Ambassador Ewumbue-Monono Participates in High-Level
Information Integrity Dialogue at UNGA81

New York — 26 September 2026

New York — The Ambassador of the Republic of Cameroon to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), H.E. Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, participated in a high-level side event on the Information Integrity Solutions Dialogue: “From Global Principles to Collective Action,” held on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) in New York.

The high-level dialogue was jointly organized by the United Nations Department of Global Communication (DGC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Government of Brazil.

The event brought together prominent international leaders, African Union officials, media regulators, and journalists' associations. Distinguished participants included Mrs. Esther Azaa Yambou Tankou, Head of the Media and Information Division of the African Union Commission (AUC) and Communication Adviser to the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations, and Mr. Omar Faruk, President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ).

AU Peace and Security Council Deliberations & Upcoming Session

During the high-level discussion, Ambassador Ewumbue-Monono provided updates on the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) meeting held on 14 November 2025 under Cameroon’s leadership, emphasizing the crucial importance of information integrity and media sovereignty in Africa.

The Cameroon Ambassador further announced that, under Cameroon’s chairmanship, the AUPSC will deliberate on “Information Integrity, Peace and Security in Africa” on 9 October 2026.

The scheduled October 9 session marks another vital milestone in Cameroon's continental diplomacy, reinforcing the role of the Peace and Security Council in addressing 21st-century information ecosystem challenges that directly impact conflict prevention, peace operations, and political stability across Africa.

Information Integrity on the International Stage

Information integrity on the international stage refers to ensuring that information shared across borders is accurate, reliable, transparent, independent, and resistant to manipulation.

Furthermore, on the international scene, information integrity is essential for peace, democratic governance, public trust, and collective security. It requires cooperation among governments, international organizations, media outlets, technology companies, civil society, and journalists to:

• Counter disinformation, misinformation, and foreign interference: Mitigating malignant campaigns designed to destabilize communities and undermine sovereign institutions.
• Protect independent journalism and freedom of expression: Safeguarding the physical safety, digital security, and editorial independence of reporters on the ground.
• Promote media and digital literacy: Empowering citizens, educators, and youth to critically evaluate online sources and resist manipulation.
• Strengthen fact-checking and responsible platform governance: Ensuring algorithmic transparency, platform accountability, and support for independent verification bodies.
• Improve transparency in artificial intelligence and online communications: Addressing synthetic media, generative AI dispatches, and automated amplification vectors.
• Develop shared international standards: Fostering normative frameworks that harmonize global cooperation while respecting national sovereignty and human rights.

Media Sovereignty and Democratic Safeguards

As highlighted during the dialogue and detailed in the African Union Commission release, media sovereignty enables countries, the African Union, and regional institutions to shape information policies according to their own legal frameworks, cultures, and security needs. This can help strengthen information integrity by supporting local journalism, accountable regulation, and protection against foreign manipulation.

However, the source document underscores the vital necessity of maintaining balance. If sovereignty is used to restrict independent media or control narratives, it can undermine integrity by encouraging censorship and misinformation.

Effective collective action, therefore, requires balancing national authority with transparency, media freedom, independent fact-checking, cross-border cooperation, and shared standards.

Public Trust and Collective Action

Cooperation among governments, journalists, researchers, civil society, educators, and technology companies can enhance public trust by sharing experience where researchers provide evidence, journalists verify claims, and technology platforms help identify coordinated manipulation.

Increasing transparency can help institutions gather and check information, and with coordinating rapid responses, partners can quickly address false claims with consistent, accessible corrections, while cooperation can counter harmful misinformation without suppressing legitimate disagreement.

“Trust grows when people see that information is evidence-based, transparent, independently scrutinized, and responsive to public concerns.” — Head of the Media and Information Division, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission