A group photo from the Rights Media workshop in Bukavu, South Kivu, DRC. Photo by JPDDH

Between July 23rd and 26th JHR partnered with a local spin-off NGO, Journalists for the Defense of Human Rights/Journalistes pour la Defense des Droits Humains (JPDDH) to host a series of Rights Media workshops in Bukavu, South Kivu, in the eastern DRC. It’s one of the regions ranked worst for human rights violations worldwide.

The training focused on building the capacity of journalists in the region to better cover human rights violations and also engaged media outlet owners and senior editors in the training. JHR is the first organization to ever bring together senior media management, in the region, to discuss the importance of including human rights programming at their media outlets.
Following the training, the South-Kivu news director of RTNC, the national broadcasting company, stated that he will lobby at the national level for the inclusion of Rights Media in media coverage country-wide.
All media managers present expressed their willingness to support their journalists in rights media coverage and agreed to continue cooperating and discussing rights media programming by establishing an Eastern DRC press club.
After the training, Béatrice Neema, of Iriba FM, said,  “I can now recognize what a human right violation is and act accordingly as a journalist.”