Our experience has taught us that when societies are under stress, it is critical that our communities have access to the truth and information that enables them to understand their rights and control their lives and to fully exercise their democratic rights.

In fact, the European Commission supported much of our early work with the media for democracy program in Africa and South Eastern Europe and more recently in Nepal. And we are still drawing oh the lessons and resources from these experiences.

Since then we have been working with journalists in South Asia and I would like to talk shortly a little about that experience as well as the work with CPA and the 5 journalists organisations in Sri Lanka now.

But before I do I would like to draw some general observations.

Journalists have a triple interest in human rights.

Firstly, journalists have a duty to examine and reveal the state of their societies.

A key test for society is the delivery or infringements of human rights.

Secondly, journalists have a specific need to protect freedom of thought and freedom of expression so that we can do our jobs effectively. The right to publish news and opinions does not exist where human rights are widely abused.

Thirdly, journalists have an equal right with other citizens to have their own human rights protected.

Through the discussion in this meeting we hope we will all have the opportunity to examine ways of understanding a human rights agenda and incorporating it into our everyday reporting. We expect to draw on your experience arid. knowledge in a series of practical sessions.

Human rights reporting is not just a topic for political reporters. It should be part of the approach for all reporters. It is a way of thinking about your work as a journalist and the decisions you take in the newsroom.

The IFJ has been working with Sri Lankan journalists since 2000 to help improve conditions and professional standards. During this time we have witnessed terrible human rights violations and journalists have been facing intolerable threats, intimidation and violence, often with apparent impunity.

Sadly, we have seen recently some of the most gross violations of the rights of journalists — the assaulta, abductions and murder of journalists and media workers has taken this country to a very dark place.

Meanwhile the huge challenges in society — the Tsunami and more recently the resumption of war -- demand the highest standards of journalism to ensure that people know what is happening in their societies and car~ exert control over those whom they elect to lead them.

To do this, journalists need a way of working that does not depend on the whims of politicians or media owners. They need to work to standards that give them a degree of independence and that make their work relevant and significant.

In basing our work around the human rights of ordinary people, journalists have some objective criteria by which to judge the performance of governments and those who hold power in society.

Human rights cover everything from the right to life and freedom from fear to the rights of minorities and of majorities; a woman’s right not to be exposed to violence in the home; a child’s right to a~ education; the right of people under arrest to be properly treated; the right to a fair trial and the right of everyone to be treated with fairness and equality.

Human rights cover every aspect of life from policing and social security to food, water and the media. They address the relationships between majorities and minorities and set standards to protect the weak against the strong.

Many people do not know their rights. Journalists can inform them through day-to-day coverage of the events and issues of ordinary people: employment, health, crime, punishment, education and sport.

Journalists can deliver on people’s right to freedom of expression by focusing their cameras and their reporting to a greater extent on ordinary people. By helping people to understand better their own lives they strengthen their ability to stand up for their rights.

And not only is it right and ethical for journalists to ground their work in the rights of ordinary people but it makes commercial sense for media companibs as well.

So what do we do:

We want this meeting to put forward practical reporting suggestions for putting human rights at the centre of a journalist’s work.

I think the most important thing we can do is just do our job professionally according to the principles of journalism:

• To report accurately
• To report fairly
• To respect the rights of others

While some knowledge of human rights principles is needed, in the main, a human rights perspective comes from spending time with people and representing them in the media.
If we focus only on what powerful people think and say, or cover politics as exclusively the preserve of politicians, then ordinary people’s human rights are only a side-show.

We need to cover politics by examining how decisions affect people’s lives.

We need to give a voice to the people -- and force governments to justify their actions in a human rights context.

We need to encourage more newsroom discussion and organise training around these issues.

At the same time it is our belief that you cannot have free and high-quality journalism if journalists are treated badly and underpaid in their own profession.

To defend the rights of others, journalists must be able to defend their own rights.

Many journalists are poorly paid with little job security and there is pressure in the newsroom undermining their independence.

Getting a proper working journalists act that can deliver working rights to journalists is a priority.

That is why we advocate strong unions of journalists. Journalists do not have to choose between defending their own rights and those of the public. By doing one they strengthen their ability to do the other.

Journalists also need protection. This can include the press freedoms enshrined in legislation. It sometimes comes because courts see media freedom as vital to democracy.

But probably the most important form of protection is solidarity — the mutual support that journalists can give to each other, by protesting at each media freedom breach and by creating strong and united Journalists organizations.

Journalists in Sri Lanka working through the five journalists organizations have shown remarkable courage, fortitude and unity in their continuing campaign to defend press freedom and journalists safety.

For this to work, journalists must be willing to defend not only their own media, but also media and journalists from different political, religious and ethnic backgrounds. I think the five journalists organizations together with SLPI have come a long way but there are major challenges ahead.

[Full text of speech delivered by Jacqueline Park, Asia-Pacific Director of International Federation of Journalists, at "Reporting on Human Rights in Sr Lanka" a two day summit held in Colombo on July 5th and 6th 2008. The summit was organised by the International Federation of Journalists and Centre for Policy Alternatives, with the support of the European Union]