Empowerment Through Information
Wednesday 13th February 2008

We extend a warm welcome to African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) and their partners the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) who are currently running a training workshop for journalists in The Gambia.

According to a press release from ACHPR the workshop, “will deal mainly with human rights journalism, focusing on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the work of the African Commission.”

Ways in which human rights journalists in the sub-region can use their skills and knowledge to publicise the work of the African Commission will also be explored.

These are indeed laudable objectives. Not least because they recognise the incredibly important role that journalists can play not only in nation building but in advancing the cause of human rights.

Article one of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. It is from this noble expression that we seek to build free, fair and just societies in which all rights are observed.

The role of the journalist in protecting these rights is to shine the light of truth on any individual or organisation who might seek to deprive another of those rights. Secrecy is ubiquitous in nefarious action and so when this type of activity is exposed by journalists some of its life-giving oxygen is removed by the response of the general public.

Also important is an informed general public. Through the dissemination of information to the people regarding their rights the journalists of the world allow the population to make informed choices not only with regard to their leaders but also in every aspect of their lives.

The workshop has been organised under the theme ‘an understanding of the African human rights system’ and will deal with such issues as freedom of expression, restrictions on the media and the rationale for restrictions. Is it not unfortunate that you could have a title containing the phrase “African human rights”? Does this not infer that human rights are somehow different on this continent? This is particularly distressing in light of the fact that the declaration quoted earlier was the Universal Declaration of Human rights. It protects the rights of all human beings and draws no distinction between the peoples of different continents.

These subtle but unavoidable indicators regarding the current state of human rights on this continent emphasise the essential need for work in this area to be redoubled. It should also serve as a very important lesson to us all on the need for a vibrant, well educated, free and fair press. This does not only apply to The Gambia but to all the nations which make up the African family.

On this note is very heartening to have journalists here from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo to join their Gambian colleagues for this vital training.

The work of ACHPR must continue to be encouraged by all African leaders and all African journalists must disseminate the information necessary to allow the people of the continent to make informed choices regarding their lives.

Journalists must continue to expose human rights abuses all over the continent and so encourage good governance but also bring about great change for the better in the lives of the people of Africa.

CRIME WATCH

The police are asking the general public to call any of the following telephone numbers: 

112 / 99 66 967 / 99 60 109 / 99 76 012 / 99 76 008 / 99 76 010 to report anyone suspected or caught engaged in criminal activities.