Eastern Africa: EAJA Concludes Training Workshop on Human Rights and Conflict Reporting

 By Lilian Museka

The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA) has concluded an intensive three-day training workshop on Human Rights and Conflict Reporting for a team of journalists drawn from its affiliated unions and associations in 9 countries in Eastern Africa.

The team of journalists who attended the Training of Trainers Workshop from March 28-30, 2012 in Bujumbura, Burundi, was drawn from Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.

During the three days, the trainees were taken through key concepts including analyzing and reporting human rights, theory of social change, conflict analysis and intervention: prevention and mitigation, conflict sensitive reporting; the case studies in Eastern Africa and the rest of the world and ethical principles in reporting human rights and conflicts.

The workshop, which was hosted by Union Burundaise des Journalistes (UBJ), with support from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Union (EU), was aimed developing the capacities of the journalists and the affiliate unions and associations to undertake a more effective human rights and conflict sensitive reporting in the region which continues to be in the grip serious human rights violations and conflicts.

The trained team of journalists will in turn lead similar training initiatives at the country level for members of their unions/association to create a cadre of journalists armed with the requisite skills and capacity for reporting human rights and conflicts in the region. 

“The training marks a milestone in our quest to respond to the needs of journalists and their unions in the region to report more effectively on issues related to human rights and conflicts that are ongoing and which continue to emerge, most of which affect press freedom,” said Omar Faruk Osman, EAJA Secretary General.

The in-country workshops will follow in May and will also be followed closely with similar trainings for journalists on safety and security to enhance their capacity to cope in conflict situations.

“This is in response to the precarious environments in which journalists in the region work, which has seen a number killed, maimed and detained in jails. We are determined to make the working environment conducive for journalists and will lobby governments and other political forces in the region to help in this regard,” added Osman.