On this year’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (Nov 2), JHR Deputy Director African Programs Mustapha Dumbaya attended the global commemoration, organised by UNESCO and the African Union, at the AU complex in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This year’s event focused on the safety of journalists in crises and emergencies, and Dumbaya participated in the panel discussion, “Sustaining Journalism and Humanitarian Information in Times of Crisis: Best Practices from Africa.”
During this session, Dumbaya spoke about JHR’s work across the continent, which empowers journalists to tell compelling stories on human rights issues impacting their communities, especially during humanitarian crises. However, journalists in the countries we work in often face enormous challenges in telling these stories. They are harassed and intimidated, forcing many to resort to self-censorship.
Dumbaya emphasised that when supporting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees during humanitarian crises, local media, especially radio, is often vital in acting as a channel for these communities to give and receive information, especially for people in conflict-affected regions and hard-to-reach areas.
Local media understand the local context and are sometimes even part of the IDP or refugee community, so there is also an element of trust.
JHR supports local media in countries like South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others, to effectively provide life-saving information to their communities during these humanitarian crises by providing them with the skills, resources, and linkages to relevant humanitarian actors.
Dumbaya highlighted that media outlets can also be a channel for humanitarian organisations to disseminate information to IDPs and refugees about available services and aid., and the media can also get feedback and information from communities about what services they need. Therefore, humanitarian media must function differently from mainstream media because it requires two-way communication with affected populations and humanitarian organisations to ensure that needs are met effectively.
Dumbaya concluded by emphasising that governments must end impunity in crimes against journalists. It is important for organisations advocating for press freedom and journalists’ welfare to prioritise working with government and local authorities to create dialogue that enhances understanding between the media and government on the role of the journalists in a democracy.
“State security agents commit most violations against journalists’ rights and therefore, to realise the respect of journalists’ rights, we need to be proactive by engaging governments in constructive dialogues that would improve the working relationship between the media and the State,” Dumbaya had said.