Human Rights Commission Conducts Training For Over 20 Journalists on Rights-Based Reporting

The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) has conducted a training that benefited over 20 Journalists in Freetown on Thursday 20th June 2024.

At the Peace Museum Hall, New England Ville, the journalists were exposed to topics such as a General Overview of Human Rights Education, Human Rights and Court Reporting, Reporting Sexual Gender Based Violence , Human Rights and Elections Reporting, Reporting Political Incidents from the Human Rights Lens and Social Media Reporting: The Role of Journalists.

In his statement on behalf of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), the Secretary-General Alhaji Manika Kamara thanked HRCSL for organising such a training session. He said journalists have benefited from much training in specialised reporting and that they are yet given another opportunity to specialised in human rights reporting through this training.

He noted the importance of a human rights perspective in journalism, noting the role of the media in promoting peace and development. He emphasised the importance for journalists to be knowledgeable in local, regional and international human rights laws and instruments that will support their work.

The Chairperson for HRCSL Mrs. Patricia Narsu Ndanema said the Commission acknowledges the media as a valuable partner to its work and therefore said the training was geared towards equipping journalists with knowledge in human rights reporting to avoid chaos in society.

She stated that the Commission regularly monitors the media and has in some cases acted on issues raised in the media relating to human rights violations. She however noted that whereas the media provides information on key issues in society they do not provide further updates to the public on progress in resolving such issues.

Similarly, she also mentioned instances where the media had shared inaccurate reports that may have led to chaos. She encouraged the journalists to be factual in their reporting and avoid misinformation.

The training was climaxed by a presentation of Certificate of Participation to the journalists.