Media Role in Human Rights Issues [Archives:2000/33/Reportage]
August 14 2000
Prepared by Mohammed Hatem Al-Qadhi,
Managing Editor
Yemen Times
There is a very close relationship between media and human rights issues since media plays a pivotal role in disclosing any human rights abuses and educate people about their rights. This is why the Human Rights Information and Training Center(Hritc) decided to target journalists in its First Workshop for Training Journalists held during the period 6-9 August. The event was attended more than 50 Yemeni journalists. There were also experts of human rights from some Arab countries. Yemen Times met some of the experts and participants and filed the following interviews.
Dr. Mohammed Ameen Al-Maidani,
Head of Arab Program at the Human Rights International Institute, France
“There are some international and regional committees working to protect human rights. They keep watching and observing whether or not international treaties of human rights are observed and implemented by countries. For example, on the international level, there is a committee to protect economic, social and cultural rights. Another one is to protect human rights founded by the International charter concerned with the civil and political rights. There is also the Anti-Discrimination Committee founded by the international anti-discrimination Agreement. There is also the child rights committee, that of the anti-torturing committee and the anti-discrimination against women.
On the regional level there is the American Human Rights Committee located in Washington. Founded in 1959, it was first to encourage human rights. Then it started working to protect human rights after the American treaty for human rights was endorsed. Another one is the African Committee for protecting human rights and nations stipulated in the African treaty for human rights and nations. Finally, there is the Permanent Arab committee for protecting human rights, a technical committee in the Arab League, whose job is to encourage human rights and has nothing to do with their protection.
There was also a European Committee for human rights (1953-1998). However, when protocol No. 11 was included in the human rights and basic freedoms agreement and started to be implemented, the committee was canceled. Instead there was an organization that has emerged from the European agreement for human rights called the European Court for Human Rights. This is in short the topic of my paper. I gave the participants an idea about the human rights organizations.”
Dr. Mohammed Ahmad Al-Mikhlafi,
Advocate
“I presented a paper in which I explained the position of the right of expression among other human rights’ articles, especially the political rights. I focused on the international treaty of human rights which was endorsed by Yemen.
In the paper, I noted that the freedom of expression is related to the freedom of opinion which was one of the basic human rights that should not at all be restricted. However, forms of expression may be defined according to some obligations pertaining to the respect of other people’s rights and the prohibition of religious or national hatred. Forms of expression can be divided into two divisions. The first is the right of expression through the media which are considered to be the most important means to express opinions. Other forms of expression are through writing books and paintings. There are also other means such as cinema, TV, and radio. The second division or form is the right to meet which is ensured by the international treaties that Yemen has endorsed. In the article No. 15 of the punitive measures this form is represented through the different forms of expression including the right to hold demonstrations, processions and strikes. This form may include the physical or the linguistic way of expressions. There may be some common features between the freedom of media and that of holding meetings such as seminars, workshops, celebrations, conferences, etc.
The course is important for these journalists to make them aware of their rights and be cautious of the illegal things so as to avoid questioning.”
Ez Eddin Saeed Al-Asbahi
HRITC Director
“The first course for human rights is the basis for an all-out program of human rights aiming at increasing the awareness of the media people to human rights issues. We are right on our focus on these part of the society, journalists, as they are playing a role model in forming of people’s minds. They are responsible for protecting human rights. Therefore, it is important that we have a well-informed and learned media so as to teach people these principles and fundamentals. When the people become aware of their rights, only then can they defend and struggle for them.
The course was divided into two parts; a theoretical and practical program to discuss human rights and how to deal with them in the media.
We hope that the coming programs and courses will be focused to enhance human rights in the different means of the media including the electronic media. The center is ambitious to organize new workshops and to publish new publications in its program for next year. It also plans to enhance the ties of cooperation between the different means of media, without which there will be a considerable difficulty in making the people understand these fundamentals.
Finally, one has to give a token of appreciation to the government of Denmark for its admirable support.”
Fathiah Abdulwasa,
Head of Legal Affairs Department,
Ministry of Information
“During the previous two days we had the theoretical lessons and basics of human rights. I feel confident to say that we have acquired a lot in the field of human rights. A matter of fact, the topics discussed are of high importance to all of us. We considerably benefited from them. The practical lessons were also of importance to have a real acquaintance and training with human rights issues.”
