Reporters Without Borders criticizes DRC media restrictions

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced recent decisions by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Higher Council for Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC) to restrict media coverage of the National Resistance Front (FRN).

The CSAC has threatened sanctions against media professionals, journalists, and content creators who provide a platform to representatives of the FRN, a politico-military movement led by former head of state Joseph Kabila. The regulatory authority maintains that giving voice to the group equates to legitimizing or glorifying rebellion and violence against state institutions and territorial integrity.

RSF has characterized these restrictions as disproportionate and formulated in “dangerously vague” terms. The organization is calling on the CSAC to uphold the rights of journalists to report on the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the country.