Symposium on the press – Rights and Responsibilities
Due to the extremely importance of Geneva as the capital of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and (HCHR) the Human Rights Council (HRC) ,and a city of large number of organizations, both governmental and non-governmental ones. The Scandinavian Institute for Human Rights (SIHR) has decided to open a permanent headquarter in this special symbolic city.
Several seminars, conferences and training sessions have already been organized by SIHR since the establishing on 2009, And surely it has the honor to start its activities with the coming of the spring 2014 in its new headquarter where is in the Richard Wagner street, the great composer, so in the center of the United Nations building (UN), the International committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) headquarter and the Wilson Palace, the HCHR headquarter.
The fourth power and the human rights in the balance?
Due to continuous development of the modern tools of the expression and the new techniques used by the media to disseminate information, the question of the protection of the journalists on the one hand and on the other the issue of media responsibility at the heart of the press and also the sensitive important journalist’s role in influencing public opinion and its ability to be an observer and historian.
Media professionals and journalists play a key role not only in the orientation and options of the international community, but also in relation to the private and public information. However, working as journalists in armed conflict could be a source of danger to their right of life. So the free media was became directly related to ensure the safety and the freedom of the press, And also to guarantee the right to access to the information and to show all the opinions.
International Bill of Human Rights (IBHR) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) reflect significant progress in this field. Over the time, the struggle of the trade union and non-governmental organizations have succeeded to protect journalists in rooting for the new rules. And also the democratization of the tools of expression have achieved significant progress on the human level.
Despite these encouraging developments, and the emergence of preventive measures. The violations on freedom of information and the safety of journalists and the issue of the provision of the tools of protection are still inadequate. As can be seen from some of the hardest hit by the crisis regions of the world. Although the (IHL) and the (ICRC) constitute an important support for the media in wartime. However, the severity irrationality made the rationality of violence have made the groups as “weapon holders” as indifferent categories even in neutrally prestigious international organization such as the (ICRC) nor the professionally of a large journalist. So they kidnap the journalists and threat them to life. Moreover, the Non-professional Employment of media and the incitement, which are not commensurate with journalistic ethics and values of human rights in the newspapers and TV and on the Web, seriously offend the work of journalists and the credibility of the dissemination of the information as negatively use.
For that, several of elite journalists and human rights defender have participated the SIHR in symposium on the rights and responsibilities of the press in an attempt to promote the rights and clarify the boundaries the professional journalistic and the political and ideological use of media. We would be honored to invite journalists who have a big media experience as editors of ”Raialyom”, ”Alarab”, ”Skynews”, ”France 24” and ”Al-Mayadeen” … as well as the participation of experts of ICRC,UN and HCHR.
On Monday, 21/04/2014 from 09:30 till 18:30
Siminars Lounge, 5th floor, SIHR