Majdi Helmi,
Journalist and Trainer, Egypt
“In the first workshop, we discussed the role of the media in observing the elections in general. Media has to develop the awareness of people to the importance of elections before they take place, that is, from the time of enrolling the voters names. It has also to raise their awareness to the need of observing the voters’ names. It has also to encourage women to participate in these elections.
We discussed the role of mass media in following the registration process and how it can comment on the wrong procedures. After that we discussed the electoral process itself and evaluated the law according to which the electoral process will be held. We also dealt with the conditions the media should adhere to during the electoral process, especially those owned by the government. They should be impartial in giving accounts about the candidates and their parties. The media should also disclose any violations that occur during the electoral process.
The second role is that of the international teams that come to give a lawful assistance and monitor elections to ensure the transparency of elections. A part of these teams’ job is also to monitor whether the media is partial or it takes sides.
We noted the relations between the mass media and international monitoring teams and notified that while these teams start working one or two weeks before the elections take place, the role of the media starts far a long time before these teams. After all they are complementary to each other for they have to publish the reports of these teams, otherwise no-one will come to know about these teams’ activities until they are published in books. We finalized this by studying how journalists can be impartial during the electoral process. We made the participants came up with an article about the role of the media during the elections that would be held in Yemen next April.
The second workshop was about the ethics of the journalism which concerns all journalists all around the world. These ethics are sometimes used by some people to attack and suppress journalists. The ethics of journalism is a general term that are defined by Press Code of Conduct (PCC)which should be enacted by journalists themselves in accordance with the specialties of each country. The PCC contains journalists’ rights, duties and disciplinary punishment. I was surprised when I came to know that there was no PCC in the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate which was the point I depend upon to explain the duty of the journalist to defend and protect human rights through his abidance by PCC. Some of the rights included in the PCC are the right to feel secure, have free access to information and report them, lead a good life. A part of his duty included in the charter is to respect the fundamentals of religions and static conventions of his society. We noted that these prohibitions should be precisely defined in the PCC. To activate PCC is to define the mechanisms to receive the complaints that those who are affected from the press should follow so that the syndicate investigates the matter with the journalist and apply the disciplinary punishment. This should be the alternative of going to court and seeking the criminal punishment. We finalized this by asking the participants to make a draft of a proposed PCC including the rights as well as the duties and they did.”
Abdullah Khaleel,
Human Rights Expert and Trainer, Egypt
“I and my colleague Majdi Helmi worked on the practical activities after the theoretical presentation was over. We studied cases and put issues for discussion. The studies that are dealt with by the participants were six hot issues in the field of freedom of opinion and expression.
The first was the journalist ability to use the proper expressions and terms to report about the different events that occur in our life. The second thing was to make up a training guide, meaning to collect all the information about the freedom of expression and opinion. We also got to acquaint the participants with the international media systems common in different countries including the suppressive, liberal and socialist systems. The purpose was to stand the participants on a better stead to say what the legislative media system prevailing in Yemen is and what its features are.
There was also another hot issue observed in the Arab region which was the ownership of media by the governments and its effect on journalists as they become subjected to suppression and troubles.
Another important thing was the transformation to free media due to the impressive revolutions in information through international space channels providing journalists with a free access to information. Three issues has actually resulted from this transformation process. First, the ability to keep the identity of the press in the Arab region. The second, there was an attitude against this transformation process. It aimed to impede this process under the pretext that this process will lead to a new form of colonization through information. The third issue was the effect of this information on the national security. It was important to discuss these issues very strongly so as to identify our position and say whether we are moving towards the liberalism or suppression systems. The participants were quite successful in solving many controversies in these issues. The only thing I recommend is to hold more and more specialized training courses for journalists and media people.”
Helmi Noman
Information Resource Center Director, Public Affairs Office,
American Embassy, Sanaa
“Internet and Electronic Publishing: Free Flow of Information”
I started the presentation with a live demonstration of how the Internet technology works and then presented a review of the world Internet presence and then the Arab Internet presence in general and in Yemen in particular.
I then raised the question whether traditional media are going extinct because of the Internet. A statistical review was presented and the different indicators were discussed.
Later, I conducted a comparison between Online Journalism and Traditional Journalism and presented the distinguishing characteristics of Online Journalism.
I also discussed the issues of censorship and electronic publishing and how the journalists can protect their rights of free communication by using different technologies.
Later, I demonstrated specialized Internet information resources of great importance to journalists.
Finally, I wrapped up the presentation with a discussion of the various opportunities and challenges associated with Internet electronic publishing and the free flow of information and opened the floor for discussion and for the participants’ contribution on these issues.
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