Ministry of Human Rights holds sensitisation workshop for journalists

Islamabad: Ministry of Human Rights on Monday conducted a workshop for journalists for sensitising and awareness raising on reporting of human rights issues and gender sensitive cases.

Minister for Human Rights Dr. Shireen Mazari, Shafqat Munir, senior journalist, Director General (International Cooperation) and other officers of ministry attended the workshop. While addressing the audience, Federal Minister for Human Rights said that journalists should be well equipped and vigilant while reporting cases of human rights violation as subject of human rights is central to all other social concerns but standard procedures and rules for balanced reporting are neglected most of the times to cover such stories.

She said that ministry of human rights is mandated to deal with international covenants, treaties and agreements among which commitments under GSP+ status are very much significant. These agreements are deemed to be central to governance everywhere and Ministry of Human Rights is acting as a little outpost of government of Pakistan to fulfill its international obligations. While answering the questions of journalists, Federal Minister said that after devolution of numerous subjects under 18th amendments, many hindrances are yet to be removed in the way of effective coordination with provinces especially to deal with human rights issues.

She stated that Legal Aid and Justice Authority, established under Legal Aid and Justice Authority Act 2020, is providing pro bono assistance across Pakistan to needy and deserving individuals. In addition to this, Ministry of Human Rights is persistently working on establishing a Human Rights Management Information System with the help of UNDP to address human rights issues in a more effective manner as well as ministry is arranging to conduct Child Labour Survey that hasn’t been conducted for more than 20 years. In response to a question she said that educating masses and changing the mindsets, with the help of mass media, academia and opinion leaders are the only solutions we have to avoid Sialkot mob lynching like incidents in future.

At the end, she invited suggestions and feedback from participants for follow-up workshops and said that sensationalism in reporting put an adverse effect even on cases under trial and social media has made it more difficult these days to draw a line between laws and freedom; therefore, reporters must be responsive enough while reporting atrocities and brutalities in society.