports critical of the government or other political elites.<ref name="UNESCO Africa Report 2018"/>