Prominent Ghanaian human rights advocate and Executive Director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG), Dr. Joseph Kobla Wemakor, has called for urgent action to protect press freedom while ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in media and civic spaces across Africa.
Speaking in an interview on Africa In Perspective, a programme on Lagos-based Radio Now 95.7 FM, Dr. Wemakor warned that shrinking press freedom on the continent is deepening inequalities and silencing already marginalised voices.
His remarks come ahead of a major high-level dialogue session to be hosted by HRRG at the global RightsCon 2026 summit in Lusaka, Zambia.
The session, scheduled for May 6, 2026, is themed: “Silenced Twice: Press Freedom and Disability Voices Under Threat in Africa.”
According to Dr. Wemakor, the dialogue will spotlight the growing intersection between declining media freedoms, disability exclusion, and restricted civic space across Africa.
“The media is a vital tool for accountability and truth. When it is weakened, everyone is affected—but for persons with disabilities, the impact is even more severe,” he said.
He explained that persons with disabilities already face systemic challenges, including stigma, discrimination, and limited access to platforms that amplify their voices.
“When press freedom is under threat, their stories are often the first to disappear,” he added.
The RightsCon summit, organised by Access Now, is one of the world’s leading gatherings on digital rights, bringing together stakeholders from across sectors to shape policies and drive global conversations on technology and human rights.
The HRRG-led session will take place alongside the World Press Freedom Day 2026 Global Conference convened by UNESCO in partnership with the Government of Zambia.
Dr. Wemakor noted that the dialogue will convene journalists, policymakers, civil society actors, disability rights advocates, and experts from various fields to develop practical solutions to these pressing challenges.
He called on African governments to strengthen protections for journalists, repeal restrictive laws that criminalise legitimate reporting, and ensure accountability for attacks against media professionals.
He also urged media organisations to take deliberate steps toward inclusivity by employing journalists with disabilities and making content accessible through sign language interpretation, captioning, and assistive technologies.
“Addressing these challenges requires a collective effort. Governments, media institutions, civil society, and international partners must work together to build an inclusive and rights-based digital future,” he stressed.
Dr. Wemakor further appealed to African states to ratify the African Disability Protocol as a key step toward protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
As anticipation builds toward RightsCon 2026, he emphasised that safeguarding press freedom must go beyond protecting journalists to ensuring that every voice—especially the most vulnerable—is heard.
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