Media Reform Roadmap for Sudan

Following the signing of the August 2019 Interim Constitutional Declaration and formation of

the transitional government, the Minister of Culture and Information engaged UNESCO

Khartoum office to conduct a review of the state of the media sector in Sudan using the

UNESCO Media Development Indicators (MDI). The purpose of the project, in accordance with

UNESCO's mandate, is:

To accompany Sudan in the process of democratic transition by contributing to the

development of free, independent and pluralistic media through a comprehensive Assessment

Report on the national media landscape based on UNESCO's Media Development Indicators

and the provision of a Roadmap for Media Reform.

The objective of the Media Landscape Assessment is to identify gaps to be addressed, and to

provide recommendations for policy, law and regulatory reform. The objective of the Media

Reform Roadmap is to list appropriate tasks and sequence them for the implementation. The

main gaps to be addressed are summarized below followed by the recommended priority

areas for action by government and an indicative list of priorities for support by NGOs and

international partners. It is further noted that the constitutional reform process provided for

in the Constitutional Declaration 2019 to be conducted over the next three years provides an

opportunity to review and strengthen Sudan’s foundational guarantees of media freedom

and the right to freedom of expression.

The project was kindly supported by the UNESCO Multi-Donor Programme for Freedom of

Expression and Safety of Journalists, and the British Embassy in Sudan.