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Media urged to take a broader view of human rights

4 March 2008

“It is vitally important to recognise and value the press” – Barry Wells, US ambassador to The Gambia

A media workshop on covering human rights issues, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat together with the British High Commission and the US Embassy in The Gambia, opened in the town of Serekkunda on 4 March 2008 with a call for journalists to take every opportunity to learn the skills and principles of responsibly reporting on human rights from a broad perspective.

Speaking at the opening of the eight-day training session at the Kairaba Hotel, US ambassador to The Gambia, Barry Wells, said that it is important for all media outlets to be aware of the principles of international, regional and sub-regional human rights conventions, such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Mr Wells stressed that while the media can be seen as the “thorn in the side of any government, including the American government … it is still vitally important to recognise and value the press.”

He said the US Embassy was pleased with its partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and British High Commission in delivering the training programme.

Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque, founder of Journalists for Human Rights and one of the media trainers at the workshop, explained that the course aimed to give participants a broader perspective of various human rights issues on which journalists can write stories, beyond the political and civil rights.

Nick Kotch, an experienced journalism trainer from South Africa who is the lead facilitator, emphasised the importance of accuracy and getting facts right, if journalists are to report on human rights issues responsibly.

The participants are drawn from the print and broadcast media and represent both the public and private media houses in The Gambia.

Human rights have long been at the centre of the Commonwealth's values and its practical interventions, and the Commonwealth Secretariat's work in the field has achieved growing prominence in recent years.

The importance attached to human rights specifically is reflected in the enhanced autonomy of the Secretariat's Human Rights Unit (HRU) since its reconstitution in January 2002.

The Secretariat, through the HRU, has a mandate to assist member countries in strengthening human rights institutions, in building the capacity of officials involved in human rights issues, and in ratifying international and regional human rights instruments.

“The media is one of the key institutions that have the potential of creating awareness and highlighting the good and the bad when it comes to observing human rights issues in any society – and that is why this kind of training is seen as very important,” said the HRU’s Alina Meyer.

In delivering on its mandate, the Secretariat is guided by relevant sections of the 1991 Harare Commonwealth Declaration which states in part: “… we believe in the liberty of the individual under the law, in equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender, race, colour, creed or political belief, and in the individual's inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which he or she lives.”

It is envisaged that this media training will act as a model for future related training programmes in other Commonwealth countries.