The war should be on joblessness and poverty not individuals
The presidents change, the Members of Parliament come and go but the dull ache of predictability that accompanies intimidation and arrests of people who oppose government stays the same. If there is anything that one would hope for are the changes in the way we do our politics and in the promotion of the rule of law.The Media and Human Rights
In June 2011, Bonn, Germany, was the centre of the world’s attention as
experts from the realms of politics, science, academics, civil society and the
media converged to discuss the role of the media in promoting human rights.
Catarina de Albuquerque shared a very interesting story. She said: “When
urinating and defecating became a criminal offence in California, Tim decided
to create his own enclosed toilet. He raised a tent behind a War-Mart, cut out
a hole on the chair and attached to it plastic containers. He wanted homeless
people like him (especially women) to have some privacy when answering the call
of nature. They would also not breach the law. Tim would then collect the full
plastic containers and empty them in some bathroom in the city and bring them
back empty – ensuring the improvised toilet was back in place again. Tim lives
on the street in the United States. He is considered a human rights hero
because he tried to ensure there is sanitation for his fellow homeless
citizens.”
The story was not reported by the media but by Catarina de Albuquerque, the UN
Special Rapporteur on human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. She
points out that stories like this often go unreported because less people
expect to encounter violations of human rights in developed countries. But they
do happen and the media should report about them because the media should
defend human rights – at least that is what many people expect from the media.
“Tell the stories of the people you have met who are suffering violations,”
says de Albuquerque. “Don’t forget the silent suffering of people who get a lot
less attention. Bring these stories to the fore,” she adds.
During the conference in Bonn, one clear thing was that the media has no
explicit role of promoting human rights. Its role is to inform its target
groups of things not working in society, and of things not respected as they
should be.
At the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, Catarina de Albuquerque advised
journalists to “get it right” when it comes to human rights. In the same way
the public and human rights activists should get it right when it comes to
promoting human rights.
“First of all learn about human rights beyond a fundamental level. After
all, human rights are a basic international law. If the government or any other
party breaches those rights, they breach the law,” says Catarina, the UN
independent expert.
While I agree with Catarina de Albuquerque that the media has an important role
in exposing human rights abuses, it is not that easy especially in Africa.
African governments are intolerant to any stories that depict or seem to expose
their incompetence or inability to protect and promote human rights. In Zambia,
for example, the government is sometimes in the forefront of violating the
rights of innocent citizens. The shooting of unarmed citizens in Mongu of the
Western Province is a case in point. The government unleashed the police on
citizens who wanted to hold a peaceful demonstration to register their
displeasure towards the state’s inability to develop Western Province. Some
people were shot dead while several others were put in jail with gunshot
wounds.
It wasn’t easy to report these stories and even get clear statistics of the
people who were killed and those who were wounded because government controls
the majority of the media in the country.
Human rights reporting is more than about abstract legal issues. Mostly people
who are at the centre of these stories are vulnerable people, who have been
exposed to traumatic acts, involving sexual violence, medical or other forms of
mistreatments. Doing justice to their accounts requires research, knowledge and
sensitivity - and in some cases genuine personal courage.
Most journalists are well equipped to question powerful politicians or business
people, but what is needed is to sharpen their interviewing skills necessary
when working with the powerless groups.
In order to overcome these challenges we need to encourage what the Minister
for Federal Affairs, Europe and the media, State of North Rhine - Westphalia in
Germany, Dr. Angelica Schwall - Duren, suggests: “(encouraging) the existence
of the free media is essential to upholding human rights.”
This is what the Zambian government should also work upon - set the journalists
free and encourage the proliferation of media houses.
Charles Mafa - Journalist, Zambia
