Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions 2.9. PRODUCING CONTENT FOR THE MEDIA A common challenge that all NHRIs face is to ensure that the human rights issues they seek to raise are reported accurately. Another challenge is to ensure that these issues receive consistent media coverage. To achieve these goals, a number of NHRIs have established cooperative relationships with media outlets – television and radio outlets, in particular – to prepare, record and broadcast human rights “spots” and programmes and promote community awareness about the role of the NHRI. This approach ensures that NHRIs have a regular place in the media to talk about human rights issues, to invite community feedback and to describe the practical steps that people can take to uphold their own rights and protect the rights of others. Many NHRIs report that these initiatives are very effective in reaching out to different groups in the community, such as older people and people living in areas where, because of limited staff and financial resources, the NHRI might not be able to visit regularly. Delivering information by radio and television is also an effective and accessible way to overcome barriers around literacy. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission prepares short information “spots” and longer programmes on human rights issues for broadcast on radio and television. The programmes address a range of issues – for example on the rights of women, children or people with disabilities – and may include interviews with Commission Members or staff, representatives of civil society groups and victims or relatives. They also include case studies that depict the reality of human rights violations in the country. The Commission has established partnerships with many television and radio stations across Afghanistan, which broadcast the Commission’s programmes free of charge. The Commission says that television and radio is a valuable way of communicating human rights information to men, women and children in a country where there are high rates of illiteracy. Photo by Internews Network is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 36 | Chapter 2: Engaging with the media: Tools and strategies