At their 2007 annual conferences, WAN and the World Editors Forum adopted the Declaration of Table Mountain, in Cape Town, South Africa, stating their conviction that Africa urgently needs a strong, free and independent press to act as a watchdog over public institutions, a crucial role that the press is hindered from and punished for playing by the widespread resort to ’insult laws’ and criminal defamation, in particular.

Through the Declaration, WAN and WEF also urged the African Union to include in the criteria for "good governance" in the African Peer Review Mechanism under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development programme the vital requirement that a country promotes free and independent media.

Libel and criminal defamation laws continue to be blatantly abused to suppress criticism of public officials and powerful individuals across the continent. WAN and WEF again urge African leaders to abolish these laws and to bring civil defamation laws into line with international standards and thus contribute to build an environment in which the press is free and independent of governmental, political or economic control.