Catherine Anite '16 LL.M. named to panel on media freedom

Catherine Anite, a 2016 graduate of the Notre Dame Law School and Klau Center’s joint LL.M. Program in International Human Rights Law, has been named by the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom and Canada to a panel of global experts on media freedom.

The High Level Global Panel in Media Freedom is headed by Lord Neuberger, former UK Supreme Court President, and Amal Clooney, recognized as one of the world’s leading lawyers in international human rights. Its mission is to examine policy around freedom of the media, and make recommendations to states regarding initiatives to ensure that existing international obligations are upheld.

Ms. Anite is a human rights lawyer and the Founding Director of the Freedom of Expression Hub in Uganda. She has previously worked in senior positions both in Uganda and regionally, advancing the right to expression and media through advocacy and challenging government restrictions on press freedom in domestic and regional courts. She is currently representing applicants challenging Uganda’s criminal defamation and Tanzania’s sedition laws in the East African Court of Justice.

Speaking of the urgency of maintaining freedom of speech, Ms. Anite stresses its fundamental role in society. “I believe that freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy,” she says. “If people are allowed to freely engage in debates, then human rights will flourish.”

More on the High Level Global Panel in Media Freedom can be found here.

Originally published by Kevin Fye at klau.nd.edu on September 26, 2019.