Accountability systems
Information is a crucial element in the pacification of the Central African Republic, a country shaken by repeated political and military crises since its independence. In order to enable the media to play their role of rigorous rapporteurs of facts and analyses, concrete measures have been taken by the public authorities through the creation of the HCC.
This public institution, in addition to issuing authorisations for the publication of print media on behalf of the state, deliberates on all matters concerning written and audiovisual media and communication. The mission of the HCC is to guarantee and assume the protection of the press, to ensure compliance with information and communication ethics and to ensure that print media and radio and television programmes do not contain incitement to hatred. However the council claims to be unable to pursue its mission independently, due to lack of technical and financial resources. In addition, the Vice President of the HCC, Mrs Isabelle Édith Vackat, stated in March 2019 that the major problem faced by her institution is the Law on Freedom of the Press, an ordinance dating from 2005 and made obsolete by the advent of online media. To get around this situation, the audiovisual media regulator has undertaken to propose a law in which the online press and social networks will be taken into account.